Sailfin Tetra
Crenuchus spilurus
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 7 cm
- Minimum tank
- 68 litres
- Temperature
- 20–28 °C
Species profile
Rummy-Nose Tetra
Hemigrammus bleheri
Common names: Rummy-Nose Tetra, Rummy Nose Tetra, Firehead Tetra
Recognized speciesTetras
Adult size
Up to 5 cm
Typical adult length 4–5 cm.
Up to 5 cm
Countries of origin
Good fit for your tank?
Good fit for
- A long aquarium with room for a large group
- A keeper with a mature tank and steady water quality
- A striking schooling fish for a soft-water community
Think carefully if
- The tank is new or the water fluctuates
- You have limited swimming length
- You can keep only a small group
A tight-schooling tetra with a bright red head and a striped tail. It needs a longer aquarium and a large group, and its colour is a useful sign of water quality.
Appearance and Identification
A slim silver body with a deep red head and snout, and a tail fin with bold black and white stripes.
Three similar species are sold under this name: Hemigrammus bleheri, Hemigrammus rhodostomus, and Petitella georgiae. Care is similar, but the extent of red on the head and stripes in the tail vary between them.
Mature females are rounder-bodied than males. Otherwise the sexes look very similar.
Tank Requirements
- Suggested filter
- About 400–500 litres an hour
- Suggested heater
- About 100–150 W for this tank
- Minimum tank volume
- 100 litres
- Minimum tank length
- 90 cm
- Minimum group size
- 10
- Recommended group size
- 12
- Activity level
- Very active
- Flow preference
- Moderate
- Planting preference
- Moderately planted
- Lid recommended
- Yes
- Jumping risk
- Low
Length matters more than total volume, because the group swims constantly along the tank. Keep open space in the centre with planted edges, and do regular water changes.
Behaviour and Tankmates
An active fish with unusually tight schooling. The whole group tends to turn together.
Keep 10 or more. It needs a larger group to show natural behaviour and stay calm.
Not territorial.
Good with corydoras, small rasboras, dwarf cichlids, and other peaceful soft-water fish. Avoid large, boisterous, or predatory fish.
Water Parameters
Soft, slightly acidic water suits it best. A fading red head is often an early warning of stress or poor water quality.
Parameter caveat
Check the water first if the red on the head fades. Acclimate slowly, because this species handles sudden change poorly.
Feeding
- Diet types
- Insectivore, Omnivore
- Feeding frequency
- Once or twice daily
- Preferred foods
- Fine micro granules or crushed flakeUse a particle size the fish can swallow whole, and feed only what is eaten within a couple of minutes.
- Frozen or live daphnia and cyclopsSmall crustaceans add variety and help bring adults into breeding condition.
- Frozen or newly hatched brine shrimpA good small meat food a few times a week rather than the only food.
An omnivore that takes small prepared foods and small invertebrates.
Small, frequent meals suit this active fish better than a single large one.
Breeding
- Breeding type
- Egg Scatterer
- Breeding difficulty
- Difficult
- Brood or egg count
- Typically dozens of small eggs
- Incubation
- 1 days
- Parental care
- None
- Baby foods
- Infusoria or parameciumNeeded for the first days after fry become free-swimming, because the fry are very small.
- Fine powdered fry foodUse sparingly as a supplement, and siphon out anything left uneaten.
- Newly hatched brine shrimpIntroduce once the fry are large enough to swallow it, usually after several days.
- MicrowormsA useful next step for fry that are still too small for brine shrimp.
Use a separate, dim tank with fine-leaved plants or spawning mops for the adhesive eggs. Remove adults once eggs appear. Eggs hatch in 24 to 36 hours, and fry need very small food at first.
Habitat and Origin
- Geographic origin
- Amazon Basin, Brazil, Colombia, South America
- Natural habitat
- Blackwater, Freshwater River, Freshwater Stream
- Aquarium contexts
- Breeding Aquarium, Planted Aquarium
- Audience level
- Intermediate
Classification
- Profile type
- Recognized species
- Genus
- Hemigrammus
- Family
- Characidae
- Species group
- Fish, Tetras
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Serpae Tetra
Hyphessobrycon eques
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 3–4 cm
- Minimum tank
- 70 litres
- Temperature
- 20–28 °C
Silvertip Tetra
Hasemania nana
- Care level
- Beginner
- Adult size
- 5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 87 litres
- Temperature
- 23–28 °C
Small Scaled Tetra
Mimagoniates microlepis
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 6 cm
- Minimum tank
- 87 litres
- Temperature
- 18–23 °C