Tucano tetra

Care at a glance

Overview

This is a demanding nano jewel that needs very soft, acidic blackwater and a stable, mature tank to do well. Keep a group of at least 8 to 10 in a small species tank with leaf litter and gentle filtration. It is far too small and delicate for a general community and is really a fish for blackwater specialists.

In the wild

Lives in tiny, shaded blackwater forest streams in the upper Rio Negro region. The water is extremely soft, acidic, and stained dark with tannins, over a bed of sand and leaf litter. The fish stay in small shoals close to cover.

Good to know

Tucanoichthys tucano is a miniature characin under 2 cm that sits in its own genus, described only in the 1990s. It carries a dark lateral stripe topped with a red glow along the body. It comes from a very restricted range in Brazil.

Did you know

It was only discovered and named in the 1990s and still comes from just a small patch of blackwater streams, so it remains a scarce specialty fish.

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