''Ctenobrycon spilurus'', the silver tetra, is a species of 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 ...

sometime referred to as the silver dollar tetra. It is a member of the 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 ...

in the order

Characiformes 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 ...

. The fish is native to the

Orinoco River The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...

basin and coastal river basins of

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

and

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

, as well as

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, and can be found in shallow slow moving streams with heavy vegetation. With temperatures that range from . The fish can grow to a maximum length of .

Description

Silver tetras have a silvery-gray color and a round flattened body, with the occasional slight olive green cast. There is some black at the base of their

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

. Some have a small dark spot near their gill covers. The only relieving bit of color is a glow of red in the rear portion of the

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

(only in males). The dorsal fin is fairly short. It has a small mouth with enlarged lips.

In the aquarium

Commercially breed silver tetras are good for beginners. They are very active in daylight hours. The fish prefers a heavily planted aquarium with dim light. But an

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

with plastic plants with driftwood will do too. As long as the fish have a place to hide. It is necessary to keep them in a school of 6–8 other silver tetras in a 30-gallon tank. That is long tank. With a pH range of 6.0–7.5. The temperature of the water should be . The fish are peaceful and can be kept with other non-aggressive fish.

References

*IUCN Red list: http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/search Tetras of Brazil Fish of French Guiana Fish of Guyana Fish of Suriname Freshwater fish of Venezuela Tropical fish Rhoadsiini Fishkeeping Taxa named by Achille Valenciennes Fish described in 1850 {{characidae-stub