The "Flame Tetra", ($3 Each) Hyphessobrycon flammeus,
is an attractive, peaceful little fish. It grows to about 4 cm (one and
a half inches) long although most are smaller than this. Other common
names for this fish are the "Red Tetra" The "Fire Tetra" and the "Von
Rio Tetra". The FlameTetra comes from coastal rivers near Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
The Brazilian Government regards this fish as being in some danger
although there is dispute about this. The Flame Tetras sold in aquarium shops are bred in captivity so buying this fish is not
endangering wild stocks. Having a substantial population of Flame
Tetras in captivity could even save this species from total extinction
if it ever becomes extinct in the wild.
Water Conditions
The
FlameTetra is a tropical fish and needs to be kept in a heated tank
unless it is kept in a place that never gets cold. A suitable
temperature for this fish is 24̊ C (75̊ F). Ph should be about neutral.
A moderate amount of hardness does not seem to bother the FlameTetra,
so it is an excellent fish for a mixed community tank of small fish.
Once,
at our shop, a Flame Tetra was accidentally put outside in the early
winter in a container we were growing daphnia in. When I discovered it,
there was not much daphnia, but there was an extremely well fed FlameTetra. It had been exposed to much colder conditions than this fish is
supposed to be able to take, but had apparently thrived.
Food
Like
most fish, the FlameTetra is an omnivore. In an aquarium it will
happily eat all normal dried and frozen foods. The FlameTetra benefits
by having the occasional feed of live food like mosquito larvae
(wrigglers) or Daphnia. Live food is especially good for conditioning
the fish for breeding.
Companions
The FlameTetra
is a schooling fish and at least four and preferably more should be
kept together. The FlameTetra can go with any small, peaceful fish. A
few of the many suitable companions for this fish are Rummynose Tetras , Harlequin Rasboras, Lemon
Tetras , Neon Tetras, Head and Tail Light Tetras, Glass Bloodfin Tetras, Guppies, Endlers Guppies, Neon Tetras, Peppered Catfish, White Cloud Mountain Minnows and Danios. Not all these common companions are compatible with each other.
Breeding
The
FlameTetra is one of the easier tetras to breed. Like most of the
tetras it is an egg scatterer that tends to eat its own eggs as well as
those of other species. Some plants should be present. Water conditions
for breeding do not seem to be critical. The female Flame Tetra can lay
200-300 eggs over fine leaved plants.
The eggs hatch in one or two days and are free swimming about three days after hatching. Note that the eggs of the FlameTetra need darkness for hatching..
Raising the babies
Flame Tetra fry need clean water, so attention must be paid to this. Suitable
size live food is best for raising them. This can be supplemented with
commercial fry food.
Sources
I am indebted to information from Animal-World and Tropical Fish Forum.
This Fact Sheet is also published at Associated Content, and many other articles by Steve Challis
are on the same site.
Flame Tetra Fact Sheet
