Lemon tetra - Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis - DNZ

The lively lemon tetra is also traded under the name Schönflossensalmler. Its scientific name is Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis. The pretty tetra comes from Brazil, where it lives in rivers with soft, humic water. In harder water its beautiful colors fade, in slightly acidic soft water the fish shines lemon-yellow-silvery. The fins on the back and belly have conspicuous black and lemon yellow spots, and the caudal fin is slightly lemon yellow with narrow black markings. Foods containing carotene, such as Artemia or water fleas, support the coloration. The upper side of the iris is colored red, sometimes the entire iris is red. The rather high-backed aquarium fish are laterally compressed, thus appearing very slender from the front. Males are slimmer overall than females. Lemon tetras grow to about 4-5 inches in length.

The peaceful Lemon Tetras are lively aquarium fish and can be kept well in larger groups of conspecifics. Minimum size of the school is 10 fish. In a community aqu arium with other not too large fish from South America they can be perfectly socialized, but also with shrimps like Amano shr imps or Neocaridina davidi and Sulawesi inland shr imps they are good to keep. Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis prefers the middle and lower water layers and should therefore not necessarily be placed with dwarf shrimp. Shrimp generally need a large number of hiding places and dense cushions of aquarium moss in a community aquarium with fish.

Lemon tetras are quite keen swimmers and therefore need a little more space. A good, dense border planting gives them security. In nature, Lemon Tetras live in mountain streams with a strong water current. Oxygen-rich, well-filtered water and a good current are also a must in the aquarium. Soft, humic water with a pH of 5.5 to 6.8 and temperatures of 24-27°C are optimal.

Lemon tetras are omnivores and like soft vegetable food in addition to frozen food and live food . A flake food for omnivorous aquarium fish is a good choice, but frozen food and live food are also necessary and cannot be replaced by flake food.

Breeding Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis is rather something for advanced fish keepers. Not only do the tetras need soft, very oxygen-rich, slightly acidified water in the breeding aquarium, but the females also have difficulty spawning. Prior feeding with high quality, rich live food is therefore a must.

As spawn predators and free spawners, lemon tetras absolutely need fine moss as spawning substrate in the breeding aquarium. If spawning occurs, the parent fish should be removed from the tank afterwards, otherwise they will eat the eggs immediately. The very light-sensitive tiny fry need infusoria and paramecia in the beginning, later also artemia euplii. The breeding aquarium should be dark and only sparsely lit. Peat or alder cones prevent spawn fungus.

Our food recommendation: This NatureHolic Main Feed is a professional staple feed for all aquarium fish. Main feed we supply in the form of soft granules, which thanks to its grain size of half a millimeter can be easily absorbed by small to medium-sized fish. The soft consistency resembles the texture of insect larvae in nature and protects the fish mouth from micro-injuries.

Our plant recommendation: Use for planting NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planarians and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free from algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend for fish keeping the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and keeping.