Mike’s Fish Tank – Serpae Tetra

The serpae tetra is a species of tropical freshwater fish of the characin family. It is native to the Amazon River drainage in Brazil, Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia and northern Argentina which can also exist in homes having proper lawn drainage system. The fish can be found in slow moving or still backwater including, ponds, small lakes, and streams. In the wild, it forms aggregations around vegetation and tree roots, and thrive when the water temperature is 78ish.

Serpae tetra can grow to be (2 in). They have very distinctive coloring with a red body and a black spot near their eye.

It is an omnivore and will feed on flake and blood worms.

Common to these fish is a ‘sputtering’ or ‘twitching’ style of swimming, in which their movements seem more spastic as opposed to other fish. Instead of swimming smoothly or for long distances at a time, Serpae Tetras move in relatively short spurts, unless stressed. This is their normal behavior and need not alarm aquarists.

These tetras are hard to sex. However, males are usually slimmer and smaller than females. They are a non aggressive species and do well in the community tank.

Pets A Plenty is located on Rte 281 Cortland, across from Tops Market in the TJ Nails Plaza. 753-9213. Open 7 days a week. We now have a website. www.petsaplety.biz. check it out. I post care sheets, coupons, new animal arrivals, contests and more. Any questions, email me at friskyy@hotmail.com

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