Buenos Aires Tetra (Hyphessobrycon anisitsi)

Common Name:

Buenos Aires Tetra.

Scientific Name:

Hyphessobrycon anisitsi.

Other Names:

B-A Tetra, Diamond Spot Characin, Red Cross Fish.

Family:

Tetragonopteridae, but some place it in Charcidae within the subfamily Tetragonopterinae.

Distribution:

The Rio Parana watershed in Brazil/Paraguay, the Rio Uruguay watershed in Brazil.

Size:

2.75 inches on average, but they can reach 4 inches.

Diet:

They are omnivores, so standard aquarium fare should be mixed with Romaine lettuce and zucchini (among other greens).

Water Temperature:

74-85 degrees Fahrenheit (22-28 degrees Celsius): the lower edge of this range is best for breeding.

Water Chemistry:

They aren't picky at all and will take soft to fairly hard water.

pH:

They can do well in pHs from 5.5 to 8.5.

Life Span:

Information unavailable, but this fish is closely-related to many that have lifespans of 5 to 7 years in ideal conditions.

Description:

These are beautiful, muted silvery-blue fish with a black cross over their caudal peduncle and red anal and caudal fins. The caudal fins have a thin white stripe at their base. These fish are sort of streamlined -- certainly less so than the Neons and Cardinals, certainly more so than the tetras of Moenkhausia. Albinos of the B-A Tetra have the same striking patterns, but the base colours are white and the patterns are a reddish-pink.

Species Behaviour:

These are schooling fish with a huge affinity for plants. They will even eat the bitterest aquatic plants, so plastic plants are a necessity as they need the cover which such decor provides. They love floating "plants" and backgrounds which cover the back of the tank as well as the sides. These are obviously fish that are big on security, but, once they have acquiescence from their keepers, the Buenos Aires Tetras are beautiful and hardy.

They can be maintained in community tanks with fish of a similar size.

Sexing:

Females are generally plumper and less colourful than their male counterparts.

Breeding:

Much the same as for the Neon and Cardinal Tetras, with less of an emphasis on soft water. Since the adults are oophagous, they must be removed after the spawning. The fry may be raised in the same manner as those of the Moenkhausian Tetras.

Natural Conditions:

They live in ponds within the watersheds of large South American rivers.

Minimum recommended tank size:

30 gallons.

Tank levels:

Top-Middle.

Miscellaneous:

Even I got this one wrong when I was running a search on FishBase. It seems that this fish is often cited as Hemigrammus caudovittatus, but that is wrong, both with regard to genus and with regard to species. I don't feel too bad, though, because it looks like few sources cite Hy. anisitsi properly, calling it Hemig. caudovittatus instead. Any search you want to run on this fish should be done either under the Buenos Aires Tetra common name or under the Hemig. caudovittatus scientific name.

Photo Credit:

Photos supplied courtesy and ^©Wolfpup522.