Family: Characidae
Distribution: The Cerrado region of the Upper Xingu River basin in Brazil is where Hyphessobrycon loweae choses to make its home. It displays a preference for shallow streams with sandy bottom, clear water, minimal vegetation and small rocks.
PH: 6.0 – 7.5 pH
Temperature: 22 – 28 °C (72 – 82 °F)
Hardness: 2 – 15 dH
Description: Hyphessobrycon loweae is not as brightly coloured as the majority of his Hyphessobrycon relatives. A semi-transparent species, this fish has a dull grey hue. It has a faint yellow stripe running from the snout, along each side to the caudal fins; as well as a yellow stomach and sports of yellow on the body at the base of the anal, pelvic and dorsal fins. Sitting just before the caudal fins is a darker gray spot, elongated horizontally. The nose of Hyphessobrycon loweae is red; its mouth is orange and has a two-town eye: red above the iris and blue below. The dorsal fin is a pale red and elongated; the caudal is yellow and also sports a spot on each ray; and the rest are orange.
It is small member of the Hyphessobrycon family, growing a touch over 3cm in the tank.
Diet: The Hyphessobrycon species thrive on omnivorous diets. Your Hyphessobrycon loweae will enjoy a diet that is primarily flakes or pellets with occasional live foods as treats.
Breeding: Due to its rarity, successful captivity-bred reports have yet to be unearthed. If you manage to find a pair and want to try it yourself, it is suggested you follow the general Hyphessobrycon method.
First separate a male and a female (at least one year old) into two conditioning tanks. Feed them live foods for about three weeks before introducing them into the breeding tank. They should breed within 24 hours, but give them three days and, if no eggs appear, repeat the conditioning process.
Remove the parents once they have spawned or you may find they’ve eaten all the eggs. They will hatch after 24 hours and the subsequent free-swimming fry should be fed Infusoria. Once they are big enough, start them on baby brine shrimp.
As it is unknown whether the eggs of the Hyphessobrycon loweae are light-sensitive or not, you should err on the side of caution and keep them in as much dark as possible.
Comments: Hyphessobrycon loweae is uncommon in the hobby and therefore there is limited information available. Consequently, information pertaining to the Hyphessobrycon species in general has been included.
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.
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