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Peaceful and active mid-water schooler.
300 species in our list are a good match.
Peaceful and active mid-water schooler. Its elegant fins are only lightly vulnerable to nipping.
Flakes, micro-pellets and frozen daphnia, brine shrimp and bloodworms.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Males are larger and slimmer than females and have violet-sheened fins; female fins are almost clear.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Egg-scatterer · Moderate
An egg scatterer that spawns like many other tetras, either in a group or as pairs; remove the adults 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.
Eggs hatch in 24-36 hours and the fry are free-swimming 3-4 days later. No sourced egg count found.
Start with infusoria or powdered fry food, then newly hatched brine shrimp; sort by size as they grow.
The diamond tetra comes only from the Lake Valencia basin in Venezuela. It was described by Carl H. Eigenmann in 1920, probably named after the Swiss-born botanist Henri Pittier, who collected for him. It is now Endangered in the wild because of pollution and urban growth.
Carl Eigenmann described the diamond tetra in 1920, honouring Henri Pittier, a Swiss-born scientist who worked in Venezuela. It comes from a small area around Lake Valencia in northern Venezuela. As it matures, its scales take on a glittering, diamond-like sparkle.
First described by Carl H. Eigenmann in 1920. Named for Named after Swiss-Venezuelan botanist Henri Pittier.
15 facts checked with sources
Moved from Moenkhausia to Makunaima in 2024. Moenkhausia pittieri Eigenmann, 1920 is now a synonym; keep it as an other name. Common name unaffected.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Moenkhausia pittieri · FishBase: Makunaima pittieri summary · Seriously Fish: Makunaima pittieri (formerly Moenkhausia pittieri)2024 family split from Characidae; subfamily Megalamphodinae. Seriously Fish still lists Characidae. Legacy had no family.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Moenkhausia pittieri · FishBase: Makunaima pittieri summaryBoth figures SL (standard length); total length a little longer.
FishBase: Makunaima pittieri summary · Seriously Fish: Makunaima pittieri (formerly Moenkhausia pittieri)Legacy 23-28.
Seriously Fish: Makunaima pittieri (formerly Moenkhausia pittieri) · FishBase: Makunaima pittieri summaryLegacy 5.5-7.5. Seriously Fish (preferred for husbandry) 5.5-7.0; FishBase 6.0-7.0.
Seriously Fish: Makunaima pittieri (formerly Moenkhausia pittieri) · FishBase: Makunaima pittieri summaryLegacy had no hardness.
Seriously Fish: Makunaima pittieri (formerly Moenkhausia pittieri) · FishBase: Makunaima pittieri summary60 x 38 x 30 cm = 68,400 cm³ = 68 L. FishBase says a tank of at least 80 cm length. Legacy 100 L is more generous than the sourced minimum.
Seriously Fish: Makunaima pittieri (formerly Moenkhausia pittieri)FishBase says groups of at least 5. A proper group also reduces fin nipping (Seriously Fish).
Seriously Fish: Makunaima pittieri (formerly Moenkhausia pittieri)Seriously Fish warns it may nip fins if kept in too small a group.
Seriously Fish: Makunaima pittieri (formerly Moenkhausia pittieri)Seriously Fish rates it Easy and hardy.
Seriously Fish: Makunaima pittieri (formerly Moenkhausia pittieri)Legacy had no native range field. IUCN: Endangered (FishBase, assessed 2022). The lake is heavily polluted and the species may have disappeared from the lake itself.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Moenkhausia pittieri · Seriously Fish: Makunaima pittieri (formerly Moenkhausia pittieri)Legacy says males have larger dorsal and anal fins and females are rounder; Seriously Fish describes size, build and fin colour.
Seriously Fish: Makunaima pittieri (formerly Moenkhausia pittieri)Seriously Fish describes both group and pair spawning.
Seriously Fish: Makunaima pittieri (formerly Moenkhausia pittieri)Legacy "200-400 eggs" is not supported by any source found; egg count unknown.
Seriously Fish: Makunaima pittieri (formerly Moenkhausia pittieri)Legacy story (Lake Valencia; sparkly scales) is right; sparkle is a description, not checked. Name honour per ETYFish via Wikipedia.
Wikipedia: Diamond tetra (cites IUCN Red List, Mikolji et al. 2024; ETYFish) · FishBase: Makunaima pittieri summary