GOLD TETRA

Gold tetras, of the greater tetra fish family, are really lovely to look at, even though many of them are not gold at all, but silver. Even the silvery grey specimens are beautiful, with an iridescent glow that sometimes says blue and sometimes says green.

Since they travel in shoals of 6 or more, you will likely see some color variety. If you are fortunate enough to get a golden Gold Tetra, you’ll know that it came from the wild and was exposed to a parasite called trematode. The gold color comes from the Gold Tetra’s body defensive response, and will not be present in captive-bred Gold Tetras, nor in the offspring of wild-born Gold Tetras.

These small fish can be handled by the beginning enthusiast, but they are more susceptible to skin conditions than some other aquarium fish. For this reason, I don’t rule them out for beginners, but acknowledge that these beauties might be a better fit for an intermediate hobbyist.

Even though they are only about 1 ½ inches, you will need a larger tank (at least 20 gallons) since you’ll be hosting at least 6 to keep them happy and secure in their shoal.

Water Conditions

You should do a 50% water change every other week in order to keep the tank impeccably clean. Gold Tetras like warm, soft, and acidic water.

• pH levels: 5.5-7.0
• Water hardness: 3-8 dKH
• Water temperature: 77 °F to 82.4°F (25° to 28° C)

Diet

High-quality food is important for Gold Tetras. They are omnivores, so they need a combination of greens and protein to complete a varied diet. They will happily eat tropical flakes and pellets, but you should supplement with spirulina for greens and blackworms, bloodworms, brine shrimp, and daphnia for animal protein.

Make sure you’re not overfeeding them by giving only what they can eat in about 3 minutes. If they eat too much, they will get bloated, and you’ll just have to clean the water more often as more consumption equals more waste.

Tank Mates

Suitable Tankmates

• Barbs
• Corydoras Catfish
• Danios
• Dojo Loach
• Dwarf Cichlids
• Hatchetfish
• Hillstream Loaches
• Kuhli Loach
• Other Peaceful Tetras
• Pencilfish
• Rasbora
• Smaller Suckermouth Catfish