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Pretty Tetra
Hemigrammus pulcher
📍 South America
The Pretty Tetra (Hemigrammus pulcher) is a stunning small characin native to the Amazon basin, prized for its iridescent body with a distinctive dark blotch and golden sheen near the tail. It is an excellent community fish that thrives in well-planted aquariums with soft, slightly acidic water. Its peaceful nature and schooling behavior make it a favorite among hobbyists seeking a colorful, active mid-water display fish.
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Care Guide
Diet
The Pretty Tetra is an omnivore that readily accepts high-quality flake food and micro pellets as a staple diet. Supplement regularly with frozen or live foods such as daphnia, brine shrimp, and bloodworms to enhance coloration and overall health. Feed small amounts two to three times daily, offering only what the fish can consume within two minutes to maintain water quality.
Behavior
Pretty Tetras are active, peaceful schooling fish that feel most secure and display their best colors when kept in groups of six or more. They occupy the middle water column and are constantly on the move, making them a lively centerpiece for community aquariums. They are non-aggressive and will not bother tankmates, though they may be timid around larger or boisterous fish.
Breeding
Breeding Pretty Tetras is moderately challenging and requires a dedicated breeding tank with very soft, acidic water (pH 5.5–6.5) and dim lighting. Condition a pair or small group with live foods, and provide fine-leaved plants or spawning mops for egg deposition. Parents will eat their eggs, so adults should be removed promptly after spawning; eggs hatch in about 24 hours and fry become free-swimming within a few days.
Tank Mates
Similar size, water requirements, and peaceful temperament; both thrive in soft, acidic Amazonian conditions.
Classic community companion with identical water parameter needs and peaceful schooling behavior.
Bottom-dwelling, peaceful catfish that occupies a different zone and shares soft, acidic water preferences.
Peaceful surface-to-mid dweller that coexists well; ensure the tank is large enough to avoid territorial stress.
Gentle algae eater that shares soft, warm water needs and will not compete with or harass tetras.
Tiny, peaceful tetra that thrives in the same soft, acidic Amazonian biotope conditions.
Common Diseases
Ich (White Spot Disease)
Small white salt-like spots on body and fins, flashing against surfaces, lethargy, loss of appetite
Gradually raise temperature to 28-30 C, treat with ich-specific medication (e.g., malachite green or formalin-based products); perform frequent partial water changes
Neon Tetra Disease (Pleistophora hyphessobryconis)
Faded or irregular color patches, curved spine, bloating, restlessness, difficulty swimming
No reliable cure; isolate affected fish immediately to prevent spread, maintain pristine water quality, and euthanize severely affected individuals to protect the rest of the school
Velvet (Oodinium)
Gold or rust-colored dust-like coating on skin, rapid gill movement, flashing, clamped fins
Dim tank lighting, treat with copper-based medication or acriflavine; raise temperature slightly and perform water changes
Fin Rot
Frayed, ragged, or disintegrating fin edges, redness or white margins on fins, lethargy
Improve water quality with frequent partial water changes, treat with antibacterial medication such as kanamycin or erythromycin; address underlying stress factors
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Quick Facts
- diet
- Omnivore – accepts flake, micro pellets, frozen/live foods such as daphnia and brine shrimp
- lifespan
- 3-5 years
- max size
- 4.5 cm (1.75 in)
- tank size
- 20 gallons minimum
- temperament
- peaceful
Water it likes
- ph
- 5.5-7.0
- ammonia
- 0 ppm
- nitrate
- <20 ppm
- hardness
- 1-10 dGH
- temperature
- 73–82°F (23–28°C)