Rosy Tetra (Hyphessobrycon rosaceus)

Rosy Tetras are peaceful and undemanding and will acclimate to various conditions, although very hard water may prevent the fish from reaching their full potential when it comes to colour.

Like many other Tetras, planted aquariums with darker substrates or subdued areas will provide the best home and result in more rich colours and improved health. However, even though they are peaceful, Rosy Tetras may nip at very long-finned species such as guppies or Siamese Fighting Fish, especially if the Tetras are kept in small numbers.

You should always maintain Rosy Tetras in good-sized groups of six or more individuals. Not only will they fare much better when in the company of their own kind, but it will also result in a far more effective, natural-looking shoal and make your fish feel more secure. In addition, you may also see some fascinating displays of fin flaring by rival males if several are present.

Ideal tankmates for your Rosy Tetras would be other small and peaceful species such as Corydoras Catfish, Hatchetfish, smaller Loricariidae, Rasboras, small to medium-sized Barbs, Anabantoids and West African Dwarf Cichlids. In addition, because of their shape, you can also keep these Tetras with larger Cichlids such as Discus and Angelfish.

Unfortunately, Rosy Tetras can be easily frightened, so make sure you do not house them with much larger boisterous species.

Rosy Tetras have light whiteish-pink bodies with red fins, except the dorsal fin, which can be white or black, and the caudal fin, which is pinkish-white with two oval red spots on it. These Tetras also present a faint black line that runs from the top of their eyeball through the pupil towards the bottom of their eyeball.

Habitat

Rosy Tetras are endemic to Guyana, Suriname and Brazil in South America, where you can find them in several River Basins, including the Rio Essequibo, Rio Corantijn and the Rio Suriname.

Rosy Tetras Primarily inhabit very vegetated forested areas where they can stay close to the safety of plant cover and submerged roots. These habitats are usually sluggish tributaries off the central river channels.

The water in these biotopes is usually stained a yellowish-brown colour from tannins and other chemicals discharged from decaying organic material, which leads to very acidic water.

Other Tetras of interest

Diet & Feeding

In the aquarium, Rosy Tetras are easily fed as they are not fussy. However, it would be more beneficial for your fish if you provided them with a balanced diet. Their diet should consist of good quality dried foods such as flakes, micropellets and granules alongside live and frozen foods such as bloodworm, white mosquito larvae, daphnia and vitamin-enriched brine shrimp.

Breeding

To successfully breed Rosy Tetras and increase the yield of fry, you will need to set up a separate breeding tank. It would be more beneficial if the tank is dimly lit and contain bundles of fine-leaved plants such as java moss to give your fish somewhere to deposit their eggs. Spawning mops will work just as well.

Alternatively, you can cover the bottom of the tank with some mesh with large enough holes for the eggs to drop through but small enough so the adults cannot reach them.

The water should be soft and acidic, with a pH level between 5.5 and 6.5, a water hardness of between 1 and 5 and a temperature between 80 and 84 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition, filtering the water through peat is helpful, as is the use of RO water. Lastly, the tank will require a small air-powered sponge filter to provide a gentle current.

You can spawn Rosy Tetras in a group, with half a dozen individuals of each sex being an ideal number. Ensure you condition your group with plenty of small live or frozen foods, and spawning should not bestow too many problems.

Alternatively, you can spawn your fish in pairs. Using this technique, the fish are conditioned in female and male groups in separate tanks. Once the females are noticeably full of eggs, and the males display their best colours, select the thickest female and best-coloured male and transfer them into the spawning tank that night. Your fish should then spawn the following morning.

In either situation, the adults will devour the eggs if given a chance; therefore, you must separate the eggs as soon as you spot any.

The eggs will usually hatch between 24 and 36 hours later, and the fry will become free swimming around five days after that. Therefore, it would be best to feed the fry on an infusoria type food for a few days until they are big enough to take brine shrimp nauplii or microworm.

The eggs and fry are sensitive to light in the early stages of life, and you should keep the tank in darkness if possible.

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