Silvertip Tetra data sheet
The Silvertip Tetra, Hasemania nana, is occasionally called the Copper tetra. It comes from the Sao Francisco River and its tributaries in Brazil. Although the Silvertip Tetra will grow to about 2 inches (5 cm) long, most of those seen are just over half that.
Other scientific names that have been used for this fish are Hasemania marginata, Hasemania nana, Hemigrammus nanus, and Tetragonopterus nanus.
water conditions
This little tetra is less fussy than some tetras about water parameters. It can withstand a slightly wider temperature range than most tropical fish, but it is definitely a tropical fish, not a cold water fish. It should be happy in a community tank at a temperature of 75 degrees F (24 degrees C).
You can take a pH between 6 and 8. Neutral (7) is a good pH to aim for. Although in the wild, the Silvertip Tetra has soft water, it can take moderate hardness.
The tank must be well planted.
food
The Silvertip Tetra is an easy to feed omnivore. It will eat all normal fish foods, although it will like the occasional live food such as bloodworms and daphnia. Frozen foods like bloodworms are also good.
companions
The Silvertip Tetra is a schooling fish and in a school it is normally very peaceful. I suggest at least 6 Silvertip Tetras be kept together. More would be even better. It is compatible with other reasonably peaceful fish.
The Silvertip Tetra is also fast enough to keep up with slightly agile fish such as: Black Widow Tetras, Rosy Barbs, Tiger Barbs, Paraguay Tetras, Buenos Aires Tetras, and Colombian Tetras.
A school of silvertip tetras is sometimes fine, even with long-finned, slow-moving fish like Siamese fighting fish, guppies, and Endler’s guppies, but I’d be very cautious when herding them together. If you have a smaller number of silvertip tetras so that they cannot form a school, I would definitely not recommend them as companions for these three types of fish.
Avoid big or very aggressive fish with these little beauties.
sexed
The male Silvertip Tetra tends to be brighter in color than the female, as well as being slimmer. The females become noticeably fatter when loaded with eggs.
Breeding
The Silvertip Tetra is an easy egg spreader to breed. It can be raised in a small school or in pairs.
Ideally, males and females should be separated and well conditioned with rich foods like mosquito larvae and daphnia, as well as frozen foods like bloodworms.
If breeding in pairs, select the male with the most vibrant colors and the largest, best-looking females.
With school breeding, select a few of each sex.
The breeding tank should be dimly lit and contain fine-leaved plants such as Java moss. If possible, have something on the bottom of the plant to prevent the parents from reaching the falling eggs. Some people use marbles for this task, while others prefer a properly sized mesh.
The parents will eat the eggs and babies, so they are normally removed after spawning.
The eggs should hatch in just over a day and the fry should be free-swimming in another 3-4 days. They will need fine food such as infusoria (Protozoa) for a few days. This can be supplemented with very fine commercial fried foods. Soon they will be able to eat slightly larger meals. At all stages, the right size live food is good for them.
Note that both eggs and fry can be damaged by bright lights; dim lighting should be used for the breeding and rearing tank.
plague fish
Although the Silvertip Tetra is a well-behaved and peaceful fish in a community aquarium, the same precautions need to be exercised to prevent its accidental release into ecosystems it is not native to. They could certainly harm other ecosystems.
