Breeding Serpae Tetras

I have one that appears to be full of eggs. How easy is it to get a batch of baby Serpaes?

Thanks,

Bill

Marbles as substrate. They will scatter the eggs then remove the parents from the tank and let the fry grow.

Parents eat fry if they are not removed. Tetras are one of the harder fish to get fry from.

Thanks

You'll need to be prepared for VERY small mouths to feed too. I haven't bread serpaes, but I'm fairly certain their fry will be too small to eat baby brine shrimp (bbs) once they absorb their yolk sacks, become freeswimming and need food. Infusoria, green water or a paramecium culture would probably be the best first food, followed by microworms and then bbs. There are commercially prepared foods which, in theory, could feed them through these stages, but considering issues those create with water quality, I think culturing live foods is easier in the end and much more likely to produce good results.

So it is some work to spawn and raise egg scatterers like these, but if you can devote a tank and some time to it it is very rewarding to have 50 tiny copies of your pretty parents swimming around happily. Each step is pretty simple, just a little work. And starter cultures for the live foods can likely be had for free if you are active in MAS and ask around.