I thought it'd be worth documenting a few of the unusual things I've noticed about this African tetra that doesn't seem to pop up very often.
Recently I picked up a group of 6 of these fish (Alestopetersius caudalis), three males and three females. After researching further I read some horror stories about small groups (majority male groups) destroying themselves through fighting! It seemed that the males 'joust' each other for dominance/females etc and this jousting can lead to circular bites on the flanks that don't tend to heal and eventually kill the fish.
So to boost numbers I added another pair as it will spread aggression. The first thing noticeable about the appearance of these fish is the sexual dimorphism, much like the everyday Congo tetra. The males show metallic blue flanks with yellow and black tails, a white and yellow dorsal fin and traces of white on the other fins, they're a slim fish with a taller body, much like normal Congo's. The females on the other hand are a dull brown base colour with a slight turqoise through it under certain light angles. They're also very thick set fish, which I put down to most likely holding eggs, and they eat like monsters. Other than that they show no particularly interesting features. As a species I believe they stay considerably smaller than normal Congo tetras.
Here you can see two males and one female:
I've found the behaviour of these fish to be really unusual.
1) They're incredibly skittish and perceptive of movements outside the tank. So much as moving slightly whilst feeding will send the darting for cover.
2) The females and males tend to hang about in entirely different groups. The females, just hanging about not doing much, the males chasing each other all over the tank, flaring fins, shaking their bodies next to each other, jousting (taking swipes at each other whilst swimming around in a circular formation). They seem to do this most of the day.
3) The females are far more responsive to food, they'll go for it first and will eat HEAPS MORE than the males. The males eat a bit and then tend to swim in a group together picking bits off the bottom. Their feeding behaviour is pretty typical dart and grab to the surface.
I've found these tetra's to be far from the average tetra. As opposed to the normal neon's swimming up and down the tank these fish show a real array of social behaviours. Most definitely a great addition to a African river themed tank, if you're after something a bit more unusual!
Recently I picked up a group of 6 of these fish (Alestopetersius caudalis), three males and three females. After researching further I read some horror stories about small groups (majority male groups) destroying themselves through fighting! It seemed that the males 'joust' each other for dominance/females etc and this jousting can lead to circular bites on the flanks that don't tend to heal and eventually kill the fish.
So to boost numbers I added another pair as it will spread aggression. The first thing noticeable about the appearance of these fish is the sexual dimorphism, much like the everyday Congo tetra. The males show metallic blue flanks with yellow and black tails, a white and yellow dorsal fin and traces of white on the other fins, they're a slim fish with a taller body, much like normal Congo's. The females on the other hand are a dull brown base colour with a slight turqoise through it under certain light angles. They're also very thick set fish, which I put down to most likely holding eggs, and they eat like monsters. Other than that they show no particularly interesting features. As a species I believe they stay considerably smaller than normal Congo tetras.
Here you can see two males and one female:
I've found the behaviour of these fish to be really unusual.
1) They're incredibly skittish and perceptive of movements outside the tank. So much as moving slightly whilst feeding will send the darting for cover.
2) The females and males tend to hang about in entirely different groups. The females, just hanging about not doing much, the males chasing each other all over the tank, flaring fins, shaking their bodies next to each other, jousting (taking swipes at each other whilst swimming around in a circular formation). They seem to do this most of the day.
3) The females are far more responsive to food, they'll go for it first and will eat HEAPS MORE than the males. The males eat a bit and then tend to swim in a group together picking bits off the bottom. Their feeding behaviour is pretty typical dart and grab to the surface.
I've found these tetra's to be far from the average tetra. As opposed to the normal neon's swimming up and down the tank these fish show a real array of social behaviours. Most definitely a great addition to a African river themed tank, if you're after something a bit more unusual!
