Adujai lizard tetra

Iguanodectes adujai

Also known as Slender lizard tetra, Colombian slender tetra

FreshwaterFish

Adujai lizard tetra (Iguanodectes adujai) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–82°F (24–28°C)
pH: 4.5–6.5
Adult size: 2.8 in (7 cm)
Minimum tank: 24 gal (90 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Rio Negro and Orinoco blackwaters
Family: Iguanodectidae

Overview

This is a slender, peaceful blackwater tetra that should be kept in a school of eight or more, where it cruises the middle water in a loose, gliding shoal. It moves more than it darts and grazes fine foods from the drift, so it wants open swimming length rather than a densely packed tank. Keep it with other calm, soft-water fish of similar size, and use a tight cover, since it is a jumper. Feed small foods: fine flake, micro pellets, and small frozen items such as daphnia, cyclops, and brine shrimp. A tank of at least 90 litres, longer than it is tall, suits a group.

In the wild

It lives in blackwater tributaries of the Rio Negro and upper Orinoco, slender streams shaded by forest, with roots, branches, and leaf litter over the bottom. The water is warm, acidic, and stained brown by tannins, with very low mineral content. Recreate that with soft water, a temperature of 24 to 28 degrees Celsius, and an acidic pH of 4.5 to 6.5, using driftwood, leaf litter, and dim light.

Good to know

It belongs to the family Iguanodectidae and reaches about 7 cm, a pencil-slim, elongated fish built for open, flowing water. The family name points to its teeth, which are likened to those of an iguana. Its breeding habits in the aquarium are not established.

Did you know

The family name Iguanodectes means iguana biter, a nod to teeth shaped like a plant-eating lizard's, set in a fish whose body looks more like a drifting reed than a hunter.

Tank mates

Adujai lizard tetra is a peaceful, schooling species that keeps to the middle. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.