Silvertip Tetra (Hasemania nana)

With its beautiful bronzy sheen and pint-sized proportions, the Silvertip Tetra makes for an ideal addition to smaller fish tanks. Though aquarium specimens are now typically captive bred, this fish originates from the São Francisco River in Eastern Brazil, where it occurs in small tributaries with acidic blackwater.

Hasemania is a small group with just eight species to its name, and, of these, only H. nana, with its distinctive silvery tipped fins, has any real presence in the aquarium trade. This genus stands apart from most other tetras for its lack of an adipose fin—the small bit of fatty flesh along the back between the dorsal and tail fins. The absence doesn’t seem to cause much of a hindrance for these fishes, as they are some of the more active of the smaller tetras. They even have a bit of a reputation as fin nippers towards other similarly sized species, such as Neon Tetras, so some caution needs to be used when adding them into small spaces.

Like most tetras, H. nana enjoys company and should be kept in groups numbering at least a half-dozen or more individuals. They can be fed on a wide variety of flake, pellet and frozen foods, and, if well cared for, may even spawn in captivity. The best conditions for this are a low pH and plenty of fine-leaved plants for their adhesive eggs to be attached.

The rivers that the Silvertip Tetra calls home are usually devoid of living plants, so a proper biotope for this fish would require plenty of driftwood and leaf litter. But they’ll fare just as well in a standard community tank or one with loads of live plants. Good tank mates might include some of the other smaller, active tetras from the region, including Rummynose, Buenos Aires and Bloodfin Tetras. Danios, barbs, rasboras and rainbowfishes would also do quite well, as would many catfishes, loaches and gobies.