How to Keep lemon tetra Fish in an Aquarium – If you like to keep beautiful, brightly colored fish, lemon tetra can be the right choice for you to keep. This fish from the African continent is one of the bright yellow ornamental fish that is strong and easy to care for. Apart from its beauty, the reason why many people keep lemon tetra is because the price is cheap and easy to get. Although it comes from another continent, lemon tetra has been widely cultivated throughout the world . Well, if you like this ornamental fish, you can continue reading how to keep lemon tetra in an aquarium for beginners below!
Lemon Tetra Natural Habitat
lemon tetra, also known as the yellow electric cichlid , has the scientific name (Labidochromis caeruleus) , including cichlid fish. It is a fish endemic to the waters of Malawi, East Africa with a variety of vegetation, such as plants ,twigs and rocks.
Lemon Tetra Physical Characteristics
Lemon tetra has a distinctive yellow body that resembles a lemon. That’s why it is often called the lemon tetra. The dorsal fin, stretches a black line. While the tail and lower fins are yellow, appearing black when they begin to mature. The difference between male and female Lemon tetra lies in their size. The male is slightly longer than the female, and during reproduction, the male will be bluish in color.
Maintenance Aquarium
Generally, people keep Lemon tetra in aquariums, because these fish don’t grow too big, only up to 15 cm at most. So, the size of the aquarium to keep this Lemon tetra also doesn’t have to be jumbo-sized. Ideally you can keep Lemon tetra in an aquarium measuring 90x45x37.5 cm, or one with a capacity of at least 160 liters of water. But if the aquarium is less than that, the Lemon tetra can still adapt to the maintenance media. However, in order to resemble their natural habitat you need to provide various supporting media for the comfort of the fish.
Substrates such as sand, rocks where to hide, or tree branches are useful so that the aquarium resembles its natural habitat. Even though they are quite strong fish, you need dissolved oxygen to meet their oxygen needs. Then you need an aerator for that. To make it more like its natural habitat, you can install lights that are on from morning to evening. In the wild , Lemon tetra can also get sunlight either directly or indirectly.
Water Parameters
Each fish sometimes requires its own water parameter specifications, it really depends on where the fish comes from. For example, in tropical waters, the parameters of the water will be different from those in subtropical waters. So, if you want to keep it in an aquarium, then you need to adjust the water parameters as in their natural habitat. Water parameters that are good for keeping these fish have an acidity level of pH 7.8 – 8.9 with a temperature of 24 to 30 degrees Celsius. In addition, make sure the water is kept clean, for the comfort and health of the fish. Poor water conditions can stress fish and cause various diseases.
Lemon Tetra Breeding
In how to keep a good Lemon tetra, you also need to pay attention to the intake you give to this pet . Basically, Lemon tetra is classified as an omnivorous fish, meaning that it requires animal and vegetable protein intake. You can give him natural or artificial feed. Don’t worry, this Lemon tetra is not too fussy about food. However, you still need to maintain the quality of the feed in order to maintain perfect fish growth. In their natural habitat, Lemon tetra eat crustaceans, worms and insect larvae. You can also give him natural food such as blood worms, silk worms, frozen food and others.
As for artificial feed, you can give it pellets. Pellets are usually complete with various nutrients that are good for ornamental fish. But, make sure you provide quality pellets with high protein. You can see the protein content of the pellets on the packaging. The higher the protein, the better. Good feeding will keep the fish from stress, away from disease, optimal growth and also keep the color of the Lemon tetra bright. For feeding, you can give two to three times a day in small doses. This means that the feed can run out in no more than three minutes. If a lot of feed is left over, over time it will dissolve in water and will pollute the water.
Lemon Tetra Tank Mates
Cichlid fish are generally quite mischievous fish, so you need special attention in combining this Lemon tetra. However, Lemon tetra is one of the most peaceful types of cichlids than other types. But they will be more aggressive when breeding. Suitable tankmates for Lemon tetra are other types of african cichlids, or the same kind. For example, the Peacock Cichlid, Kenya Cichlid, Blue Dolphin Cichlid, Lionhead Cichlid, and Frontosa.
But you need to be wary of fish that have long fins. Usually the lemons will bite their fins. Because Lemon tetra are agile fish, it will easily bully other types. Especially those that include slow fish such as pleco or goldfish. You also can’t mix this fish with predatory fish , predators will think of Lemon tetra as prey. It was because of the small body of the Lemon tetra.
Also Read = Chili Rasbora Complete Care Guide, Size, Tank Mates and More
Lemon Tetra Disease
As with common freshwater fish disease , it can also occur in Lemon tetra. Usually, the cause of Lemon tetra disease is due to poor water quality or poor nutrition. If the cause is water quality, generally the water lacks oxygen, excess phosphate and nitrate as well as copper. Therefore, good filtration is very important in freshwater aquariums, in order to maintain water quality. If it’s due to nutritional factors, then you need to give him a more nutrient rich feed, and give him a combination of food, between natural and artificial feed.
The most common disease infecting Lemon tetra is Ich or white spot. To deal with this, you can raise the water temperature to 30 degrees Celsius for a few days. Don’t forget to include fish salt . Besides Ich, the diseases that usually infect the lemon are parasitic infections, viral infections, or bacterial infections. The cause is poor water and feed quality. Stress also often occurs in this yellow fish. The reason could be due to water, feed, intimidation from other tankmates, or a less than ideal aquarium.
Conclusion
Lemon tetra is a beautiful yellow ornamental fish. Although beautiful, but this fish is quite aggressive towards other types. Lemon tetra food actually does not vary, if you just give it pellets it will be voracious. But the balance of natural and artificial feeding is still necessary, for the adequacy of fish nutrition. Lemon tetra is suitable for beginners, because it is relatively easy to care for and the price is not too expensive.
Although classified as a strong fish and able to adapt to water conditions that are not too good, for the sake of comfort the fish should keep the water quality clean. Although how to maintain this Lemon tetra is relatively easy, but you still need to take care of it as well as possible. Find as many references as you can about this fish, so you can solve any problems that occur.