Red Eye Tetra Fact Sheet

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The Red Eye Tetra, Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae, has a number of other common names, these include: Yellowhead Characin, Lamp Eye, Yellow back Moenkhausia, Yellowhead Tetra, and Yellow-banded moenkhausia. The Red Eye Tetra comes from eastern Bolivia, western Brazil, eastern Peru and Paraguay in South America. The maximum length of the Red Eye Tetra is about 3 inches (8cm) although most are much less than this. The likely life span is about 5 years.

Water Conditions

The preferred temperature range of this species is 23 – 28 degrees C (73 – 82 degrees F) although they will survive a little outside this. I would note that their natural range actually goes outside the tropics, so there might be some populations that are more cold resistant, but I have never tried the Red Eye Tetra in an unheated tank, and I do not recommend this.

In the wild they mainly come from soft, slightly acid water, but they can adapt even to hard alkaline water, so they are happy in a normal community aquarium of mixed fish with a temperature of 24 degrees C (75 degrees F), neutral acidity and some hardness.

Food

The Red Eye Tetra is an omnivore and readily eats all normal aquarium foods. They will benefit from a variety, including live food like mosquito larvae and Daphnia as well as frozen food like Blood worms.

Companions

Most sources list the Red Eye Tetra as being peaceful. This is not quite my experience and I regard it as often being a problem to some fish. I would not put Red Eye Tetras with Siamese Fighting Fish, Guppies, Endlers Guppies, Neon Tetras or Cardinal Tetras.

More suitable companions include Silvertip Tetras, Gold Barbs, Cherry Barbs, Pristella Tetras, Rummy Nose Tetras, Harlequin Rasboras, Scissortail Rasboras, Lemon Tetras, Emperor Tetras, Head and Tail Light Tetras, Glass Bloodfin Tetras, Swordtails, Platies, Mollies, Zebra Danios, Glowlight Tetras, White Cloud Mountain Minnows, Black Widow Tetras, Rosy Barbs, Tiger Barbs, Paraguay Tetras, Buenos Aires Tetras and Colombian Tetras; as well as the Corydoras catfish like the Peppered Catfish.

However, even with these fish, I would be cautious in matching the sizes of the fish in the aquarium. Remember that the Red Eye Tetra grows bigger than some of these other fish.

The Red Eye Tetra is a schooling fish, and I would always try to keep at least 6, and preferably more together. This should reduce their fin nipping tendencies.

Sexing

There is not a big difference in appearance between the sexes of the Red EyeTetra. When the females have eggs, they will appear fatter with a more rounded, and, perhaps, lighter belly.

Breeding

To breed the Red Eye Tetra it is necessary to have very soft, slightly acidic water with floating plants. They will lay their eggs among the roots of the floating plants, although many of the eggs may still end up on the bottom of the tank. The parents will eat their eggs and babies, so they are normally removed after spawning.

The eggs should hatch in about one or two days, and the fry should be free swimming a few days later. The baby Red Eye Tetras are slightly bigger than the babies of most tetras and they are vigorous and not as hard to raise as some egg laying fish babies are.

They will eat fine live food and commercial fry foods as soon as they are free swimming. Although protozoa (infusoria) are certainly eaten at first, the babies are big enough to not be totally dependent on these.

Pest Fish

The Red Eye Tetra has the potential to damage fragile aquatic ecosystems and care should be taken to prevent their release.

Isotonic Vs Isometric Exercises – Which One is For You?

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If you are an enthusiast of working out, you are probably very familiar with the term isotonic exercises. If not, well, at least you have been doing it over and over each time you work out. Isotonic exercises refer to the ones where you move your muscles, often with weights, in order for it to contract. You do this by using dumbbells, stationary gym equipments, or simply by walking or doing pushups.

Another type of exercise, though, is isometric exercise. This is done by contracting the muscles without it shortening or lengthening, such as when you try to lift a heavy object and you cannot lift it up, or pushing against the wall that you cannot move. Your muscles are in a fixed state but they are contracting.

Some people or workout materials may tell you that one exercise is better than the other. Each actually has its own advantages over the other. You may do only one or both at the same time. How are they different from each other?

Isotonic exercise, from its name, gives approximately equal tension on the muscle groups while it is contracting or lengthening. With repetition and enough tension, the muscles develop in size, that is why it is a favorite among body builders. The broad range of isotonic exercises available are meant for many major muscle groups. It also takes boredom out of working out since there are many varieties of exercises available. More importantly, isotonic exercises are good for the heart and for the joints as well.

