Silvertip Tetra
Hasemania nana
- Care level
- Beginner
- Adult size
- 5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 87 litres
- Temperature
- 23–28 °C
Species profile
Serpae Tetra
Hyphessobrycon eques
Common names: Serpae Tetra, Callistus Tetra, Jewel Tetra, Red Minor Tetra
Recognized speciesTetras
Adult size
Up to 4 cm
Typical adult length 3–4 cm.
Up to 4 cm
Countries of origin
Good fit for your tank?
Good fit for
- A busy community of robust, short-finned fish
- A keeper who can maintain a large group of 12 or more
- Adding strong colour to a planted tank
Think carefully if
- You keep bettas, guppies, angelfish, or other long-finned fish
- You can only keep a small group
- Your community is made up of slow or shy fish
A vivid red tetra from the Amazon and Paraguay basins. It is hardy and eye-catching, but it is a well-known fin nipper that needs a large group and carefully chosen tankmates.
Appearance and Identification
A deep-bodied, blood-red fish with a dark comma-shaped mark behind the gills and a mostly black dorsal fin edged in white.
Similar red tetras are often sold under related names. The dark shoulder mark and red body are the main features to check.
Mature females are rounder-bodied and slightly larger than males.
Tank Requirements
- Suggested filter
- About 280–350 litres an hour
- Suggested heater
- About 75–100 W for this tank
- Minimum tank volume
- 70 litres
- Minimum tank length
- 80 cm
- Minimum group size
- 12
- Recommended group size
- 15
- Activity level
- Very active
- Flow preference
- Moderate
- Planting preference
- Moderately planted
- Hiding places
- Yes
- Lid recommended
- Yes
- Jumping risk
- Low
Provide open swimming space with planted areas to break lines of sight. More space and more fish both help reduce nipping.
Behaviour and Tankmates
Gregarious and active, but quick to nip fins and chase when kept in low numbers or in a cramped tank.
Keep at least 12, and ideally 12 to 15 in a minimum-sized tank.
Males may display and spar with each other, usually without damage in a big enough group.
Suits similarly active fish such as danios, barbs, robust tetras, and corydoras. Avoid long-finned and slow-moving fish, because this species is a well-known fin nipper.
Water Parameters
Tolerates a wide range of water. Keep ammonia and nitrite at zero, and avoid sudden changes.
Parameter caveat
Colour is best in well-kept water with a varied diet. Acclimate slowly.
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 readily accepts small prepared foods and frozen foods.
Regular, varied meals support colour, but will not stop nipping on their own.
Breeding
- Breeding type
- Egg Scatterer
- Breeding difficulty
- Moderate
- Brood or egg count
- Typically dozens to a few hundred 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.
An egg-scattering free spawner with no parental care. Move conditioned adults to a dim tank with mature water and mesh, marbles, or fine-leaved plants. Eggs are usually found the next morning, and adults should then be removed.
Habitat and Origin
- Geographic origin
- Amazon Basin, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, South America, Uruguay
- Natural habitat
- Freshwater River, Slow River, Vegetated Shoreline
- Aquarium contexts
- Breeding Aquarium, Planted Aquarium
- Audience level
- Intermediate
Classification
- Profile type
- Recognized species
- Genus
- Hyphessobrycon
- Family
- Characidae
- Species group
- Fish, Tetras
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Small Scaled Tetra
Mimagoniates microlepis
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 6 cm
- Minimum tank
- 87 litres
- Temperature
- 18–23 °C
Splashing Tetra
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- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 5.5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 81 litres
- Temperature
- 20–28 °C
Toucan Tetra
Tucanoichthys tucano
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 1.7 cm
- Minimum tank
- 40 litres
- Temperature
- 20–28 °C