Glowlight Tetra

COMMON NAME: Glowlight Tetra.

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Hemigrammus erythrozonus.

DESIGNATION: Tropical.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: Essequibo River basin in Guyana.

SIZE: 4.5 cm (1.8 in)

WATER PREFERENCES: Not too critical but soft. Slightly acid water is preferred, particularly for spawning. Temperature range 22-25'C (71.5-77TI: slightly higher for breeding purposes.

DIET: Most foods, particularly small insects and aquatic live foods.

BREEDING: Typical egg-scattering in a small tank with soft, slightly acid water at around28'C (82°F). Rearing of fry - as for otherTetras.

DESCRIPTION: This is a peaceful fish which is at its best in relatively large shoals, although it will also associate with other small species.

The coloration of the fish shows up best if kept in a tank which is properly illuminated with a blend of a dark tank towards the bottom. The brilliant coloration of the fish varies from the neon to orange and reddish stripes. The colors become more prominent when the light of the aquarium is dimmed. The fish is a shoaling fish and would survive well if kept in groups. The keeping of the fish in groups would also be a visual aid as the radiant color of the fish would become quite distinct.

The fish is comparatively smaller in size than the commonly found tetras. The fish is quite hardy and is found in the clear water of South America. The fish has a translucent body except in the bright neon red stripe that runs from the nose of the fish to its tail. The fish prefers to stay in soft waters and should be ideally to be kept in a soft watered community fish tank.

You are recommended to keep the fish in a well planted aquarium. The leaves of the plants drift words and rocky caves would be ideal for the fish to hide. As already mentioned this breed of fish is actually a shoaling fish and the activities of the fish are quite interesting to watch when they are kept in odd numbers like 5, 7 or 9. The fish prefers to thrive in slightly acidic water where the parameters of the fish are constantly maintained.

You must prepare a tank separately if you want to try your hands in breeding the fish. The breeding tank should be dimly lighted until the sprawling are seen. The hardness of the water must not be less that 4 dKH. The fry is ideally to be fed with mosquito larvae for the successful breeding of the fish. The parent fish are to be immediately separated from their eggs as they would start eating them up. Ideally the sprawling would come up with 30 minutes of the eggs being laid.

The fish can accept variety types of fish foods like the brine shrimp, daphnia, tubifex and blood words either frozen or freeze dried, micro pellet food, good quality flake food and such others. The sex of the fish can be closely identified if closely watched. The female fish is larger in size than the male fish. It is also quite physically strong compared to the male counterpart. The female is a prominent ventral section. The male is slender in appearance and exhibits brilliant coloration.