Tetra or the Tetra Werke (Company) is a fish food manufacturing company founded by a young German scientist, Dr.

Ulrich Baensch Ulrich (), is a German given name, derived from Old High German ''Uodalrich'', ''Odalric''. It is composed of the elements '' uodal-'' meaning "(noble) heritage" and ''-rich'' meaning "rich, powerful". Attested from the 8th century as the name of A ...

History and profile

In the 1950s, there were only about 50,000 fish keepers in Germany and the hobby was, at the time, considered as traditionally very time-consuming, rare, difficult and complicated because it required routine collection of live food from streams and river beds, until the invention of dried flake food ('' Tetramin'') for tropical fish by Dr. Ulrich Baensch. Baensch's ''Tetramin'' fish food consisted of four different type of flakes and vitamins. The brand name ''Tetramin'' was derived from the Greek word ''Tetra'' (meaning ''four'') and the third syllable of the word vitamin.
Tetra Werke Company History and Profile, Tetra - Partner for Fishkeeping and Ponds, Tetra Germany Website, Tetra GmbH Herrenteich 7849324, Melle, Germany, date retrieved: 28 May 2007
/ref> The Tetra group employs over 700 colleagues, has representatives in more than 90 countries worldwide and is the largest manufacturer of

aquaristic Fishkeeping is a popular hobby, practiced by aquarists, concerned with keeping fish in a home aquarium or garden pond. There is also a pisciculture, piscicultural fishkeeping industry, serving as a branch of agriculture. Origins of fishkeeping ...

and pond products in the world. Apart from pet food, Tetra supplies fish keepers and pond owners with other products such as water conditioners,

plant conditioner Biostimulants also termed as plant conditioners or bioeffectors are substances, cultures of micro-organism, and mixtures of materials used to promote the growth of crop plants and can include natural or artificial plant growth regulators and biofe ...

s, technical equipment and medicinal products. It was once a part of Warner-Lambert and was later acquired by Pfizer. In December 2002, Pfizer sold the Tetra aquaristic and pond business to the "Triton Fund", a private independent European investment fund. Investors in the Triton Fund include European insurances and banks as well as significant American institutions. The Triton Fund paid $238.5 million US for the Tetra business. Three years later, on April 29, 2005, Tetra Holding GmbH was acquired by Spectrum Brands, a global consumer products company.

Tetra Company in the news

Criticisms

The Tetra Company was heavily criticized by the marine fishkeeping community after its appearance on

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

in which it claimed that one of its kits, a 10-gallon (37.3 liters) aquarium and filter, could support the fish from

Finding Nemo ''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Andrew Stanton with co-direction by Lee Unkrich, the screenplay was writ ...

(a Regal Tang and Ocellaris Clownfish). Most hobbyists pointed out that the Tang alone needs a much larger aquarium (at least 4' in length) and that it would die in such conditions. However, a 10-gallon saltwater aquarium could successfully house an Ocellaris Clownfish (without the Tang).

References

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