Yellow Phantom Tetra Profile

[steeler1]

For those of you who like your tetras small and peaceful this is the fish for you.

First discovered in 1978, they have become more popular over the last few years.

Hyphessobrycon Roseus; gets a little over 1" males smaller. Keep at a 73-81 F, prefers softer acitric water but thrives in a community setting as long as the fish arent to big. Somewhat easier than Red Phantoms but a little harder than Black Phantoms. Keep over a dark substrade in a well planted aquarium with free swimming spaces. They eat almost anything but you should feed them bloodworms, brine shrimp ect to very there diet.

I've found they school tighter than thier more well known cousins but nothing like Rummynoses if you expect that type of schooling. They have fast become one of my favorite Tetras. A wonderful contrast to Neons and Cardinals.

[tetrageek]

Cool fish. I've never heard of them though.

[AVN]

Those look very much like Harlequin Rasboras, but I can see the difference.

[steeler1]

Cool fish. I've never heard of them though.

Also known as the Red Tailed Gold Phantom Tetra.

[jeffs99dime]

Hyphessobrycon roseus
Yellow Phantom Tetra
ClassificationCharacidae

Distribution
Rio Maroni and Oyapock basins, French Guiana.

Habitat
Primarily inhabits forested areas, in sluggish tributaries off the main river channels. The water in these biotopes is often stained brown with tannins and other chemicals released from decaying organic material, and is very acidic as a result.

Maximum Standard Length
1.2″ (3cm)

Aquarium Size
A standard 18″ x 12″ x 12″ (45cm x 30cm x 30cm) – 42 litre tank is easily big enough for a shoal of these.

Maintenance
A biotope setup would be very simple to arrange. Use a substrate of river sand and add a few driftwood branches (if you can’t find driftwood of the desired shape, common beech is safe to use if thoroughly dried and stripped of bark) and twisted roots. A few handfuls of dried leaves (again beech can be used, or oak leaves are also suitable) would complete the natural feel. Aquatic plants are not a feature of this species‘ natural waters. Allow the wood and leaves to stain the water the colour of weak tea, removing old leaves and replacing them every few weeks so they don’t rot and foul the water. A small net bag filled with aquarium-safe peat can be added to the filter to aid in the simulation of black water conditions. Use fairly dim lighting.

Alternatively it also does well in a well maintained, heavily planted tank. Although it will survive in a more simple, sparsely arranged tank, it’s colours will often become washed out and it tends to be shy.

Water ConditionsTemperature: 74-80°F (23-27°C)

pH: 5.5-7.5. Although it will survive in slightly alkaline water, it tends to be more colourful when kept in acidic conditions.

Hardness: 2-15°H

Diet
Omnivorous and will accept just about anything offered. It does have a small mouth though, so correspondingly sized foods are best. Feed a mixture of dried flakes and granules and small live and frozen foods. A varied diet is essential for the best colour development.

Behaviour and Compatibility
It’s a very peaceful species that won’t compete well with very boisterous or much larger tankmates. The tiny adult size means it also makes a tasty snack for many commonly kept species, such as angelfish or some gouramis. Ideally keep it with other quiet South American species, such as small tetras, pencil fish, Apistogramma and other dwarf cichlids, dwarf Corydoras and Otocinclus. It could also be combined with smaller cyprinids and Anabantoids if geography isn’t an issue.

Always buy a group of at least 6 of these, preferably 10 or more. It is a shoaling species by nature, and will fare much better when in the company of its own kind. Like most tetras it actually looks far more effective when maintained like this anyway.

Sexual Dimorphism
Females tend to be stockier and a less intensely coloured than males.

Reproduction
Can be bred in a similar way to other species in the genus. You’ll need to set up a separate tank if you want to raise decent numbers of fry. Something around 18″ x 10″ x 10″ in size is fine, and you could even get away with something a little smaller. This should be very dimly lit and contain clumps of fine leaved plants such as java moss or spawning mops, to give the fish somewhere to deposit their eggs. Alternatively you could cover the base of the tank with some kind of mesh. This should be of a large enough grade so that the eggs can fall through it, but small enough so that the adults cannot reach them. The water should be soft and acidic in the range pH 5.5-6.5, gH 1-5, with a temperature of around 80-84°F. Filtering the water through peat is useful, as is the use of RO water. A small air-powered sponge filter bubbling away very gently is all that is needed in terms of filtration.

It can be spawned in a group, with half a dozen specimens of each sex being a good number. Condition these with plenty of small live foods and spawning should not present too many problems.

Alternatively it can be spawned in pairs. Under this technique the fish are conditioned in male and female groups in separate tanks. When the females are noticeably full of eggs and the males are displaying their best colours, select the fattest female and best-coloured male and transfer them to the spawning tank in the evening. They should spawn the following morning.

In either situation the adults will eat the eggs given the chance and should be removed as soon as eggs are noticed. These will hatch in 24-36 hours, with the fry becoming free swimming 3-4 days later. They should be fed on an infusoria-type food for the first few days, until they are large enough to accept microworm or brine shrimp nauplii.

[steeler1]

Those look very much like Harlequin Rasboras, but I can see the difference.

Heres one that realy looks like a Harlaquin as a matter of fact one of it's common names is the harlaquin tetra.

[AVN]

They're all pretty much the same fish anyways. xD!

[tetrageek]

I only know the red and black phantom tetra. Is there a green phantom tetra?