Disk tetra, piranha’s relative, is for the first time on display at Primorsky Aquarium
More than 50 individuals of an interesting and attractive fish species, disk tetra, or black band myleus (Myloplus schomburgkii), have been added to one of the Tropical Rain Forest tanks. Experts spent a year and a half raising them to a large enough size to be exhibited.
“These fish arrived at the Primorsky Aquarium at the end of 2021. All this time they were kept in the Science and Acclimation Building before we moved them to the exhibit. We raised them from fry to their average size. Now they are 10–12 centimeters in length,” - told Artyom Suyundukov, Head of the Tropical Freshwater Species Department.
As the expert explained, the length of Myloplus schomburgkii does not exceed 20–25 cm in aquariums, but in the wild, they can grow larger, sometimes over 40 cm. The fish are subadults now, in other words, they are in their teens, and have not yet spawned.
The natural diet of Myloplus schomburgkii includes small fish, crustaceans, snails, fruit, and other food. Aquarists feed them high-quality pellets and also frozen salmon and seafood, commonly used in the meals of freshwater species. This perfect balance allows disk tetras to reach the maximum possible length.
“Despite excellent appetite and relatively good weight gain, almost two years passed before they were ready to be put on display. As the disk tetras grew, we moved them to more and more spacious aquariums. Now that they have reached an appropriate size and are not afraid of the larger mates, we added them to a tank in the Tropical Rain Forest exhibit, where our visitors can admire them,” - added Artyom.
Myloplus schomburgkii is a member of the family Serrasalmidae, which also includes famous piranhas. This peaceful and agile close relative of the piranhas lives in South America in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, where it prefers habitats with flooded trees and relatively slow-moving waters. The aquarists of the Tropical Freshwater Species Department managed to recreate the natural environment of this fish, by placing plants and driftwood into the tank, to ensure that disk tetra is comfortable in the exhibit.
See Myloplus schomburgkii in the last tank of the Tropical Rain Forest exhibit together with other members of the Serrasalmidae family.