Family: Characidae
Distribution: The upper Orinoco and Negro River basins in South America is where Hyphessobrycon epicharis can be found.
PH: 6 – 7.5 pH
Temperature: 23 – 28°C (74 – 82°F)
Hardness: 2 – 15 dH
Description: Growing to a little less than 3.5cm, Hyphessobrycon epicharis is a beautifully-coloured fish. The base colouration is silver, with a faint red line running down the body from the snout to base of the caudal fins. The upper part of the iris is also red, with some black edging around the red. The caudal and pelvic fins are a deeper red than the stripe. Hyphessobrycon epicharis also sports a large, horizontally-elongated black smudge behind its gills, as well as a black-and-white-tipped dorsal fin.
If their behaviour is anything like their relatives, Hyphessobrycon epicharis will be peaceful, active and non-aggressive. They will also thrive when kept in shoals of 6 or more.
Diet: The omnivorous diet suits Hyphessobrycon species and there’s no indication this specific fish is any different. Use quality flake foods as their staple; and 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 epicharis.
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 breeding tank of at least 40L. To set up a breeding tank, include many fine-leaved plants and a soft filtration system, but do not use a 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: As there is little known about keeping Hyphessobrycon epicharis, general information pertaining to the family has been included. The species is generally easy to care for and suitable for any individual.
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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 02:13:52. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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