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Glow Light Tetra - A Lovely and Peaceful member of your community tank
By Hans Dekker
Words: 361
Glowlight Tetra
Brings live to your community tanks
Many freshwater fish-keepers have a warm spot in their heart for a little fish
with a big name, the 1 ?-inch hemigrammus erythrozonus¡ or mush
easier to say, the glowlight tetra. Like its little cousin, the neon tetra, the
glowlight is an easy fish to keep in a community tank. In fact, many neon
keepers, tired of battling neon disease, move towards the glowlight tetra.
The glowlight tetra is pastel peach in color with a horizontal red-gold stripe that
spans the length of its body. Originating in Guyana, South America, the
glowlight does well in a fresh water tank of slightly acid but peat-softened
water that is kept between 74F and 82F. Glowlight tetras generally occupy the
bottom third of the tank, except for feeding time when they will swim to the top.
The male glowlight tetra is more slender bodied than his mate, although it
may be difficult to tell them apart until the female is full of eggs. Glowlight
tetras are easier to breed than many other tetras like the neon and the cardinal
tetra. However, providing them with a soft water environment is a critical factor
for breeding. In fact, when breeding glowlight tetras, it may help to erect a
special breeding tank. After your females have laid their eggs, you will need to
remove adult fish from the tank until the fry hatch since glowlights have been
known to eat their own eggs. Glowlights scatter their eggs among fine-leaved
live plants. Clean, fresh water and live foods can encourage breeding.
However, when changing water, be careful that you don¡¯t remove so much
that it causes your tank to recycle.
Like many tetras, the glowlight tetra is a schooling fish and prefers to swim in
the company of at least seven of its peers. Another common characteristic of
many tetras is sensitivity to bright light. Lighting in a glowlight tetra aquarium
should be filtered. This is easily achieved with aquarium plants. Artificial plants
will suffice (unless you intend to breed your fish), but the glowlight tetra finds
that real plants are a delicacy along with its usual fare of tropical flake food,
tubifex worms, and brine shrimp.
About the Author
Linda is author of
Tetra Fish and Cichilds sections on
aquarium-guides.com
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