Family: Characidae
Distribution: The Papaloapam River Basin, Mexico, North America is the home of Hyphessobrycon compressus.
PH: 6.0 – 7.5 pH
Temperature: 23 – 28°C (73 – 82°F)
Hardness: 2 – 15 dH
Description: The Mayan Tetra will attain a size of around 4cm and are generally peaceful and actively shoaling fish. They are ideal community tank mates due to their low aggression.
As they are rare in the hobby, certain information such as sexual differences, colouration and habits is unknown.
Diet: Feed your Mayan Tetra an omnivorous diet. Whilst flake and freeze-dried food can constitute the staple diet of Hyphessobrycon compressus, it also requires live food to keep them healthy. It is important to note that they are mid-level dwellers and will ignore food when it sinks past them. For these reasons, it is advised to feed them as much as possible at multiple times during a day.
Breeding: Separate the parents-to-be from the rest of the group and feed them on a diet consisting mainly of frozen foods. Keep the water soft and only slightly acidic, with a temperature 23 – 26°C. The tank should be kept dimly lit and have dense plantation (of fine-leaved plants).
The parents should be removed immediately after spawning as they will consume the eggs. The roe will hatch in one to three days, and the fry will be free swimming within a day or so. Live foods (chopped up finely) should be fed to the fry, and the water should be changed daily.
Comments: The tank should be set up with gravel or sand as the substrate and dechlorinated water. Use a tank of around 40L. To mimic their natural habitat, use some plantation and other hiding spaces. They also require regular water changes.
Whilst the majority of the Hyphessobrycon family are suitable for beginners, the maintenance required to keep Hyphessobrycon compressus is higher than average and therefore it is not really recommended to those wanting to keep fish as a side hobby.
Article/Books:
Recommended Compatible Species: They should live happily with other Tetra species (particularly the Neon Tetra and Black Tetra). They also should be good tank mates with Discus, Apistogramma‘s like Apistogramma Cacatouides and Apistogramma Borelli, Corydoras Catfish (particularly Corydoras Sterbai and Corydoras aeneus) Angelfish, Clown loach, the common Guppy and Platy and most Gourami (such as the Blue Gourami and Dwarf Gourami like the Honey Gourami) Also should live happily with most Danio (particularly the Zebra Danio and Pearl Danio) and also many Killifish could make great tank mates.
Originally posted 2010-04-21 01:49:44. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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