Featherfin Tetra (stictus) Care Guide
Hemigrammus stictus is a compact characin from the Amazon, Negro and Orinoco basins, kept as a peaceful schooling fish in soft, acidic water.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Hemigrammus stictus is a compact characin with a red caudal base, kept as a peaceful schooling fish for soft, acidic community aquariums.
Taxonomy
- Family: Characidae (order Characiformes)
- Genus: Hemigrammus
- Scientific name: Hemigrammus stictus
Habitat
FishBase records the species from the Amazon and Negro River basins, the Orinoco River basin, and coastal rivers in Guyana, as a benthopelagic freshwater fish.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 80 L
- Temperature: 23-28 °C (FishBase reports 23-27 °C)
- pH: 5.5-7.0 (FishBase 6.0-7.0)
- GH: 1-10 °dGH
- Maximum size: about 4.3 cm TL (FishBase; up to 6 cm also reported)
- School size: 6 or more individuals
- Lifespan: 3-5 years
Diet
The species is omnivorous and accepts small dried, frozen and live foods in the aquarium, fed twice daily.
Compatibility
It is a peaceful mid-water schooler suited to soft, acidic community tanks. Suitable companions include Cardinal tetras and dwarf cichlids such as Apistogramma; aggressive species should be avoided.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List: Least Concern (assessed 2021).
Featherfin / Red-Base Tetra (Hemigrammus stictus) Breeding Guide
Overview
Hemigrammus stictus (Durbin, 1909), the red-base or featherfin tetra, is a freshwater benthopelagic characid recorded by FishBase from the Amazon and Negro River basins, the Orinoco River basin and coastal rivers in Guyana. It reaches 4.3 cm, reported up to 6 cm. FishBase lists no breeding details, and no whitelisted source documents a captive spawning, so the notes below pair the verified data with the egg-scattering pattern of the genus Hemigrammus.
Sexing
No species-specific sexing characters are recorded in the consulted sources. Across the genus Hemigrammus, mature females are generally rounder and fuller-bodied than the slimmer males when in condition.
Conditioning
FishBase gives water parameters of 23-27 C and pH 6.0-7.0 for the species. In the absence of breeding data, the genus approach is to condition a maintained group on small live and frozen foods until females fill with eggs.
Breeding Setup
Following the Hemigrammus pattern, a small dimly lit spawning tank with fine-leaved plants or a spawning mop, or a mesh base keeping eggs out of the adults' reach, with gentle air-driven sponge filtration, suits egg-scattering tetras. Species-specific spawning parameters for H. stictus are not on record.
Egg & Fry Care
In the genus, eggs and early fry are light-sensitive, adults give no parental care and eat their own spawn, eggs hatch within roughly 24-36 hours, and fry become free-swimming after a few days, taking infusoria-grade food before brine shrimp nauplii. No egg count or timing is confirmed for H. stictus itself.