Africa invariably suggests tropical animals big and little but it is surprising how few fish for the aquarium really come from there. One of these, nevertheless, is the African tetra. The body of this fish, unlike most Characins, is much more rounded. The upper portion of the body is a brownish-red, golden on the sides, merging into pale yellow to white on the lower body and also the under parts.
The dark lateral marking has a gold line above it which tends to turn out to be coppery as it approaches the tail. This coppery colour extends into the top half of the caudal fin, spreading out into a reddish suffusion. The lower half is also suffused with red but isn’t as bright as the top. The fore edge of the dorsal fin is black, and there’s occasionally red present in this fin also. The scales are clearly defined as they’re generally finely edged with black.
The African tetra is decidedly an attractive fish, fairly peaceful, hardy and simple to feed. It’ll thrive on dried foods, but live foods should be included in the diet.
Mature females attain a length of approximately three inch; the males are slightly smaller, about 2.5 inch.
Breeding is reasonably simple to induce; the temperature should be raised to between 78° and 82° F.
The breeding aquarium should be spacious and planted with fine-leafed plants. Eggs hatch in about two days. After 3 to four days they should be fed fine live foods.