Hemigrammus ulreyi - Broken-line Tetra | Tropical Fish

Hemigrammus ulreyi - Broken-line Tetra

Magyarul / Hungarian

Scientific name: Hemigrammus ulreyi
Synonyms: Tetragonopterus ulreyi (Boulenger, 1895)
Common name: Broken-line Tetra
Group: Characins
Distribution: South America; Brazil, in the Rio Paraguay basin
Size: 5 cm
Biotope: Found in slow moving rivers and tributaries.
Social behavior: A peaceful and active schooling characin, that is a good choice for a general community tank, but can be a little shy, so keep them only with similar sized and peaceful fish. They should be kept in a group of at least 6 species.
Diet: Omnivorous; they will readily accept all kinds of foods, but regular live an frozen foods are necessary to maintain their colors.
Breeding: Quite hard
Tank: Minimum 70 litres
Population: 6 fish for 70 litres
Decoration: They can be kept either in a densely planted tank, or in a biotope aquarium. In the latter case use river sand as substrate and decorate the tank with some driftwood branches or roots. A few dried leaves in their tank can stain the water like in their natural habitat, or you can use peat filtered RO water. Use subdued lighting.
Temperature: 23-27 °C
pH: 5.8-7.2
Hardness: 5.0-12.0 dGH
Lifespan: 3-4 years

Description: Hemigrammus ulreyi have a silvery, semi-transparent body with a bold black and yellow band running along their flanks from the eye to the base of the caudal fin, but there is a break in these bands at about the pelvic fins. The dorsal fin is also marked with black and yellow, while the anal fin has a white edge. The real Broken-line Tetra is quite scarce in the hobby, but makes a very attractive addition to most tanks. The fish has named in honor of the biologist Albert B. Ulrey. Like all Hemigrammus, the taxonomic status of this species is currently uncertain and scientists agree that a full revision is required.

Mature females are slightly larger and plumper than males.

Broken-line Tetra can be bred in a smaller separate tank. Use a very dimly lit aquarium, and cover the base of the tank with Java moss or with some kind of mesh that can protect the eggs from the adults. Use soft (1-5 dKH), slightly acidic (pH 5,5-6,5) water with a temperature of 26-28 °C, or alternatively peat filtered RO water can be used. Hemigrammus ulreyi can be spawned in a small group or in pairs, but either way condition the fish with plenty of small live foods before the act. Place the fish into the breeding tank in the evening, and they will usually spawn in the following morning, but sometimes this can be a few days until they spawn. The eggs hatch in 24-36 hours and the larvae become free-swimming after another 3-4 days. The fry can be fed with infusoria-type foods, or liquid foods in the first days, and later when they become larger, they can be fed with brine shrimp nauplii.

Sources:
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/26457
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/hemigrammus-ulreyi/
http://www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk/fish-detail?id=2701