Photo: SOK, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lemon tetra
Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis
4 cm
Adult size
90 L
Minimum volume
8
Minimum group
5 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Hyphessobrycon
- Diet
- omnivore
- Social life
- shoal
In the wild
Overview
The lemon tetra owes its Latin name (“beautiful fins”) to the bright yellow of its fins and the pale yellow sheen of its body. The cheap fish in the trade come from farms; the origin of the commercial strain remains uncertain, and there is an albino form.
- Scientific name
- Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis Ahl, 1937
- Classification
- Characiformes › Acestrorhamphidae
- IUCN Red List
- Least concern (LC)
Natural habitat
Brazil: Tapajós basin, perhaps also the Xingu
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
It probably frequents small tributaries, small rivers, oxbows and flooded forests rather than the main channels.
Behaviour
Very peaceful, ideal in a community tank with characins, hatchetfish, pencilfish, Corydoras or small Loricariidae and non-predatory cichlids. A mixed group of at least 8 to 10 is needed, within which males compete for the females. An omnivore: dry food, live and frozen prey, for good colours.
Sources:FishBase Seriously Fish GBIF · Base map: Natural Earth