Open-water population of wild Astyanax mexicanus
|
Name: Astyanax mexicanus |
| Size |
Tank | pH | Temp |
|
Origin: Mexico, USA |
|
12 cm |
100 L |
7.4 |
22°C |
I'm a scuba diver and fish collector, and recently came across this somewhat uncommon fish from northern Mexico fresh waters. The pic above is from their habitat before I captured a few of them. They are doing grand in my aquarium! They have silver colour, dark stripe, yellow caudal fin and red anal fin.
This is the only tetra native to the USA. They make interesting tankmates for cichlids.
I think this tetra should come with a warning tag, as it can truly overpower cichlids that cannot eat them. I once got a bunch of them in a river from my city in Mexico along with some tilapias to add to my Tanganyikan cichlid community, which included sardine fish (Cyprochromis leptosoma), calvus, featherfins and leleupis. I was worried for the tilapias chasing everyone out, but I found that the tetras were the REAL deal. They started bullying my leptosomas and featherfins, then everything else. I have had the same experience with a tank full of mbuna and electric blues. These are lovely fish, just get a large group, and choose your tankmates carefully! Oh, and by the way, males tend to have more reddish color around the tailfin, and females are yellowish with green accents.
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