Napo tetra

Moenkhausia naponis

Also known as Naponis tetra

FreshwaterFish

Napo tetra (Moenkhausia naponis) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–81°F (23–27°C)
pH: 5.5–7.0
Adult size: 2.6 in (6.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 20 gal (75 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Rio Napo drainage, Ecuador and Peru
Family: Characidae

Overview

The Napo tetra is a peaceful, middle-swimming schooling fish, best kept in a group of at least eight to ten alongside other calm soft-water species. It makes a coherent regional display with Napo corydoras, pencilfish, and small dwarf cichlids from the same part of the western Amazon. Keep it away from large or aggressive tankmates. Feed a varied diet of quality flake or micro pellets with frozen and live foods such as daphnia, cyclops, and bloodworm, making sure the smaller fish get their share. A group is comfortable in around 75 liters or more with planting and open water.

In the wild

Moenkhausia naponis comes from the upper Rio Napo system in Ecuador and Peru, where clear, cool foothill water descends from the Andes into the western Amazon. Keep it warm but not hot, from 23 to 27 degrees Celsius, at pH 5.5 to 7.0 with low to moderate hardness. A sand bottom, driftwood, leaf litter, and planting around open swimming space suit it, with gentle flow, good oxygen, and clean, stable water.

Good to know

Moenkhausia naponis was described by James Bohlke in 1958 and named for the Rio Napo, the river system where it was first collected in Ecuador. A characin of the family Characidae, it reaches around 6.5 centimeters and carries a clean dark spot at the base of the tail. It is an egg-scattering spawner, and there are no established aquarium breeding records.

Did you know

Its home river, the Napo, was the route Francisco de Orellana followed in 1541 on the first European descent of the Amazon; the tetra schools where that famous journey began.