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I found this guy today in a shipment of wild-caught Rummynose Tetras, but I can't figure out what it is. Fishbase is rather limited in its selection of Hemigrammus photos, so I'm hoping someone might find it in a big Axelrod fish atlas or something. Here are the main characteristics of the fish:

- Large black spot on caudal peduncle
- Faint vertical bar through eyes
- No red coloration in eyes
- Overall silver coloration with copper shine
- Yellow dorsal fin
- White tip on anal fin

And now for some crappy pictures of the fish...









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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Thats a really tricky one, theres so many fish that have those characteristics, best guess so far is a Ceros tetra (moenkhausia ceros),the mouth and body look right , but the tail dot is a bit less distinct in the picture I have, but ill keep looking.If it is a ceros, at least it'll be easy to keep, but they prefer to be in schools.

That does appear to be the closest match I've seen so far. The main difference is the red in the eyes - Moenkhausia ceros seems to have a lot of it while mine has none...

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Two posibilities arise after a web search. The first is Hemigrammus schmardae, and the second is Hyphessobrycon elachys. However, none is an ideal match, though both have no red in the eye, the characteristic caudal spot, and the slender shape.

If you know someone who has a copy of Characoids of the World by Jacques Géry, that will be the definitive source book to consult. If you want a copy of your own, EBay is currently offering a copy:

Ebay auction

[EDIT]Incidentally, Hyphessobrucon elachys is the species of characin with which the Dwarf Corydoras, Corydoras hastatus, associates in the wild.

Have fun with this one!



Last edited by Calilasseia at 01-Dec-2005 11:51

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

How large is it? It could still be a juvy and not showing all its full markings yet.



Also, you cannot always go by pics listed on the web. Take for instance the armstrongi. There are only about a dozen or so pics of them listed on the web. And yet, out of those dozen, they appear to be more than 6 different species in them, lol. Some are silver, some gold. Some have a gill spot, and some have a horizontal stripe or two. Some have the caudal fin spot, while others don't. It amazes me how many different looking pics of the "same" fish there are. Causes too much confusion.

Last edited by ACIDRAIN at 01-Dec-2005 12:10

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There is always a bigger fish...

The fish is about one inch long and should be pretty close to its adult coloration. From what I have seen of Hemigrammus schmardae on the internet, that seems to be the closest so far.

Does that Characoids book have color photographs in it? The description made no mention of that and that seems like the most accurate method to identify tetras.

EDIT: The range of Hemigrammus schmardae is also compatible with the range of the Rummynose Tetra, so that helps a bit.

Last edited by Cory Addict at 01-Dec-2005 17:06

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Last time I checked, the Géry book had diagnostic info a -plenty, along with a decent selection of colour plates. Mind you, it's in need of an update, because there's quite a few new Tetras in circulation now that weren't around when Géry first published the book. Kitty Tetras, Columbian Red Blues and "Junior Pandurini" weren't known then. But since this fish of yours is unlikely to be one of those (in any case, you'd KNOW if you had a "Junior Pandurini" because it's an iridescent claret coloured fish, and no dealer on earth would let one of those slip past without a hefty price markup!) chances are you'll find the requisite diagnostic info in the Géry book.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

It also appears very hard to find this book with a price tag of under $150... I think I'll hold off for a while.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.