Schomburgk's Disc Tetra - Metynnis schomburgi

The fascinating Schomburkgs Disc Tetra is an extremely interesting comrade once native to the Amazon Basin, Rio Nanay and upper Orinocco Basin in South America. Scientifically, it is called Metynnis schomburgi and is also known as the black-banded millstone tetra, blue hook, or tetra disk.

The disc tetra has a strong high back with flat sides. In base color, the large tetra is silvery gray with a turquoise green sheen. Its clearly visible black band below the dorsal fin is conspicuous. The anal fin has a reddish sheen. You can distinguish the sexes by the two-lobed anal fin, with which the males are distinguished, that of the females is rather sickle-shaped. Also the males show red spots on the body sides during the mating season.

Maintain a group of at least 10 animals from 400 cm in soft water up to 10° dGH. They reach a body length of 42 cm and can live up to 10 years. Design your aquarium rather plain, you can use sand as substrate. Because they would eat the planting, you can do without it. Pay attention to a very good filtration with a light current and provide hiding places with root structures.

Breeding in the aquarium has not been successful yet, but in general: after egg laying, which takes place in autumn to spring, the pair guards the egg clutch until the young hatch, which takes about 10-14 days.

You can feed these herbivores with lettuce and cucumber but also with over-broiled vegetables. An ornamental fish food for herbivorous fish is also suitable.

For a socialization we recommend similar sized, peaceful fish with similar demands on the water values. Crayfish and water-living crabs can be eaten when they are freshly skinned, and then need appropriately good hiding places.

Our food recommendation: NatureHolic professional main feed is a professional main feed for all aquarium fish. We supply Hauptfeed in the form of a soft granulate, 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: Use for planting NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planarians and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free of algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend when keeping fish 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.