Isometric exercises, on the other hand, are best for building and toning muscles since it enables maximum muscular contraction. If isotonic exercises can be done with cheap equipment, simple isometric exercises can be done with no equipments necessary. It can strengthen muscle groups better but this is only limited to certain muscles. This exercise is best if you want certain muscle groups, your arms and chest for example, to be very strong. This is also good for those who want strong and toned muscles without the bulk of a weight lifter.

Either one has its advantages and disadvantages. If you require a specific type of exercise, you can ask professional help, at least for the first few steps, just so you are sure that you are doing it correctly and safely.

The Goals of an Anabolic Diet Plan

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Losing weight is no easy matter at all, and that is because it would require a lot of discipline from anyone for it to be successful. Discipline is crucial because there is always a need to force yourself in taking certain measures that are needed for you to lose the excess fat that you have, and one of them is diet. It is no secret at all that the foods included in a traditional diets are pretty lame and boring, this is why a lot of people tend to stop taking them. An anabolic diet plan can in fact free anyone who would want to lose weight from the chains of eating tasteless and boring foods.

This diet plan is one of the best and quite revolutionary dieting methods available today. The really great thing about it is the fact that it allows you to take in foods that you enjoy and love the most. It does this without giving you worries about gaining further fats at all. All the meals that are prepared for this type of diet are focused on giving your body with a low carb, high protein and fat nutrition.

Of course it may seem to be an inappropriate diet at the very first glance, and you would indeed be skeptical about it quickly. However, if you carefully examine how this type of diet would be able to turn your body into a fat burning and muscle building machine then you would see how excellent it is.

Simple Goals of the Diet Plan

1. Significantly decreases areas in the body that are troubled by excessive fats.

2.Lessens carbohydrate levels in your body and directs its metabolic attention to the fats that are found in your body.

3.Provide ample amounts of protein that would significantly help your body develop and grow muscles more effectively.

4.Naturally promote the growth of muscles to avoid any side effects that may be brought about with the use of synthetic drugs.

5. Give the body the nutrition it needs to gain more overall strength as well as endurance in performing heavy day to day activities.

The main objective of an anabolic diet plan is to direct the body’s metabolism from carbohydrates and protein, to the excess fats of your body. This is how it becomes such an effective, more enjoyable and fun method of dieting that anyone can take.

What Are the First Signs of Diabetes?

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One of the medical conditions that require long-term medication is diabetes. It has various symptoms and each type [type 1 and type 2] can be identified using the first signs of diabetes.

Frequent urination is one of the common signs of diabetes. It is a warning sign that can also be observed in other medical conditions. Frequent urination is caused by the increase in blood glucose. High glucose level causes the kidneys to fail in filtering it due to insufficient water content. Water from the blood is drawn by the kidneys to supply enough water in order for them to function properly.

When the bladder is full, a person needs to release it by urinating. In the case of diabetics, the bladder is always full, thus the need for frequent urination. However, the water content of the blood decreases in the process, and this signals the brain to ask for more water. Hence, diabetics are frequently thirsty and urinating, and this cycle goes on during the course of the condition.

People with diabetes always crave for water or any fluids. And as mentioned before, frequent urination signals the brain to ask for more fluid intake, and diabetics carry these symptoms at the onset of their condition.

Another sign of diabetes is weight loss. For type 1 diabetes, weight loss is more frequent and prominent among patients compared to the type 2 diabetes. Since diabetics cannot utilize the energy from blood glucose, they always feel hungry and eat more often that usual.

But a diabetic, no matter how much he/she eats, cannot get sufficient energy from food. His/Her body requires more, so energy reserves in his/her body fats and tissues are utilized as well.

When this happens, the body loses fats and tissues, thus the weight loss. Don’t be happy when someone loses too much weight at a very fast pace especially without any exercise or diet program. He/She may be suffering from diabetes and may need immediate treatment.

Even the body cells of a diabetic do not have sufficient energy. Food is not enough to replenish the lost energy and this causes weakening and fatigue.

When there is excessive glucose in the blood, the nerves are also damaged. This causes the tingling sensations or numbness in the extremities. Nerve damage takes a longer time to set in type 2 diabetes which is why it takes years after most of the signs are evident. Diagnosis may be too late for most cases since the disease has already set in and the nerves are already damaged prior to it.

Other diabetes signs are bruises and cuts that don’t heal quickly, blurred vision and dry or itchy skin. Source: Simplediabetesguide dot com