TankBud

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
Family
Iguanodectidae
Origin
Rio Negro and Orinoco blackwaters

Overview

The Adujai lizard tetra is a slender, peaceful blackwater tetra for the middle of a soft-water tank. It is best with a little experience.

Did you know

The Adujai lizard tetra's genus name, Iguanodectes, means iguana biter. The name nods to teeth shaped like a plant-eating lizard's, in a fish that looks more like a drifting reed than a hunter.

Caring for the Adujai lizard tetra

Keep Adujai lizard tetras in a school of eight or more, in at least 24 gal (90 L). Choose a tank longer than it is tall, since this tetra wants open swimming length rather than a densely packed tank. Add driftwood and leaf litter, and keep the light dim. Use a tight cover, because it is a jumper.

Give it soft water at 75 to 82°F (24 to 28°C), with an acidic pH of 4.5 to 6.5. It grazes fine foods from the drift. Feed small foods such as fine flake, micro pellets and small frozen daphnia, cyclops and brine shrimp.

The Adujai lizard tetra is peaceful and cruises the middle water in a loose, gliding shoal. It moves more than it darts. Keep it with other calm, soft-water fish of similar size. Its breeding habits in the aquarium are not established.

Good to know

The Adujai lizard tetra belongs to the family Iguanodectidae. It is a pencil-slim, elongated fish built for open, flowing water. It also goes by slender lizard tetra and Colombian slender tetra.

In the wild

The Adujai lizard tetra lives in blackwater tributaries of the Rio Negro and upper Orinoco. These are 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.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The Adujai lizard tetra is a peaceful, schooling species that keeps to the middle. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does an Adujai lizard tetra need?

An Adujai lizard tetra needs at least 24 gal (90 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does an Adujai lizard tetra need?

An Adujai lizard tetra is comfortable at 75–82°F (24–28°C) with a pH of 4.5–6.5.

What does an Adujai lizard tetra eat?

An Adujai lizard tetra grazes fine foods from the drift. Feed it fine flake, micro pellets and small frozen foods such as daphnia, cyclops and brine shrimp.

How big does an Adujai lizard tetra get?

An adult Adujai lizard tetra reaches about 2.8 in (7 cm).

Does an Adujai lizard tetra need a group?

Yes. An Adujai lizard tetra is a schooling species and should be kept in a group, not singly.

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