Glowlight Tetra

The glowlight tetra is absolutely gorgeous and surprisingly easy to care for, it’s easygoing and peaceful and can survive in a fairly wide range of aquarium environments. Because they are schooling fish, you’ll want to keep at least six glowlight tetras.  Adult size: 4 cm, minimum tank size 40 litres (60 litres for a school of 6), recommended for beginning aquarists.

Glowlight Tetra (Hemigrammus Erythrozonus) Originally from the Essequibo basin in Guyana; they have been found in the Essequibo, Mazaruni, and Potaro Rivers. The river waters of South America are stained with tannins from plant matter decay which make them naturally soft and acidic. The glowlight tetra is bred in captivity, and it is exported from both Asia and Germany. It was introduced to the aquarium trade in 1933.

Behaviour

Like other small tetras, such as the Neon Tetras. This fish will do its best in an aquarium with live plants and natural habitat and will perform better in small schools (shallows) of 5 or more.

Tank Conditions

In their natural habitat these fish are found in small rivers with the turfy bottom which is created by rotten leaves. This is the reason behind the water of their habitat is brownish and acidic water. The almost complete absence of calcium in the bottom covered with leaves results in a low level of water hardness.

When Glowlight Tetras are kept in a darker tank, they are the most attractive. Use a darker substrate like aquarium soil, aquarium sand or dark coloured gravel.  Add live planted and floating plants to give the final touch to the perfect habitat for them.  But make sure you leave some open space for swimming.

Keep the lighting low to medium with places shaded from the light.

Compatibility

They are a schooling fish, so keep at least six or more of them to your tank. You can also keep them with other small and non-aggressive fish, including other small Tetras, Barbs, Danios, Cory Catfish, and peaceful Loaches.  The majority of livebearing fish like guppies molly, platy and other tetra species can be an ideal tankmates. Also consider non-aggressive Invertebrates such as shrimps and snails.

Although glowlight tetras are schooling fish, they usually do not group up with other species.

Avoid any large fish whose mouth is big than the size of the tetra fish and any predatory fish who can make them a one time snack.

Feeding

Glowlights are omnivorous so they will eat all types of foods. It’s important to feed small-sized food and to vary the diet. They readily accept flakes, freeze-dried, and frozen foods in addition to live foods. Micro-pellet foods are suitable as well as any good quality flake that has been crumbled into fine pieces. Frozen or fresh brine shrimp is readily accepted too. Glowlights will rarely eat food that has fallen to the bottom, so feed small quantities frequently, as opposed to less frequent large feedings.

They are not prone to overeating, but they do like to eat a small amount of food several times a day. It is best to feed them what they will eat in about 3 minutes or less, ideally 3 or 4 times a day.

Care

Add tannins to both soften and darken the water or use one of these soft water conditioner products to simulate the black waters of their natural habitat. Glowlight tetras can tolerate a wider range of water parameters than similar tetras.

At least 25 to 50% of the tank water should be replaced every other week.

The Glowlight Tetra will resist disease as long as it is provided with a stable environment. In an unstable tank, it will die off very quickly. A good thing about this tetra is that due to its resilience, an outbreak of disease can often be limited to just one or a few fishes if dealt with at an early stage. With other species, it is common for all fishes to be infected before the first warning signs can be noticed. The best way to proactively prevent disease is to provide the proper environment and a well-balanced diet. The more closely their environment resembles their natural habitat, the less stress these fish will have, making them healthier and happier. Stressed fish are more likely to acquire disease.

If your tetras aren’t getting everything they need from their diet they will be more susceptible to disease. Switching up their diet is a great way to ensure they are getting all the nutrients they need.

As with all tetras, keep an eye out for Neon Tetra Disease.  It was first diagnosed in Neon Tetras, and so earned its name, but it can actually affect many other species. The Neon Tetra Disease has been identified as a microscopic sporozoan (Pleistophora) parasite in the intestinal tract that will eat the muscles starting from the inside out. Attempts to cure this disease with the use of Methylene Blue have not always been successful and some consider it incurable. Click for medications to treat Neon Tetra Disease at Rebel Pets.

Common symptoms include:

• A sudden loss of color.
• Irregular swimming patterns and turning into a bottom dweller.
• Developing cysts or spots on their stomach and beneath the dorsal fin
• Stomach shrinking and losing mass.

There is currently no cure and if one of your fish catches this disease it’s generally recommend that you destroy ALL the fish in the tank.  The best cure is prevention by maintaining the water temperatures properly. You should also make sure that any fish or live organism added to the tank is healthy and disease free before adding it.  You should always quarantine and inspect new fish before adding them to your main tank.

See Fish Disease Diagnosis and Treatment at Rebel Pets for help with diagnosing and treating diseases.