The Gold
Tetra
The Gold Tetra, Hemigrammus rodwayi, is a peaceful little
tetra. It comes from
The Amazon River basin in Brazil
and Peru as well as the Rivers of Guyana,
Suriname and French Guiana.
Water
Conditions
In the wild this fish is usually
found in areas of soft acid water, but is sometimes found in slightly brackish
water. In an aquarium, the maximum recommended pH is 7. It is a tropical fish, and needs warm water
all the time. The minimum temperature I
would suggest for this fish is 23 degrees C (73 degrees F). This fish can tolerate up to 15 degrees of
general hardness.
The tank should have some plants
to give the fish a feeling of security as well as open water for swimming.
Length
and Longevity
The Gold Tetra is a small
fish. It can grow to 6 centimetres long,
but is usually smaller than this. It can live up to 4 years.
Colour
The wild Gold Tetras look as if
they have been sprinkled with gold dust.
The gold colour that gives this fish its most common name is a reaction
in the skin to a trematode parasite.
This parasite is a successful one in the sense that it does not cause
much harm to its host.
The parasite does not appear
harmful to the Gold Tetra, or to other fish in the same tank. Captive bred Gold tetras do not have this
parasite and the fish are silvery grey.
Food
This tetra is an easily fed
omnivore. It will eat normal fish flakes
and granules. As with most animals I
recommend that a variety of food be given, including live or frozen foods like
daphnia, bloodworms, mosquito larvae and brine shrimp.
Companions
The Gold Tetra is a schooling
fish. It is more likely to thrive in a
reasonably big group; 10 or more is a good number. This is a small and peaceful fish; it is
better kept with other small peaceful fish such as some of the smaller and more
peaceful tetras, rasboras and live bearers.
Corydoras catfish are also good companions. The Gold Tetra is mostly a midwater swimmer.
Avoid large, excessively
boisterous and aggressive fish.
Sexing
The female is more rounded in the
body. Males are more colourful and have some white on the front of their anal
fin.
Breeding
Some people consider that the
Gold Tetra is difficult to breed while others find it easy.
The Gold Tetra is a strongly
schooling fish and the more natural way of spawning this fish is in a
school. It can be spawned as a pair, but
this may be more difficult.
The water needs to be soft and
acid. A pH of 6 is often used. The tank should be in subdued light. Some fine leaved plants such as Java moss
should cover much of the bottom of the tank.
The eggs will fall into this and be more difficult for the parents to
find.
Raising
the Babies
Gold Tetra fry are very small and
will need to eat microscopic food for the first several days of their free
swimming life. At all stages the babies will benefit enormously from live food,
but commercial fry food can be used as the basis diet.
Spawning
in a Community Tank
There are many people who have
observed baby Gold Tetras appearing in their community tanks. This suggests that this fish may actually be one
of the ones which will readily spawn if they are healthy and are kept with
plenty of plants. The baby Gold Tetras
are so good at hiding that some survive predation by their larger tank mates.
Gold Tetras will eat some of
their own eggs and babies. But if you have a small school of Gold Tetras in a
large aquarium with plenty of plants but no other fish, it seems likely that
the Gold Tetras would produce some surviving babies and that the ones to
survive would be more likely to be suited to the aquarium conditions than fish
bred in a less natural way intended to maximize the number of survivors, and
grow them as quickly as possible.
Probably
not in Danger
The IUCN Red List has not
evaluated the risk of this species becoming extinct in the near future, but
commercial and other information suggest that it is still common in much of its
extensive range.
Pest
Fish
The Gold Tetra is a quite
inoffensive fish, but it should still be prevented from getting into waterways
it is not native to.
Sources
This fact sheet also appears on the international version of our website at bettatrading.com
