It would be best to feed the Bucktooth Tetra a varied diet compromising predominantly meaty foods such as chopped prawns, bloodworms, earthworms muscles and lancefish. If you are lucky, some individuals may even accept high-quality dried foods such as flakes, pellets, and granules.
What do Bucktooth tetras need to live?
Like any other fish, bucktooth tetras need a well-maintained environment and an appropriate diet to reach their maximum life expectancy. Without quality care, these fish could suffer from disease and early death. The average size of a bucktooth tetra is around four to five inches when kept in captivity.
What do tetras eat?
Tetras are famous for their eating behavior of a different variety of foods. Wild tetras love to have a variety in their diets. They can eat all small species alive in the water, such as shrimps, lobsters, shellfish, crabs, fish fry, eggs, flies, larvae, mosquitos, bugs, ants, plant-based food.
What is the best water filtration for Bucktooth tetras?
The Bucktooth Tetra is no exception. Therefore, you should aim to keep the temperature somewhere between 73- and 82-degrees Fahrenheit. The acidity should be between 5.5 and 7.5 pH while the water should be kept rather soft, between 5 and 20 pH. The more of these fish you keep, the better water filtration is required.
Where do Bucktooth tetras come from?
Bucktooth Tetra, also known as Exodon paradoxus, was first described in 1845. But it wasn’t until 1932 that the import and distribution of these species by the aquarium trade began. It originated from South America and Tocantins River Basins and is native to the Amazon Basin and Guyana.
How big do bucktooth Tetras get?
The dorsal fin is bright red. The name is quite contradictory of the actual fish however, with Bucktooth tetras showing no signs of actual teeth. It grows to a maximum overall length of approximately 12 cm (4.7 in).
Are bucktooth Tetras aggressive?
Scientifically known as Exodon paradoxus, this freshwater fish is predatory and wildly aggressive. Best for seasoned aquarists, the bucktooth tetra can be violent towards any other fish in the vicinity. They are one of several scale-eating species from the Amazon River Basin.
Are Tetras carnivorous?
Are Tetras herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores? Tetras are Omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and other animals.
What type of fish have teeth?
All fish have teeth. Specific types of swimmers—like goldfish—hide their pearly whites near the back of their throats. Similar to shark teeth, goldfish lose and replace teeth throughout their lifetime.
Are Glo Tetras aggressive?
It should also be noted that our GloFish Barbs can potentially become aggressive if they are not kept in groups of five or more. This is not necessary with our GloFish Danios or GloFish Tetras; while they prefer to be in groups of five or more, they will not become aggressive in smaller numbers.
Can tetras recognize their owners?
Other fish, such as Tetras, Livebearers, Goldfish and Bettas, live simpler social lives. While they can probably recognize individuals, you are simply well outside of their social mental map.
Do tetra fish get lonely?
Interestingly, despite their aversion to loneliness, you may not see tetra form a tight pack in a tank unless there is a threat. When it comes to choosing which fishy friends to add to the tank, “there's not a magical or uniform recipe of which fish to mix,” Lewbart said.
What is the most beautiful tetra?
1. Black Skirt Tetra. The Black Skirt Tetra is a beautiful species with dramatic fins. It's most standout feature is its flowing anal fin, which inspired its name.
Are tetras omnivores?
Most tetras are omnivorous and will thrive on Aqueon Tropical Flakes, Color Flakes, Tropical Granules and Shrimp Pellets. Frozen and live foods can also be fed as treats or to help induce spawning. For best results, rotate their diet daily and feed only what they can consume in under 2 minutes, once or twice a day.
Are tetras aggressive fish?
Tetras are social, so be sure to have a school of them in your tank. Some tetra species are more aggressive than others and will bite at long-finned fish mates like betta fish. So be careful of which community tank mates you choose. They do well with barbs, danios, goldfish, and catfish.
Are tetras herbivores?
It's important to know what your fish eat in nature and feed accordingly. Are they herbivores, carnivores or omnivores? Most aquarists keep a variety of species in their aquariums, so offering a combination of different foods is best. For example, livebearers are largely herbivores, while tetras are more carnivorous.
Which fish are carnivores?
Predatory fish are hypercarnivorous fish that actively prey upon other fish or aquatic animals, with examples including shark, billfish, barracuda, pike/muskellunge, walleye, perch and salmon.
