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im confused do they glo like glofish do?

Glowlights are completely natural. They just have a really bright, shiny line going down their sides.

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Cake or death?

Yeah, they just reflect light, like many other fish. But when they're properly bred, they reflect it very brightly, and can be quite beautiful against a black tank backdrop. (Many of them have been too inbred, unfortunately, and have only a rather pale stripe; keep an eye out instead for those that are a deep traffic-light red.)

Glowlight Tetras are very beautiful & have natural colours.


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The Glowlight Tetra, Hemigrammus gracilis (formerly Hemigrammus erthrozonus, which was actually a much better name for it!) is one of several South American Characins with iridescence, of which the Neon and Cardinal Tetras are simply the best known.

Glowlights possess a bright red horizontal stripe that looks under the right lighting as if the fish possesses its own internal fluorescent tubing! However, as stated above, check the provenance of your stock, and make sure you get good ones with good colour that haven't been inbred!

When seen against a dark background, you will also notice that the first one or two rays of the dorsal and anal fins are white, the remainder of those fins being translucent.

The iridescence is of the same kind as found in Neons and Cardinals - special cells (called iridocytes) below the skin that contain guanine crystals that refract light. However, the details of the structure of those cells differs from Neons and Cardinals, and accounts for the colour being red instead of blue.

Glowlights, while nominally lovers of soft, acidic water typical of many South American fishes, are actually fairly hardy maintenance wise, though extremes of pH and hardness are to be avoided.

Persuading these fishes to spawn is not especially difficult, though requires some attention to detail (e.g., providing fine leaved plants or Java Moss, subdued lighting, plenty of live food). When they spawn, the male and female perform an intricate 'formation barrel roll' whereupon they spin together about their common longitudinal axis like two fighter aircraft at an air display!

The BIG problem with Glowlights is raising the fry. Fry as very sensitive to carbonate hardness, which makes for considerable difficulties in tank maintenance. Fry will keel over and die if the carbonate hardness exceeds a measly 0.5° KH in the first 7 days, and the fry have to be gently weaned onto water with a higher KH. Filtering their water over peat is said to be beneficial.

Note that such a low KH will mean that keeping the pH stable in the nursery aquarium will be a major challenge. A pH crash can take place all too easily in such an environment, whereupon the fry are wiped out.

Hopefully this will prove helpful!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

One caution: in my experience they aren't the hardiest of tetras. Also, they seem vulnerable to Neon Tetra Disease, if that horror ever gets into your tank.

I've had one Glowlight that has been with me for 4 years now! They can be tough as nails too- this little guy has been through fishy hell and back and he's still the brightest thing in the tank!!!

They rock.
L. :88)