# Black Phantom Tetra or Lemon Tetra? Do they school?



## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

Im not having luck with harlequin rasboras. But I saw the black phantom and lemon tetras and they look cool! (especially black phantoms)

But do they school? do they get big? Which of them fin nip less? Will 8-10 tetras be enough to swim together?

Thank you!


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

I keep Black Phantoms and they are wonderful. They are nippy until a pecking order is established but really won't nip the other fish in the tank. They will do some damage to each other at times but their fins grow back at an amazing rate. They won't school the way rummies or cardinals do, they like to keep it loose. They seem to spend a lot of time dancing with each other in minor territorial disputes.

A school of 8-10 or smaller would be fine. Just make sure you have a 3-1 male to female ratio. The females are easily distinguishable by the red coloration in their ventral & anal fins. The males have a long drooping dorsal fin that they raise like a sail when battling with other males or attracting females.

Here is a picture of a male & female together. Sorry for the quality, they are in constant motion and very difficult to photograph.









The female is on the left and the male is on the right. You can clearly see the color difference in the fins and the way the male's dorsal hooks and droops when at rest.

They are very active feeders and will eat anything that you put into the tank. This can be a problem for bottom feeders getting their fair share. I use a feeding tube to make sure everybody is well fed.


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

Ooh ok. So of I want 6 it'll have to be 2 males and 4 females. Or 4 males with 6 females if I want 10. I will want at least more than two males...they are stunning! = D. Will they look better if my background were black? I have the color background in blue.


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

Will they cover the middle-top tank too? I'm looking for tetras school that cover that place.


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## Mousie (Feb 16, 2015)

MikeG14 said:


> I keep Black Phantoms and they are wonderful.
> Here is a picture of a male & female together. Sorry for the quality, they are in constant motion and very difficult to photograph.
> 
> View attachment 641170



Those look red and black to me, or is the photo just being weird?


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

I think 2 males & 6 females would be about perfect. If you want 10, try 3 males & 7 females. The females seem to be the nippiest in the beginning until the pecking order is established so the more the better. 

A blue background would be fine. They prefer a darker aquarium with lots of plants. They will occupy the areas of the tank that are darkest, this brings out their best coloration. I move my LEDs to the front of the tank so that the planted areas along the back stays dark for them. I consider them a nice complementary fish to my rummies. On a few rare occasions I've even seen them school together. The subdued colors of the black phantoms would also really bring out the best in neons, cardinals, HY511's and flame tetras.

Black Phantoms will swim mainly at the middle levels of the aquarium. They will venture to the bottom to steal food from slow feeding cichlids & catfish. They also will come right to the top at feeding time making it hard for the food to reach the bottom. They will take larger cichlid pellets and swim with them in their mouths until they soften up enough to eat them. Like I said, it's a good idea to use a feeding tube if you have bottom feeders.

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=532842&page=7#post6513249

They seem to spawn pretty easily for me. Sadly, the rummies get to the eggs before they can even hit the substrate & plants.

When I first got them, I hated them. The girl at the fish store picked out the 8 best in the tank with perfect fins. Within a week their fins were ripped to shreds, I wanted to take them back. But I was really patient with them and after a few days I started seeing substantial regrowth. Fin splits were healing overnight and chunks that were taken out of dorsal fins were completely regrown in two weeks. After about a month they really settled down and all the damage healed up like nothing ever happened. They have been model community citizens ever since.




Mousie said:


> Those look red and black to me, or is the photo just being weird?


The females have red ventral & anal fins and have a slight reddish cast to their bodies. I feed them foods high in carotenoids so the red may seem slightly more exaggerated than what you may be seeing in stores.

The males are a dull silvery gray with no red at all. They will color up when spawning or establishing a territory. Their fins will go from dark gray to jet black. They are one of the few tetras species that are easy to sex.

The males will pair off and swim sideways circles at each other in a display of dominance. These rituals can last for hours. They are really interesting to watch for a tetra.


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## Mousie (Feb 16, 2015)

Just curious, because your fish in the photo look exactly like my tank full of Serpae Tetra. All of the BFT that I've ever seen are silver with the black spot, and I think the females have the red fin (or is it the males... geeze, old age). They're (yours) pretty nonetheless!


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Mousie said:


> All of the BFT that I've ever seen are silver with the black spot, and I think the females have the red fin (or is it the males... geeze, old age). They're (yours) pretty nonetheless!


Yep, it's the females who have the red.

Here is a picture of when I first got them in my 20 long that I was using as a QT tank at the time. This was back in April. The second one on the left is a male, the rest are females. I think my food has a lot to do with the females coloration these days. Two even have little red faces. Both males & females have a black spot surrounded by iridescent blue.


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

MikeG14: I might start with 6 (2 males and 4 females) and see how it goes. Im suddenly seeing my tank smaller in size XD. 

For now I'm looking at tetras videos on youtube...haha!


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## Mousie (Feb 16, 2015)

MikeG14 said:


> Yep, it's the females who have the red.
> 
> Here is a picture of when I first got them in my 20 long that I was using as a QT tank at the time. This was back in April. The second one on the left is a male, the rest are females. I think my food has a lot to do with the females coloration these days. Two even have little red faces. Both males & females have a black spot surrounded by iridescent blue.
> 
> View attachment 641642


They're really pretty, Mike. You've done such a wonderful job with them!


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

manami said:


> MikeG14: I might start with 6 (2 males and 4 females) and see how it goes. Im suddenly seeing my tank smaller in size XD.
> 
> For now I'm looking at tetras videos on youtube...haha!


One of my LFSs got a ton phantoms in a few weeks ago. They were in great shape. I want to add a few more but my QT tank is filled with upside down catfish! Hopefully they'll get some more in when I'm ready for them.








I'd really like to get some their red phantom cousins but I've never seen them in person. My 40 breeder is way understocked at the moment. I'm thinking 6 more rummies and another school of tetras.



Mousie said:


> They're really pretty, Mike. You've done such a wonderful job with them!


Thanks!


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