Photo: SOK, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Diamond tetra
Moenkhausia pittieri
6 cm
Adult size
80 L
Minimum volume
8
Minimum group
5 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Moenkhausia
- Diet
- omnivore
- Social life
- shoal
In the wild
Overview
This “ugly duckling” is sold young, silvery and dull; with time and good feeding it becomes a magnificent adult with scales that sparkle like diamonds, hence its name diamond tetra. Now placed in the genus Makunaima, it is listed as endangered in the wild.
- Scientific name
- Makunaima pittieri (Eigenmann, 1920)Current valid name; in the hobby: Moenkhausia pittieri
- Classification
- Characiformes › Acestrorhamphidae
- IUCN Red List
- Endangered (EN)
Natural habitat
Endemic to Lake Valencia and its tributaries, Venezuela
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
Lake Valencia, Venezuela's second largest lake, suffers from agricultural and industrial pollution, eutrophication and algal blooms: its fish diversity fell by almost 60% during the 20th century. The species lives in the lake's shallow, vegetated areas and in a few slow tributaries.
Behaviour
Colourful, peaceful and fairly large for a tetra, it is a good choice for a community tank: livebearers, Danio, Rasbora, other tetras, Corydoras, small Loricariidae, gouramis and dwarf cichlids. A large shoal in a planted tank is superb. It accepts almost anything; small live or frozen prey for sparkle.
Sources:FishBase Seriously Fish GBIF · Base map: Natural Earth