Scientific Name: Chalceus macrolepidotus
Common Name: Pinktail Chalceus Tetra, Pinktail Characin
Adult Size: 12 inches
Life Expectancy: 15 years
Habitat: Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela
Aquarium Size: 55 gallons
Ideal Water Conditions:
- Temperature Range: 73 - 82°F
-
pH Range: 6 - 8
- Hardness Range: 5 - 18
Temperament: Semi-aggressive; does best when kept either as a single specimen, or in a group with more than 6 fish. In smaller groups, they tend to scrap with one another. Other than this, it is a good addition to many larger communities.
Diet & Nutrition: Feeds primarily on insects and aquatic crustaceans in nature. While dried foods are usually accepted, a good proportion of the diet should contain meaty foods such as prawns, mussel, bloodworms, chopped earthworms etc.
Breeding & Spawning: There are few reports of captive breeding. A large capacity aquarium with mature fish would be required for any spawning attempts. Several thousand small eggs are said to be scattered over bushy vegetation over the course of a few hours. Depending on temperature, the eggs should hatch within 48 hours, and the fry are free-swimming within 4 days at which point they can be offered baby brine shrimp.
Gender: Can be hard to determine, with no readily obvious differences. However, once the fish attain a size of ~8 inches in length, the females are said to appear fuller bellied.
