Lemon tetra – Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis
Species name: Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis
Common names: Lemon tetra
Family: Characidae
Subfamily: Incertae sedis
Order:
Class:
Maximum length: 1.5 in.
Minimum tank size: 25 gallon
Hardiness: Easy
Aggressiveness: Peaceful
Distribution: South America: Tapajós River basin.
Diet: Omnivorous. Feeds on worms, crustaceans and plant matter in the wild. Will accept most fish food.
Additional information:
The Lemon tetra is one of my all time favourite. What a nice looking fish! The Lemon tetra is native to the Tapajós River in Brazil where it inhabits clear waters with a modest to moderate current flow. They can be found in large shoals, numbering several thousand individuals.
The Lemon tetra is a full-bodied and laterally compressed species of tetra. Its body is transparent with a slight yellowish tinge. An iridescent stripe extends laterally from the gill to the start of the Caudal fin. The anal and dorsal fins are marked with black and yellow. The eye is a notable feature of the Lemon tetra, the upper half of the iris being an intense red. This red colour is an indicator of the health of the fish. If this red colouration fades, then this is an indicator poor health or disease.
The only way to tell males from females is to look at the black line running along their anal fins. The female have a very fine black line while the males have a very thick black line. Keep in mind that this method of sexing only works on mature specimens. Juvenile Lemon tetra are not fully formed, so differentiating juveniles into male and female individuals is extremely difficult.
According to the information I found, the Lemon tetra can be tricky to breed in captivity. However, I have been really successful at this. All you need is a heavy planted tank and several females with one male. During the spawning, the female Lemon tetra will release her eggs among fine leafed plants. I found that E. Tenellus is a great plant for that. In the morning, the fish might eat lots of eggs but hopefully some will be left alone. With a group of 12 Lemon tetras, I managed to get two or three every months. There was 3 angel fish with the lemon tetras and I assume I would have got much more new tetras without them. Here is a picture of the tank I was using:
Ideally, a densely planted aquarium with at least one large area open for swimming will be greatly appreciated by your Lemon tetras. This is what I have tried to do with that 50 gallon tank (see picture above). This is a shy fish. A single Lemon tetra or small group will typically hide most of the time. The stress from being alone will also make the fish more prone to illness. From my experience, a group of 10 to 25 is ideal.
If you want to make the Lemon tetras look more colourful, you can use a dark substrate in the aquarium since the contrast effect will enhance the fish colouration. The water should be nice and clear. A soft to medium hardness and a pH on the acidic side is just perfect. The temperature should be maintained between 72° and 79°.
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Article written by www.aquariumslife.com
References: Wikipedia
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