Photo: Debivort, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
X-ray tetra
Pristella maxillaris
4.5 cm
Adult size
70 L
Minimum volume
8
Minimum group
5 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Pristella
- Diet
- carnivore
- Social life
- shoal
In the wild
Overview
The only species in its genus, the X-ray tetra is recognised by the black spot edged with yellow and white on its dorsal fin. Peaceful, hardy and cheap, it is one of the best choices for beginners; there is a semi-albino “golden” form. Fish in the trade are mass-bred.
- Scientific name
- Pristella maxillaris (Ulrey, 1894)
- Classification
- Characiformes › Acestrorhamphidae
- IUCN Red List
- Least concern (LC)
Natural habitat
Coastal plains of Venezuela, the Guianas and northern Brazil, Amazon and Orinoco basins
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
In the dry season it lives in clear-water streams and tributaries; with the rains it moves into flooded savannahs, where it spawns among submerged vegetation. It even tolerates slightly brackish water.
Behaviour
Very peaceful and gregarious, it copes poorly with boisterous or much larger companions. Keep it with small tetras, pencilfish, hatchetfish, Apistogramma, Corydoras and small Loricariidae, or in a community tank with small Rasbora, barbs, livebearers, loaches, anabantoids and Pelvicachromis. Keep it in a shoal. A micropredator: dry food and small live or frozen prey.
Sources:FishBase Seriously Fish GBIF · Base map: Natural Earth