About The Bucktooth Tetra
The bucktooth tetra fish is a species of tetra fish native to South America, specifically the Amazon and Tocantins river basins. In case you were wondering, their scientific name is Exodon paradoxus. Generally speaking, these little guys are fairly easy to take care of. Keeping them alive is not very hard.
Water Conditions
The next thing that is important for keeping bucktooth tetra fish is the condition of the water. While these fish are fairly hardy and easy to take care of, they do require some fairly specific water conditions to be happy and healthy.
Feeding
A very weird and interesting fact about the bucktooth tetra is that it is a lepidophage. This means that they love to feed on the scales of other fish, often nipping at other fish and eating their scales, which leads to injury, death, and disease. That being said, they will eat other foods.
Bucktooth Tetra Fish Tank Mates
Something very important to note about bucktooth tetra fish is that they cannot be kept with other fish for the most part. Like we said before, they eat scales, which can lead to injuries, infections, and death for the fish having its scales consumed. Therefore, keeping these little guys with only other bucktooth tetras is a big must.
Breeding
So, breeding bucktooth tetras is not often done. There are several reasons for this. First of all, telling males and females apart is more or less impossible, which is a pretty big deal no doubt.
Conclusion
As you can see, besides tank mate and breeding issues, bucktooth tetra care is not all that hard. If you like cool looking fish with big personalities, the bucktooth tetra is a really neat option to keep in mind the next time you go to buy some fish.
What pH should a Bucktooth Tetra fish be?
Therefore, you should aim to keep the temperature somewhere between 73- and 82-degrees Fahrenheit. The acidity should be between 5.5 and 7.5 pH while the water should be kept rather soft, between 5 and 20 pH.
When did Bucktooth Tetras become popular?
They have developed their hectic and predatory lifestyle in those rivers. Back in 1932 is when they became popular in the aquarium trade.
How long does a Bucktooth Tetra fight last?
If the school is too small, they are going to attack each other viciously. The fight will last until only one fish remains.
How long do tetra fish live?
If it’s bigger, then they eat their fins only. Either way, they show no mercy toward other fish species. The life expectancy of a Bucktooth Tetra is around ten years.
Where do tetras live?
Bucktooth Tetra Natural Habitat. Out in the wild, the Bucktooth Tetra lives in the river basins of the Amazon and Tocantins. Both of these can be found in South America. The scientific name for this species is Exodus Paradoxus. It is good to know in case you can’t find them as Bucktooth Tetras since people who deal with fish know this in every ...
What can I feed my dog?
Instead of giving them live food, you can also feed them with mussels, krill, earthworms, mussels and lancefish. Furthermore, dried foods such as pellets and flakes from the pet shop are also acceptable. The rule of thumb is to feed them meaty foods most of the time.
Can you breed Bucktooth Tetra?
Bucktooth Tetra breeding is definitely not something we can recommend for beginners. It is uncommon even among the most experienced fish keepers. Keeping a female and a male in the same tank is already quite problematic. There is a high chance that they are going to fight with each other instead of mating.
Bucktooth Tetra Facts & Overview
The bucktooth tetra ( Exodon paradoxus) originated in Guyana and the Amazon Basin, and was introduced into the aquarium trade in 1932.
Appearance & Behavior
The bucktooth tetra has an elongated, torpedo-shaped body similar to some other tetras species for improved agility and speed in the water. Bucktooth tetras have a shiny silver body lined with scales with red and yellow flecks, and two main accents along the midsection of their bodies.
Bucktooth Tetra Care
Bucktooth tetras are difficult to care for as they are hunters and require plenty of space to dart around in their tanks decorated with caves, driftwood, and plants, in addition to having soft, warmer water resembling the native Amazonian habitats.
Habitat and Tank Requirements
Bucktooth tetras originate in the Amazon, where the freshwater is warm, soft, and filled with caves, rocks, and plants.
Tank Mates
Bucktooth tetras have a predatory nature, meaning they’re incompatible with other tank mates.
Diet and Feeding
Bucktooth tetras are carnivorous hunters that require plenty of protein. They eat insects, fish scales, shrimp, bloodworms, plankton, earthworms, clams, prawns, lance fish, and other dead aquatic insects and fish.
Breeding
The greatest challenge to breeding bucktooth tetras is distinguishing males from females.
Appearance
The signature look of tetra fishes is apparent in the bucktooth tetras. The uncanny difference in appearance would only be in the large spots on the sides of the fish and in the base of their tails.
