Photo: Hasemania_4.jpg : Filtropat derivative work: Kyknos ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Silvertip tetra
Hasemania nana
4 cm
Adult size
100 L
Minimum volume
6
Minimum group
4 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Hasemania
- Diet
- carnivore and omnivore
- Social life
- shoal
In the wild
Overview
Described in 1875 by the Danish zoologist Christian Frederik Lütken, the silvertip (or copper) tetra has a coppery sheen and white tips on its fins; it has no adipose fin, which sets it apart from most tetras.
The genus Hasemania honours John D. Haseman, a collector for the Carnegie Museum in Brazil. The species measures about 4 cm without the tail.
- Scientific name
- Hasemania nana (Lütken, 1875)
- Classification
- Characiformes › Acestrorhamphidae
- IUCN Red List
- Least concern (LC)
Natural habitat
Rio São Francisco basin, Minas Gerais (Brazil)
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
It is endemic to the Rio São Francisco basin, in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil.
It frequents creeks and tributaries rather than main channels, and is found in both clear and black water; it tolerates neutral to slightly alkaline water (pH 6 to 8).
Behaviour
Lively, colourful and peaceful, it is one of the best tetras for a community aquarium, with livebearers, danios, rasboras, other tetras and calm bottom-dwellers. Kept alone, it may nip fins; in a group of at least 6, ideally 10, this behaviour almost disappears.
It eats everything: dry food, live and frozen prey. It breeds easily in a separate tank, scattering adhesive eggs. Males are slimmer and more colourful than females.
Sources:FishBase Seriously Fish GBIF · Base map: Natural Earth