The Serpae tetra (''Hyphessobrycon eques''), also known as the Red Minor tetra, Jewel tetra or Callistus tetra, is a species of tetra, a tropical

freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of s ...

of the

characin Characiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, comprising the characins and their allies. Grouped in 18 recognized families, more than 2000 different species are described, including the well-known piranha and tetras.; Buckup P.A.: "Relationshi ...

family (family

Characidae Characidae, the characids or characins is a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish, belonging to the order Characiformes. The name "characins" is the historical one, but scientists today tend to prefer "characids" to reflect their st ...

) of

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Characiformes. It is native to the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

drainage in Brazil, Peru, Paraguay,

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and northern Argentina. The fish can be found in slow moving or still

backwater Backwater or Backwaters may refer to: Music * ''Backwaters'' (album), a 1982 album by American guitarist Tony Rice * Backwater (band), a jazz fusion band from Mobile, Alabama, or this band's 1976 debut album * "Backwater", a song by Brian Eno fro ...

including, ponds, small lakes, and

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

s. In the wild, it forms aggregations around vegetation and tree roots, and thrives when the water temperature is 22-27 °C (72-82 °F). Serpae tetra can grow to be 5 cm (2 in). They have very distinctive coloring with a red body and a black spot near their gills. It is an omnivore and will feed on flake and blood worms.

In the aquarium

Serpae tetras prefer water temperatures ranging from 72–79 °F (22–26 °C). They will generally do better and show off their best colors in soft, neutral to slightly acidic water. As with any other schooling fish, they thrive in large groups and should be kept in schools of at least six fish. The tank should be well-planted, providing shelter and hiding spots. Common to these fish is a 'sputtering' or 'twitching' style of swimming, in which their movements seem more spastic as opposed to other fish. Instead of swimming smoothly or for long distances at a time, Serpae Tetras move in relatively short spurts, unless stressed. This is their normal behavior and by itself need not alarm aquarists. If any aggression is seen in the fish, it is usually among conspecifics, especially if they are kept in large groups where they can establish a pecking order (a behavior similar to ''Puntius tetrazona'').

Breeding

Breeding, as with most other tetras, can be difficult due to the few obvious differences between the genders. However, males are usually slimmer and smaller than females. Also, a visible difference in the shape of the swim bladder can be seen above and behind the silverish abdominal cavity. To breed these fish, they should be given a small, dedicated breeding tank planted with thick bunches of fine-leaved plants such as '' Myriophyllum'' on which they can lay eggs. Filtering through peat moss can also be helpful. The eggs hatch in about 2 days. The average lifespan for a serpae tetra is about seven years.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q629430 Tetras Fish described in 1882 Taxa named by Franz Steindachner Freshwater fish of Brazil Freshwater fish of Argentina Fish of Bolivia Freshwater fish of Peru Fish of Paraguay Hyphessobrycon

In the aquarium

Breeding

See also

References

External links