From Aqua Guide, the free encyclopedia
Gold Tetra
Hemigrammus rodwayi
- Temperature
- 24–28 °C
- pH
- 5.5 – 7
- Min. tank size
- 68 L
- Lifespan
- 3-5 years
- Diet
- omnivore
- Care level
- easy
| Scientific classification | |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name: | Hemigrammus rodwayi |
| Family: | Acestrorhamphidae |
| Origin: | South America (Amazon basin and the Guianas) |
| Care Characteristics | |
| Care Level: | easy |
| Diet: | omnivore |
| Max Size: | 5.50 cm |
| Water Type: | freshwater |
| Temp Group: | tropical |
| Temperament: | peaceful |
| Min Group: | 6+ together |
| Varieties: | No cultivated colour strains, and the "variety" question here is really a biological one. Wild fish from certain populations carry the metallic gold guanine coating that names the species; wild fish from elsewhere, and all captive-bred stock, are a plain silvery grey with red in the fin bases and a dark caudal marking. Both are the same species, and the trade sells both under the same name, which is the source of nearly all the confusion around this fish. The genus Hemigrammus contains several familiar community tetras: H. ocellifer, the head-and-tail light or beacon tetra; H. erythrozonus, the glowlight tetra; H. bleheri, the rummynose tetra; and H. pulcher, the pretty tetra. All share the same requirements — a group, soft-ish water, a planted tank — and any of them mix happily with this species. Taxonomically, older references list the gold tetra as Hemigrammus armstrongi, now a synonym. |
| Lifespan: | 3-5 years |
Quick Tips
- Bioload:Low
- Min Tank:68 L
- Substrate:Dark sand/gravel; planted with swimming space
- Plant Safe:Plant-safe
- Filtration:Moderate
Gold Tetra (Hemigrammus rodwayi) is a species of fish in the family Acestrorhamphidae. It is native to South America (Amazon basin and the Guianas). The gold tetra is the fish that disappoints people, and the reason is worth knowing before you buy one. Wild specimens gleam with a metallic gold coating that gives the species its name. That coating is not pigment: it is guanine, deposited by the fish in response to infection by a trematode parasite that its wild habitat supplies and an aquarium does not. Captive-bred specimens do not exhibit this colouration, and tank-raised fish are a plain silvery grey. So the gold tetra in a shop is usually not gold, and the ones that are will lose it over time as the old coating is shed. Underneath that, it is a genuinely good community fish: 55 mm standard length, very peaceful, hardy, and best in a group of at least six and preferably ten or more.
Compatibility
- Temperament
- peaceful
- Keep in
- Groups of 6+
- Swims
- middle
- Fin nipper
- No
- Delicate fins
- No
Species similar to Gold Tetra
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