2 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Calm schooler; keep six or more.
337 species in our list are a good match.
Calm schooler; keep six or more. Not a fin-nipper, so it suits community tanks.
Flakes, micro-pellets and small frozen foods.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Adult males have black fins and an enlarged dorsal fin; females have reddish pelvic, anal and adipose fins.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Egg-scatterer · Easy
An egg-scattering free spawner with no parental care; eggs are usually found the morning after spawning.
Keep a group of 8-10 and move a well-conditioned trio or group to a spawning tank.
30-40 L tank with a spawning grid or dense java moss, soft to medium water (pH 6-7.5), a sponge filter and subdued light.
Heavy live-food conditioning, then a water change with slightly cooler water in the morning.
100-300 eggs
Start with infusoria or powdered fry food, then newly hatched brine shrimp; sort by size as they grow.
A peaceful little tetra from the upper Paraguay and Guaporé basins of Brazil and Bolivia. Males have black fins and a large black dorsal "sail"; females show reddish fins. Now placed in the genus Megalamphodus.
Carl Eigenmann described this tetra in 1915 from the Paraguay basin. Males have large black fins and stage harmless mock battles, spreading their fins at each other. It became one of the classic peaceful tetras of planted aquariums.
First described by Carl H. Eigenmann in 1915. Named for 'megalopterus' means large-finned.
14 facts checked with sources
Moved from Hyphessobrycon to the revalidated genus Megalamphodus in 2024 (Seriously Fish cites a 2024 source). Hyphessobrycon megalopterus is now a synonym; keep it as an other name.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Megalamphodus megalopterus · Seriously Fish: Megalamphodus megalopterus (formerly Hyphessobrycon megalopterus) · FishBase: Megalamphodus megalopterus summary2024 split from Characidae; Seriously Fish still lists Characidae. Legacy had no family.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Megalamphodus megalopterus · FishBase: Megalamphodus megalopterus summaryBoth SL (standard length). Legacy 4.5 cm is probably a total length; with tail the fish is about 4-4.5 cm.
FishBase: Megalamphodus megalopterus summary · Seriously Fish: Megalamphodus megalopterus (formerly Hyphessobrycon megalopterus)Legacy 22-27. Seriously Fish (preferred for husbandry) 20-28; FishBase 22-28.
Seriously Fish: Megalamphodus megalopterus (formerly Hyphessobrycon megalopterus) · FishBase: Megalamphodus megalopterus summaryLegacy 5.5-7.5. Seriously Fish 5.0-7.0 preferred; FishBase 6.0-7.5.
Seriously Fish: Megalamphodus megalopterus (formerly Hyphessobrycon megalopterus) · FishBase: Megalamphodus megalopterus summaryLegacy had no hardness. FishBase gives up to 18 dH.
Seriously Fish: Megalamphodus megalopterus (formerly Hyphessobrycon megalopterus) · FishBase: Megalamphodus megalopterus summary80 x 30 x 30 cm = 72,000 cm³ = 72 L (Seriously Fish states ~72 L). FishBase says a tank of at least 60 cm. Legacy 60 L.
Seriously Fish: Megalamphodus megalopterus (formerly Hyphessobrycon megalopterus)Legacy 6. Seriously Fish (preferred) says 8-10; FishBase 5+.
Seriously Fish: Megalamphodus megalopterus (formerly Hyphessobrycon megalopterus) · FishBase: Megalamphodus megalopterus summaryMales spar harmlessly with each other.
Seriously Fish: Megalamphodus megalopterus (formerly Hyphessobrycon megalopterus)Seriously Fish difficulty rating "Easy" (6 of 8 measures); hardiness measure "unknown".
Seriously Fish: Megalamphodus megalopterus (formerly Hyphessobrycon megalopterus)Legacy had no range field; its story says Paraguay basin in Brazil only. IUCN: Least Concern (FishBase, assessed 2021).
FishBase: Megalamphodus megalopterus summary · Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Megalamphodus megalopterus · Seriously Fish: Megalamphodus megalopterus (formerly Hyphessobrycon megalopterus)Legacy says it spawns easily in java moss; Seriously Fish confirms easy egg scattering but java moss specifically was not checked.
Seriously Fish: Megalamphodus megalopterus (formerly Hyphessobrycon megalopterus)Legacy story says Paraguay basin in Brazil and calls it hardy; range widened to include the Guaporé and Bolivia. "Hardy" is not confirmed (Seriously Fish hardiness unknown), so dropped.
Seriously Fish: Megalamphodus megalopterus (formerly Hyphessobrycon megalopterus) · FishBase: Megalamphodus megalopterus summary