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Characins
/ Characinae / Lemon Tetra
Lemon Tetra
Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis | Pictures
SYN: None
PD: The body is translucent with a yellow to orange color. Behind the gill cover is an
orange to red marking in reflected light. The iris is bright orange to red. A yellow stripe extends from the tail
to the gill cover. The fins are transparent except for the dorsal which sometime develops a red sheen, and the
anal, which has a yellow front edging and a black ridge.
SIZE: To 2" (5 cm)
SS: None
HAB: South America; in small, overgrown creeks and streams in the Rio Tocantins and its
tributaries.
S: middle, top
TANK: 20" (50 cm) or 10 gallons (38 L).
Tank set-up should be like other
Hyphessobrycon
species.
See genus description.
WATER: pH 5.5-8 (6.5), 3-25 dH (8), 72-82°F (22-28°C)
SB: A peaceful, schooling fish that is recommended for community tanks.
Keep in groups of at least five fish.
SC: Tetras, Corydoras,
Apistogramma, Loricarids, Discus,
Colisa.
FOOD: Flake; live; insect larvae, Brine Shrimp,
Tubifex.
Best colors develop only when fed a
variety of nutritious foods.
SEX: The male is slender and has a broad black edge on its anal fin while the female's
remains the same color.
B: Some say spawning is difficult while others claim that it is easy.
This fish can sometimes be prolific
laying 100-200 eggs among plants.
The eggs hatch in a day and are free-swimming after 2-3 days.
They are slow-growing and tend to hide
most of the time.
Start feeding with crushed flake and small live foods.
BP: 7.
Breeding the Lemon Tetra is moderately difficult.
R: This fish will develop its beautiful colors only when kept in soft water that has frequent
water changes.
DC: 3.
A hardy, community fish.
Recent articles about fish
Overfishing may hurt Amazon forest trees
(2/5/2008) Overfishing is reducing the effectiveness of seed dispersal by fish in the Brazilian Pantanal, reports Nature. The research suggests that fishing practices can affect forest health.
Scientists find fish that literally lives in trees
(10/17/2007) Scientists have found a fish that literally lives in trees, according to research published in The American Naturalist and highlighted in New Scientist Magazine.
Piranhas originated when Amazon was flooded by seawater
(12/4/2007) South America's piranha family of fish -- notorious as eaters of flesh -- can be traced back to a single ancestor which dispersed when the Amazon was flooded by seawater some five million years ago, report researchers from the Institut de Recherche Pour le Developpement (IRD). Today piranhas are exclusively freshwater fish found from the Orinoco River basin in Venezuela to the Parana in Argentina.
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