Behaviour & Temperament
The bucktooth tetra is known to be a volatile and hostile fish species in the fish trade. It would not be easy to pair with any species as they get easily aggressive and are always ready to gnaw the other fish’s scales.
Lifespan
Perhaps, you wonder if the bucktooth tetra is one of those small fishes worth your money spending. If you decide to keep the bucktooth tetra for your aquarium, then the great news is they are indeed worth the try!
Size
The fish has varying sizes ranging from 1-5” the most. For small ones, the Bucktooth Tetra can reach up to 3.5 inches in their adult forms. Some reports even say that there are a few that can also grow to at least 6 inches once they reach maturity!.
Bucktooth Tetra Care
Focus on buying larger tanks over regular ones, as the fish were quite territorial and aggressive against other fishes. The tank to prepare should also be roomy enough for a dozen bucktooth tetras, at least. Fifty-five gallons is the adequate water capacity that the aquarium must handle.
Diet & Feeding
Carnivorous as they always are, bucktooth tetras’ main diet in the wild are protein-rich foods and fish scales ! Their tummies are always filled with digested scales. That is why many owners would try to serve more live feeder fish to them as part of their daily diet.
Tank Mates
Many aquarists would agree that an aquarium is supposed to have many types of fish and not only one species. But with the predatory fish here, that might not always be the case.
Where did Bucktooth Tetra originate?
But it wasn’t until 1932 that the import and distribution of these species by the aquarium trade began. It originated from South America and Tocantins River Basins and is native to the Amazon Basin and Guyana.
How big is a bucktooth?
Size. The sizes vary as small (1-1.75 inches), medium (1.75-2.5 inches) or large (2.5-3.5 inches). Since it is not a community fish, it is best to keep them in groups of the same species. The general recommendation is to keep a bucktooth in schools of eight to ten or more to prevent them from savaging each other.
Do tetras eat silvery fish?
These tetras are not predators in a technical sense but are hungry and crazy for flesh. They feed on the scales of fishes of other species, especially that of silvery fishes. They tend to scare off smaller fishes of their own species, ramming their prey directly.
Is a Bucktooth Tetra a predator?
They only adapt with other fishes of the same species, and they don’t just merely derange from other species; they happen to strip them of fins and scales too. These tetras are not predators in a technical sense but are hungry and crazy for flesh. They feed on the scales of fishes of other species, especially that of silvery fishes. They tend to scare off smaller fishes of their own species, ramming their prey directly.
Is a Bucktooth Tetra male or female?
In Bucktooth Tetra, it is difficult to differentiate between male and female, but male tetras are more active than female tetras. But one of the significant sexual dimorphisms is those mature males are slimmer than females. Another characteristic of a male is that they have slightly elongated dorsal and anal fin rays.
Do Bucktooth Tetras have a tetra?
Despite their “Tetra-like” appearances, the Bucktooth Tetras don’t associate with the nature of a tetra. These natives of Amazon Basin and Guyana are a challenging species of fish for home aquariums. Even though they are small as other regular tetras, their lousy behavior separates them from the regular ones.
Is it necessary to keep a Bucktooth Tetra?
Maintaining temperature and diet is necessary but not sufficient for the welfare and long-life of a Bucktooth Tetra. They require other additional factors that contribute to the fish’s future. Caring for your pet fish is very important. It is like caring for your dogs and cats.
Species Summary
Appearance
- The bucktooth tetra is similar in appearance to other types of tetra species. They’re small, torpedo-shaped, and quite colorful! The base color is metallic silver. However, the silver is adorned with hints of yellow, green, and red. Two large spots accent the body as well. One is in the middle of the body and the other is on the base of the tail. The fins are transparent with a hint of …
Lifespan
- The lifespan of a healthy bucktooth tetra can reach upwards of 10 years.That’s pretty much on par with other tetra species. Like any other fish, bucktooth tetras need a well-maintained environment and an appropriate diet to reach their maximum life expectancy. Without quality care, these fish could suffer from disease and early death.
