Family: Characidae
Distribution: The river basins of the upper Tietê and Paraíba do Sul in South America are where Hyphessobrycon duragenys choses to make its home.
PH: 6 – 7.5 pH
Temperature: 23 – 28°C (74 – 82°F)
Hardness: 2 – 15 dH
Description: Little is known about the specifics of Hyphessobrycon duragenys, other than it is a larger member of the Tetra family, being just shy of 7cm when mature. If he is anything like his Hyphessobrycon relatives, Hyphessobrycon duragenys will be peaceful, active and non-territorial. It will also do best when kept in shoals of at least 6.
Diet: The omnivorous diet suits Hyphessobrycon species and there’s no indication this specific fish is any different. Ensure that quality flake foods are the staple of the diet, and use frozen or live foods as treats once or twice a week.
Breeding: There is little known about breeding in the tank, considering how rare this fish is in the hobby. Therefore, it is recommended that the breeding method used by the majority of the Hyphessobrycon species is utilised when attempting with Hyphessobrycon duragenys.
Two conditioning tanks should be established to house a one-year-old male and a one-year-old female. These should be conditioned on Drosophila and insect larvae for two-to-three weeks, before the duo can be introduced into a 38L breeding tank. To set up a breeding tank, include many fine-leaved plants and a soft filtration system, but do not use substrate. Use water with a pH of 5.5 – 6.5, a dH of 2 – 4, and a temperature of 24 – 26°C (75 – 79°F). It is unknown if the eggs are light-sensitive, so it is best to keep them out of direct sunlight just in case.
It should take three days for the pair to spawn. If no eggs appear, recondition them. The eggs will appear in the leaves of the plants and the parents should be removed immediately after spawning as they are cannibalistic. A little over twenty-four hours after being laid, the eggs will hatch. The fry will appear few days later and should be fed on an initial diet of micro-organisms and baby Brine, and crushed flake ten days later.
The eggs and fry require weekly, partial water changes as they are susceptible to illness in poor water conditions.
Comments: Hyphessobrycon duragenys is rare in the hobby and therefore information pertaining to the Hyphessobrycon species in general has been included.
If this species is as easy to look after as most of its relatives, it will be perfectly suited for anyone of any experience level.
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 02:02:29. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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