Garnet tetra

Hemigrammus pulcher

Also known as pretty tetra

FreshwaterFish

Garnet tetra (Hemigrammus pulcher) — Jofre · CC BY-SA 3.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–82°F (23–28°C)
pH: 5.0–7.0
Adult size: 1.8 in (4.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 20 gal (75 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Peru
Family: Characidae

Overview

Keep them in a school of six or more in a tank of about 75 liters. They are peaceful mid-water swimmers that look and behave best in a group and mix well with other small, calm fish. Aim for warm water in the mid 20s C and a low pH between 5 and 7. Feed flake, small pellets, and occasional frozen bloodworms or daphnia. Soft, slightly acidic water suits them best.

In the wild

Garnet tetras come from the Amazon basin in Peru and nearby waters, living in slow blackwater streams stained brown with tannins. That water is soft, warm, and acidic, with leaf litter and submerged plants for cover. Match it with a dim, planted tank, a sandy bottom, and some leaves or wood to lower the pH and tint the water. They show their best color over a dark setup.

Good to know

Hemigrammus pulcher is a characin in the family Characidae, reaching about 4.5 cm. Like most tetras it is an egg scatterer with no parental care, and breeding is difficult to manage in a tank. The species was first described by Ladiges in 1938, and the name pulcher means beautiful in Latin. It is listed as Least Concern, with stable wild populations.

Did you know

The color that gives the garnet tetra its name shifts with the light and the background. Over a dark substrate with tannin-stained water the deep red-gold really shows, while in a bright bare tank the same fish can look washed out. It is a good reminder that setup, not just the fish, decides how a tetra looks.