Glowlight tetra

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep them in a group of at least six. More is better and brings out their schooling. They are peaceful and spend most of their time in the middle of the tank. Hold the temperature in the mid to upper 20s C and pH from 6 to 7.5. They eat small foods readily, so feed quality flake or micro pellets with frozen daphnia or bloodworms mixed in. They suit a community of other calm, similarly sized fish.

In the wild

Glowlight tetras come from the Essequibo basin in Guyana. They live in slow, clear streams over sand, with plenty of plants and soft, slightly acidic water. To match that, give them a planted tank with some shade and gentle flow. A dark substrate makes their colors show better.

Good to know

This is a small characin in the family Characidae. Adults reach about 4 cm. They are egg scatterers with no parental care, and the eggs hatch in roughly a day. Breeding is moderately achievable in soft, acidic water, though the parents will eat the eggs if given the chance.

Did you know

The orange-red stripe gives them their name, but it only really lights up when the fish are relaxed and settled in. Stressed or newly added glowlights look washed out, so good color is a decent sign the tank conditions are right.

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