The "Red EyeTetra", "Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae",
has a number of other common names, these include: "Yellowhead
Characin", "Lamp Eye", "Yellow back Moenkhausia", "Yellowhead Tetra",
and "Yellow-banded moenkhausia". The Red EyeTetra comes from eastern
Bolivia, western Brazil, eastern Peru and Paraguay in South
America. The maximum length of the Red EyeTetra is about 3 inches
(8cm) although most are much less than this. The likely life span is
about 5 years. Water Conditions The preferred
temperature range of this species is 23̊-28̊ C (73̊-82̊ F) although
they will survive a little outside this. I would note that their
natural range actual goes outside the tropics, so there might be some
populations that are more cold resistant, but I have never tried the Red EyeTetra in an unheated tank, and I do not recommend this. In
the wild they mainly come from soft, slightly acid water, but they can
adapt even to hard alkaline water, so they are happy in a normal
community aquarium of mixed fish with a temperature of 24̊ C (75̊ F),
neutral acidity and some hardness.
Food The Red
EyeTetra is an omnivore and readily eats all normal aquarium foods.
They will benefit from a variety, including live food like mosquito
larvae and Daphnia as well as frozen food like Blood worms. Companions Most
sources list the Red EyeTetra as being peaceful. This is not quite my
experience and I regard it as often being a problem to some fish. I
would not put Red Eye Tetras with Siamese Fighting Fish, Guppies, Endlers Guppies, Neon Tetras or Cardinal Tetras.
More suitable companions include Silvertip Tetras,
Gold Barbs, Cherry Barbs, Pristella Tetras, Rummy Nose Tetras,
Harlequin Rasboras, Scissortail Rasboras, Lemon Tetras, Emperor Tetras,
Head and Tail Light Tetras, Glass Bloodfin Tetras, Swordtails, Zebra Danios, Glowlight Tetras, White Cloud Mountain Minnows, Black
Widow Tetras, Rosy Barbs, Tiger Barbs, Paraguay Tetras, Buenos Aires
Tetras and Colombian Tetras; as well as the Corydoras catfish. However,
even with these fish, I would be cautious in matching the sizes of the
fish in the aquarium. Remember that the Red EyeTetra grows bigger than
some of these other fish. The Red EyeTetra is a schooling fish,
and I would always try to keep at least 6, and preferably more
together. This should reduce their fin nipping tendencies. Sexing There
is not a big difference in appearance between the sexes of the Red EyeTetra. When the females have eggs, they will appear fatter with a more
rounded, and, perhaps, lighter belly. Breeding To breed the Red EyeTetra it is necessary to have very soft, slightly acidic water with floating plants.
They
will lay their eggs among the roots of the floating plants, although
many of the eggs may still end up on the bottom of the tank. The
parents will eat their eggs and babies, so they are normally removed
after spawning. The eggs should hatch in about one or two days, and the fry should be free swimming
a few days later. The baby Red Eye Tetras are slightly bigger than the
babies of most tetras and they are vigorous and not as hard to raise as
some egg laying fish babies are.
They will eat fine live food
and commercial fry foods as soon as they are free swimming. Although
protozoa (infusoria) are certainly eaten at first, the babies are big
enough to not be totally dependent on these. Pest Fish
The Red EyeTetra has the potential to damage fragile aquatic ecosystems and care should be taken to prevent their release. Sources I gratefully acknowledge information from the following sources: EXOPET Encyclopedia of Aquarium Fish & Exotic Pets, Aqua-fish.net, Fish Lore and About.com.
Steve Challis
This fact sheet also appears on the international version of our website at bettatrading.com
2 Red Eye Tetras
Photo via Wiki commons. "Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License,"
