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I believe my lemon tetra are starting to breed. The males are CONSTANTLY "jousting" and they often sneek away with the females to where I cant see them. I have read the lemon article written by CaliLasseias (GREAT article by the way, really informative), but I need a little more details on what I need to do (or to know if they are even mating...). This is the first time I have ever had fish start to mate! It as an amazing sight! Please help!

Fish CAN fly!

If the fish are spawning here's what you'll see:

The spawning males will turn a dark color and chase the other lemons around, but mainly the females. They may do a "dance" to impress the female fish. The males shudder in one spot and move their body in jittery (for lack of a better word) motions. I find that younger males are less likely to use this routine. If the males are able to impress the lady fish, they will swim off (usually to an area with plants), press their bodies together, vibrate, and then burst apart. This is where the eggs are released and fertilized.

I've never tried to hatch lemon tetra eggs myself, I'm too lazy for that. I can at least tell you that you had better be quick with a breeding trap, or preferably even set up a tank just for breeding. The parents can be removed from this tank after they're done spawning.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Make something to trap the eggs or else they'll be eaten by the parents of by the other fish. Make sure that you'll remove all the fish from the tank, after the eggs are layed & fertilized.


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OK, watch the "jousting" by the males. This is your first sign.

When two males are determining their status in the pecking order, they face each other, fins erect, with a slightly head-up orientation. Then, the chase sequences (males chasing females about) begins. Once a female becomes receptive, and a male finds himself with a moment of privacy in her presence, his stance changes to a slightly head-down posture, accompanied by a slight body quiver and a noticeable 'flicking' of the dorsal and anal fins. This is, in effect, his chat up line, as it were

If the female is sufficiently impressed, the two fish head off into fine leaved plants (Java Moss is perfect for this purpose if you can get it). The pair dive into the fine leaved plants, side by side, quiver, and then release eggs and sperm in an explosive manner - the two fishes seem almost to have been blasted apart by a depth charge when they separate! A cloud of eggs will be seen as they part.

If you want to save decent numbers of eggs to raise, you'll need a breeding aquarium set up specifically for the purpose, with an egg trap as part of the furnishings. Even with this provision, however, the parents will still eat some of the eggs. You won't get them all. But, given that a large ripe female can produce 350 or more eggs, this isn't a worry! Chances are your bigger concern will be finding enough rearing space to raise 300 or so baby tetras!

Oh, and morning sunshine is a considerable spawning stimulus for the species. Park your breeding aquarium where it will receive morning sunshine, add your breeding adults, feed them a large meal of live Daphnia the evening before and the next morning should make for interesting viewing!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002