Diamond tetra

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep them in a school of six or more in a tank of around 75 liters or more. They are mostly peaceful, active mid-water swimmers that get along in a calm community. Target the mid to high 20s C and a soft, slightly acidic to neutral pH. Feed a varied diet of quality flake or pellet plus live and frozen foods like bloodworms and brine shrimp.

In the wild

Diamond tetras come from Venezuela, mainly the Lake Valencia basin, in clear lakes and slow rivers with heavy plant growth. The water is soft and runs from slightly acidic to neutral, often lightly tinted. At home they want a planted tank with subdued lighting and a darker bottom, which makes their sparkle stand out. Give them open water in the middle to swim.

Good to know

This is a characin in the family Characidae, reaching about 6 cm. It is an egg scatterer that gives no parental care, and breeding it is on the harder side. Its common name comes from the way mature fish develop a strong silvery, prismatic shimmer across the scales.

Did you know

Young diamond tetras look plain and gray, which makes them easy to pass over in the shop. The diamond shimmer only fills in as they mature, so the dull juvenile turns into the showy fish people actually want.

Related species

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• 

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• 

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• 

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