Kitty Tetra Breeding Guide

Breeding notes for the Kitty Tetra (Hyphessobrycon heliacus), a small Tapajós egg-scatterer whose spawning is only partly documented.

Overview

The Kitty Tetra, Hyphessobrycon heliacus, is a small golden characin from the Teles Pires River in the upper Tapajós basin, in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. It reaches a standard length of about 2.8 cm (total length to roughly 3.5 cm) and was collected in lentic marginal portions of the stream over a muddy bottom with abundant submerged vegetation. It is an egg-scatterer.

Sexing

Males have longer, thread-like fins, especially the dorsal, anal and ventral fins, and are more brightly coloured than females. The anal fin of an adult male lacks a distinct point, whereas females and young fish retain one.

Breeding Setup

As an egg-scatterer, the species is spawned in a separate, dimly lit tank with fine-leaved plants or spawning mops, or a mesh base, so eggs fall away from the adults. General maintenance conditions are 23-28 °C, pH 5.5-7.0 and GH 8-15; spawning-specific values were not recorded in the consulted sources.

Egg & Fry Care

Adults should be removed after spawning to protect the eggs. Detailed hatch times and fry-rearing data specific to this species were not documented; small-tetra fry are typically started on infusoria-grade foods before brine shrimp nauplii.