The "Silvertip Tetra", "Hasemania nana",
is occasionally called the "Copper tetra". It comes from the Sao
Francisco River and its tributaries in Brazil. Although the SilvertipTetra will grow to about 2 inches (5cm) long, most of the ones seen are
little more than half this.
Other scientific names that have been used for this fish are Hasemania marginata, Hasemania nana, Hemigrammus nanus and Tetragonopterus nanus .
Water Conditions
This
little tetra is less fussy than some tetras about its water parameters.
It can take a slightly wider temperature range than most tropical fish,
but it is definitely a tropical fish, not a cold water one. It should
be happy in a community tank at a temperature of 24̊ C (75̊ F).
It
can take pH of between 6 and 8. Neutral (7) is a good pH to aim for.
Although in the wild, the Silvertip Tetra has soft water, it can take
moderate hardness.
The tank should be well planted.
Food
The
Silvertip Tetra is an easily fed omnivore. It will eat all normal fish
foods although it will like the occasional live food like mosquito
larvae and Daphnia. Frozen foods like Blood Worms are also good.
Companions
The
Silvertip Tetra
is a schooling fish and in a school is normally very
peaceful. I suggest that at least 6 Silvertip Tetras be kept together.
More would be even better. It is compatible with other reasonably
peaceful fish. The Silvertip Tetra
is also fast enough to be kept with slightly nippy fish like: Black
Widow Tetras, Rosy Barbs, Tiger Barbs, Paraguay Tetras, Buenos Aires
Tetras and Colombian Tetras.
A school of Silvertip Tetras is sometimes all right even with long finned, slow moving fish like Siamese Fighting Fish, Guppies and Endlers Guppies,
but I would be very cautious about putting them together. If you have a
smaller number of Silvertip tetras so they cannot form a school, I
would definitely not recommend them as companions for these three types
of fish.
Avoid large or very aggressive fish with these little beauties.
Sexing
The
male Silvertip Tetra tends to have brighter colors than the female as
well as being slimmer. The females get noticeably plumper when loaded
with eggs.
Breeding
The Silvertip Tetra is an easily bred egg scatterer. It can be bred either in a small school, or as a pair.
Ideally,
the males and females should be separated and conditioned well with
rich food like mosquito larvae and Daphnia as well as frozen food like Blood Worms.
If breeding as a pair, select the male with the most vibrant colors, and the plumpest and best looking of the females.
With school breeding, select some of each sex.
The
breeding tank should be dimly lit, and contain fine leaved plants like
Java Moss. If possible, have something on the bottom of the plant to
prevent the parents getting at eggs that fall down. Some people use
marbles for this task, although others prefer a mesh of suitable size.
The parents will eat the eggs and the babies so they are normally removed after spawning.
The eggs should hatch in a little over a day, and the fry should be free swimming
in another 3-4 days. They will need fine food like infusoria (Protozoa)
for a few days. This can be supplemented with very fine commercial fry
foods. Soon they will be able to eat slightly bigger foods. At all
stages, suitable sized live food is good for them.
Note that
both the eggs and the fry can be damaged by bright lights; low lighting
should be used for the breeding and raising tank.
Pest Fish Although
the Silvertip Tetra is a peaceful and well behaved fish in a community
aquarium, it is necessary to exercise the same precautions to prevent
their accidental release into ecosystems they are not native to. They
could certainly damage other ecosystems.
This fact sheet also appears on the international version of our website at bettatrading.com
Silvertip Tetra
By Malene Thyssen (User Malene) (Own work (Own photo)) [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-2.5 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons
