Fish Data : Diamond Tetra

 

Scientific Name : Hyphessobrycon anisitsi

Common Names : Diamond Spot Tetra

Care Level : Easy

Size : 3 inches (8 cm)

pH : 5.5 - 7.0

Temperature : 72°F - 80°F (22°C - 27°C)

Lifespan : 3 - 5 years or longer

Origin / Habitat : South America, Paraguay, Uruguay

Temperament / Behavior : Can be fin nippers and best kept in a small school (shoal) of 6 or more.

Compatible Tank Mates : They can be a pest (bullying smaller fish) when kept singly and you may see better behavior if kept in a small school of 6 or more.

Tank Region : Middle to bottom

Gender : Can be difficult to determine, female may be more full bodied

 Description

   This Fish is one of the hardiest of the commonly available tropical fish but it may not make a good choice for a community tank or a live plant tank. They will view your live plants as a food source and will nibble at them. Since it's best to keep them in small schools they can quickly destroy your live plant collection, so plastic plants are the way to go with this fish.

    The Buenos Aires is a larger tetra, growing sometimes up to 3 inches (8 cm) and if kept in good water conditions can live 3 to 5 years or more. If you are planning on keeping them in a community tank caution is advised. They can be fin nippers and may bully smaller tetras and slower tank mates. Keep them in schools of 6 or more which should help direct their aggression towards the other tetras instead of their more peaceful tank members.

    The Buenos Aires Tetras are peaceful fish and will do very well in a community tank, but they do have a big appetite. They must be kept well fed because if they get hungry, they will nip the fins on any of their long-finned tankmates!

    Males are more colourful, particularly in the unpaired red fins, and females are rounder. A typical egg-scatter that is easily spawned; parents will eat the eggs if not removed immediately after spawning.

    The species was originally described in 1907 by C.H. Eigenmann as Hemigrammus anisitsi. L.R. Malabara re-assigned it to the genus Hyphessobrycon in 1989 on the basis of the scaled caudal fin [see more below]. In 1923 and 1928, E. Ahl had described this fish as Hemigrammus caudovittatus and Hyphessobrycon erythrurus respectively, considering these were different species; Zarske & Gery in 1995 established these names as synonyms of Hyphessobrycon anisitsi (Eigenmann 1907), now the accepted name.

    The genus Hyphessobrycon--the name from the Greek "hyphesson" [believed to mean "slightly smaller"] and "brycon" [=to bite]--was erected by C.H. Durbin in 1908 and presently contains more than 100 valid species. The classification is deemed incertae sedis [Latin, "of uncertain placement"]. It was formerly considered within the Subfamily Tetragonopterinae, but Javonillo et.al. (2010) suggest that this subfamily should be restricted to species within the genus Tetragonopterus since they do not share physiological characteristics with species in other genera such as Hyphessobrycon.

    Authors that have recently studied the systematics of the genus Hyphessobrycon have unanimously pointed out that the group is not well defined and its monophyly is yet uncertain. [A monophyletic genus is one wherein the species share a common ancestor, thus linking them together physiologically.] Mirande (2009) for example has proposed several revisions to the Family Characidae based upon phylogenetic diagnosis. Some genera have been moved to a new Subfamily, while others are now (temporarily) assigned to a specific clade within the Family pending further study. The recognition of groups of species [clades] within Hyphessobrycon is based primarily on similarities of color patterns; an hypothesis of its intra-relationships is currently unavailable, except for the rosy tetra clade proposed as monophyletic by Weitzman & Palmer (1997).

    Hyphessobrycon has until recently been differentiated from Hemigrammus solely on the basis of the fish in Hemigrammus possessing a scaled caudal fin; this however is now known to be unreliable, since it occurs in intermediate conditions (de Lucina, 2003).

Buenos Aires Tetra Diet

    These fish are omnivorous, in its habitat it feeds on worms, insects, crustaceans and plants. It will accept almost any prepared food, frozen foods and live. It will eat some plants, aggressively some writers report.

Size

   Attains close to 3 inches (7 cm); some authors mention 3.5 inches.

Minimum Tank Suggestion

   36 inches in length.

Care and feeding:   

    Feed Buenos Aires Tetra a varied diet of quality commercial foods 2 or 3 times per day the amount of food they will consume within a few minutes. They are not picky eaters and will readily accept a wide variety of plant and animal based foods. They should readily accept quality flake, freeze-dried and small pellet foods, tubifex worms, blood worms, frozen foods, algae or plant based flakes and crisps, brine shrimp, mysis shrimp and a variety of other similar food items. 

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:   
    These fish will swim in all areas of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:   
    This is a very undemanding species, as can be seen by the wide range of acceptable conditions.

    Hardness: 2-35° dGH
    Ph: 5.8 to 8.5
   Temp: 64-82° F (18-28° C)

Social Behaviors:   

    The Buenos Aires Tetra are generally a good community fish. They are quite active and when provided with plenty of space they will school. As mentioned above they will eat most plants, with the probable exception of Java Fern, and so should be kept with stone or plastic decorations. And remember, keep them well fed so they don't snack on the fins of their tankmates!
Sexual Differences:   
    The male will have brighter red fins, sometimes tending towards yellow. The female is fuller bodied and has a more rounded stomach.
Breeding/Reproduction:   
  
     The Buenos Aires Tetra are egglayers. The female will lay eggs on plants or green floss

************************************

Credit : http://www.tfhmagazine.com/blogs/category/tfh-extras/page/2/