Red Phantom Tetra - Megalamphodus sweglesi

With their bright color, red phantom tetras, sometimes also called swegles tetras, are a great splash of color in the South American tank! The tetras, scientifically called Megalamphodos sweglesi, originate from the Orinoco Delta, but also from the Colombian Rio Meta and are also found in Venezuela. There it populates rather weakly flowing to standing waters with a dense Verkrautung.

Red phantom salmons have a high-backed physique and are rather pinkish in base color. The very long extended anal fin as well as the salmertypical adipose fin, which is directly behind the dorsal and caudal fin, are also conspicuous. Purely externally the sexes can be distinguished well. Especially the males show intense red fins during the mating season, also their dorsal fin is narrow and long and ends with a black fringe. That of the females, on the other hand, is somewhat more slender and has a black white bordered spot. The black shoulder spot is conspicuous in both.

Red phantom tetras can be bred in the aquarium, but breeding is described as laborious and tricky. The males also become territorial during mating season. The water should have a rather acidic pH-value around 6,5. Dense planting and also Java moss counteract the predatory behavior of the parents, alternatively the breeding pair can also be moved to a separate spawning aquarium with spawning grid. As a free spawner the female spreads her eggs all over the aquarium, after a few days the first young hatch, which can be fed with slipper fish or nauplii after swimming free. By the way, red phantom tetras can also interbreed with Hyphessobrycon bentosi.

Starting from 54 liters the Red Phantom Tetra can be kept very well, larger tanks are of course always allowed. Since he shows a typical social behavior you should keep him preferably in a group of 10 animals, so that he does not care. As in its habitat, the aquarium may be densely weedy in places and with the help of floating plants also somewhat darkened, nevertheless the animals need sufficient swimming space. The aquarium water should be soft to medium hard and have an acidic to neutral pH. The use of humic substances such as Alder cones or Sea almond leaves is recommended. Also, the water should be changed regularly and kept clean so that not too much organic waste accumulates.

The peaceful and only during the mating season territorial red phantom tetras can be well mixed with other Tetras and Catfish that originate from similar parameters. With larger shrimps or also Dwarf crabs they can also be combined well, but crayfish are rather unsuitable, as these could quickly become a danger for the pretty red phantom tetras.

As omnivores, the red phantom salmon can be fed with high-quality flake food or small granulate food for omnivorous ornamental fish. A great  variety is also small live food such as artemia euplii, water fleas, cyclops or grindal, microworms but also fine frozen food.

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.