Photo: Øyvind Holmstad, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Buenos Aires tetra
Psalidodon anisitsi
6 cm
Adult size
100 L
Minimum volume
8
Minimum group
5 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Psalidodon
- Diet
- omnivore
- Social life
- shoal
In the wild
Overview
The Buenos Aires tetra, named after Professor Anisits of Asunción who collected the first specimens, is one of the hardiest tetras. There is an albino form, sold as “golden”. It devours soft plants.
- Scientific name
- Psalidodon anisitsi (Eigenmann, 1907)
- Classification
- Characiformes › Acestrorhamphidae
- IUCN Red List
- Least concern (LC)
Natural habitat
Paraná (Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina) and Uruguay basins
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
It frequents small streams and tributaries more than large rivers, as well as floodplain lakes, oxbows and pools, in a subtropical region with fairly mild winters. In the Iberá marshes (Argentina), it lives alongside many Hyphessobrycon.
Behaviour
It has a reputation as a fin nipper, especially when too few or cramped. Gregarious, it forms loose hierarchies in which males constantly quarrel: a group of at least 8 to 10 is a minimum. An omnivore: easy to feed, with plant matter and live or frozen prey. It tolerates fairly cool water; use hardy or artificial plants.
Sources:FishBase Seriously Fish GBIF · Base map: Natural Earth