Oblique swimmer - Thayeria boehlkei

The lively Oblique Swimmer or Penguin Tetra (Thayeria boehlkei) is native to the upper Amazon region of South America. The fish prefers to stand somewhat obliquely in the water, and its body shape and markings reinforce this impression: the lower half of its caudal fin is larger than the upper, and a thick black bar runs longitudinally obliquely down into the lower part of the caudal fin across the body of the otherwise silvery fish. This coloration has also earned it the nickname penguin tetra. The females are more rounded than the males.

Since Thayeria boehlkei is an extremely fast and lively school ing fish, Oblique Swimmers require a relatively large aquarium from 112 l upwards. The strongly surface-oriented slant swimmers grow to 3-6 cm in length and need a lot of space to swim. Dense perimeter planting is helpful to allow the fish to find cover.

As a schooling fish, slant swimmers do not want to be kept alone, the minimum group size is 10 individuals, 15-20 individuals is better in an appropriately sized aquarium. If kept under good conditions, slant swimmers can reach an age of up to 7 or 8 years in the aquarium.

A school of the lively slanting swimmers can be kept well in a community aquarium with other South American fish and with shrimps such as Amano shrimps or fan shrimps . For very calm fish, the lively Thayera boehlkei is not suitable as company. Also robust and well reproducing dwarf shr imp species like Red Fire and other variants of Neocaridina davidi and Neocaridina palmata or Sulawesi inland shr imp are suitable companions for the Penguin Tetra. However, they should always find many hiding places and also moss cushions in the aquarium, where especially the offspring can hide from potential predators. Also with Dwarf crabs can also be socialized with the slant swimmer, because it is mainly in the upper water layers and the aquarium animals do not get in each other's way.

Oblique swimmers prefer rather warmer water, ideally 24-26 °C. They tolerate medium hard water, but since they originate from soft water biotopes with a low pH and a high humic content, it makes sense to provide them with these water values in the aquarium as well.

In nature, the Slant Swimmer, like most South American True Tetras, likes to eat animal food: as a surface fish, it likes to take approach food from the water surface. In the aquarium it will also eat flake food, but it should always be supplemented with frozen food or live food .

For breeding, a pair of the Oblique Swimmer is placed in a breeding aquarium for spawning, which also has slightly acidic, soft water with a pH below 7. As a free spawner, the female gradually lays about 1000 eggs in plant pads, a Moss cushion should therefore be available in the spawning tank. Then put the adults back into the aquarium. When the fry hatch after about 24 hours and move to free swimming, feed them infusoria and artemiauplia for rearing.

Our food recommendation: NatureHolic professional main feed is a professional main feed for all aquarium fish. We supply Hauptfeed in the form of soft granules, which, thanks to its grain size of half a millimeter, can be easily ingested by small to medium-sized fish. The soft consistency resembles the texture of insect larvae in nature and protects the fish mouth from micro-injuries.

Our plant recommendation: For planting, use NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planaria and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free of algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend for fish keeping the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and keeping.