Peaceful schooler.
311 species in our list are a good match.
Peaceful schooler.
Flakes, micro-pellets, frozen foods.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Mature females are rounder in the belly than males and grow a little larger.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Egg-scatterer · Easy
Egg scatterer and quite easy to breed in a separate tank.
Buy a group of 6-8 and let them pair up.
20 L tank with fine mops or moss, slightly soft water and dim light.
Warm, soft water and good feeding.
Usually 120-150 eggs per female; eggs hatch in 24-36 hours.
Feed infusoria or green water for days 1-3, then newly hatched brine shrimp and microworms. Keep light low early on. Grow out in a larger tank once fish are about 1 cm.
Known only from the Essequibo River in Guyana and described by Durbin in 1909. It has a glowing orange-red stripe from snout to tail and colours best in acidic water. All aquarium fish are farm-bred, and an albino form exists.
Marion Durbin (later Ellis) described this tetra in 1909 from Guyana's Essequibo River. It became one of the classic community fish of the 20th century. Today almost all glowlights in trade are captive-bred in Asia.
First described by Marion Durbin Ellis in 1909.
15 facts checked with sources
Described by Durbin, 1909. Seriously Fish warns Hemigrammus is a catch-all genus and recent studies have moved several species out (e.g. rummy-nose to Petitella), so a future change is possible.
FishBase: Hemigrammus erythrozonus, Glowlight tetraLegacy has no family. Subfamily Pristellinae. Melo et al. 2024 (Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 202(1), "Phylogenomics of Characidae") split the old Characidae; FishBase now places this species in Acestrorhamphidae (American tetras). Seriously Fish still says Characidae. Suggest showing 'Acestrorhamphidae (American tetras; formerly Characidae)'.
FishBase: Hemigrammus erythrozonus, Glowlight tetraFishBase max 3.3 cm TL in its length field, but notes reports up to 4 cm TL; Seriously Fish 4.0 cm SL.
FishBase: Hemigrammus erythrozonus, Glowlight tetra · Seriously Fish: Hemigrammus erythrozonusSeriously Fish (preferred) matches; it adds the fish is more colourful in acidic water.
Seriously Fish: Hemigrammus erythrozonus · FishBase: Hemigrammus erythrozonus, Glowlight tetraLegacy has no hardness; sourced value recorded.
Seriously Fish: Hemigrammus erythrozonus · FishBase: Hemigrammus erythrozonus, Glowlight tetraSeriously Fish suggests a 60 x 38 x 30 cm tank (~68 L; 60 x 38 x 30 = 68,400 cm³). FishBase: at least 60 cm long (60 x 30 x 30 = 54 L). Either way the legacy 40 L is too small.
Seriously Fish: Hemigrammus erythrozonus · FishBase: Hemigrammus erythrozonus, Glowlight tetraLegacy 8 is between the minimum 6 and the preferred 10+.
Seriously Fish: Hemigrammus erythrozonusSeriously Fish difficulty bar shows "Moderate", but the text recommends it for beginners.
Seriously Fish: Hemigrammus erythrozonusLegacy has no range field (its story says Guyana, which agrees). Wikipedia also mentions the Courantyne River (Suriname border) without a citation; not added. All aquarium fish are farm-bred.
Seriously Fish: Hemigrammus erythrozonus · FishBase: Hemigrammus erythrozonus, Glowlight tetraLegacy "around 100-200 eggs" narrowed to the sourced average; hatch time agrees.
Seriously Fish: Hemigrammus erythrozonusLegacy "looks best in dark, planted tanks" not found in sources; replaced with the sourced acidic-water remark. IUCN: Least Concern (assessed 2020, per FishBase).
Seriously Fish: Hemigrammus erythrozonus · Wikipedia: Hemigrammus erythrozonus