Average Size
- The average size of a bucktooth tetra is around four to five inches when kept in captivity.However, they can reach up to six inches in length in the wild! Author Note:Many aquarists have tried their best to get bucktooth tetras to reach the six inch mark in captivity, but it rarely works out. Even with massive tanks and elaborate feeding strategies, this freshwater species always seems to r…
Bucktooth Tetra Care
- Bucktooth tetra care is usually best reserved for aquarists with a bit of experience. These are truly extraordinary fish with some very distinct behaviors and needs! To be honest, they can be a bit of a challenge regardless of your experience levels. But with a bit of know-how and dedication, caring for these fish should be manageable. Here are the main care guidelines to follow!
Behavior & Temperament
- As we mentioned earlier, bucktooth tetras need to stay in groups to truly thrive. But unlike many other freshwater species, this isn’t a matter of anxiety or confidence. When these fish aren’t in a large group, they quickly turn on each other! There’s no exact science to determine how many fish are needed to avoid this. But generally, groups of at least 12 are successful.If you have a very lar…
Bucktooth Tetra Tank Mates
- Due to their aggressive nature, bucktooth tetras do best in a single-species tank. While they’re not the largest fish around, a group of bucktooth tetras can easily take down and kill a bigger fish. Any other fish in the tank will quickly become food. Author Note:Even cichlids, which are known to be bullies in community tanks, will act like scared targets in the presence of bucktooth tetras! Thes…
Breeding
- Breeding bucktooth tetras in captivity is possible. However, it’s incredibly rare and quite challenging. These fish are egg-layers that don’t show any signs of parental instinct. If you want to try your hand at breeding, it’s best to do it in a separate tank. Set up a small breeding tank with similar water parameters. Add some fine-leaf plants. Bucktooth tetras are egg-scatters. The pla…
Conclusion
- Bucktooth tetra care is primarily about learning how to handle the aggression of this species. Failing to plan around this will quickly lead to chaos in your tank! But if you create an environment that minimizes the aggression of these fish, they can be a complete joy to own. You’ll be treated to a constant display of activity and color. If you’re still a bit unsure about the possibility of owni…
About The Bucktooth Tetra
Ideal Tank / Housing Conditions
- The first thing that you need to know about bucktooth tetras is that they need quite a bit of room to be happy. These little guys are schooling fish, which means that you should keep at least 6 or 8 of them together, preferably more something like a dozen of them. Since they like to live in fairly large schooling populations, they need a pretty big tank. The minimum tank size for a small sch…
Water Conditions
- The next thing that is important for keeping bucktooth tetra fish is the condition of the water. While these fish are fairly hardy and easy to take care of, they do require some fairly specific water conditions to be happy and healthy. When it comes to temperature, seeing as the bucktooth tetra is a tropical fish, it needs to be between 73 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit. In terms of the dH level o…
Feeding
- A very weird and interesting fact about the bucktooth tetra is that it is a lepidophage. This means that they love to feed on the scales of other fish, often nipping at other fish and eating their scales, which leads to injury, death, and disease. That being said, they will eat other foods. In the wild, besides fish scales, they also like to feed o...
Bucktooth Tetra Fish Tank Mates
- Something very important to note about bucktooth tetra fish is that they cannot be kept with other fish for the most part. Like we said before, they eat scales, which can lead to injuries, infections, and death for the fish having its scales consumed. Therefore, keeping these little guys with only other bucktooth tetras is a big must. That being said, there are a few types of fish out there, like …
Breeding
- So, breeding bucktooth tetras is not often done. There are several reasons for this. First of all, telling males and females apart is more or less impossible, which is a pretty big deal no doubt. Second of all, if you do manage to find a male and female, if you put them in a breeding tank, they will end up fighting and killing each other instead of breeding a lot of the time. Next, these fish ar…
Conclusion
- As you can see, besides tank mate and breeding issues, bucktooth tetra care is not all that hard. If you like cool looking fish with big personalities, the bucktooth tetra is a really neat option to keep in mind the next time you go to buy some fish. Featured Image Credit: Pavaphon Supanantananont, Shutterstock
Bucktooth Tetra Facts & Overview
Appearance & Behavior
Bucktooth Tetra Care
Habitat and Tank Requirements
Tank Mates
Diet and Feeding
- Bucktooth tetras are carnivorous hunters that require plenty of protein. They eat insects, fish scales, shrimp, bloodworms, plankton, earthworms, clams, prawns, lance fish, and other dead aquatic insects and fish. Feed bucktooth tetras live or dead protein multiple times daily. Some bucktooth tetras eat flakes and pellets, but it’s better to feed t...
Breeding
Should You Get A Bucktooth Tetra For Your Aquarium?