Every species

A beautiful species that's not often seen for sale in the hobby, and is usually a little more expensive than other tetras when available. This is mainly due to the wild caught nature of most specimens entering the trade. It can be a little delicate when initially imported, and is sensitive to deteriorating water conditions in general. As a result, it's not a good choice for the beginner, and should only be added to well-matured tanks. As with the closely related Hemigrammus, the ta...

This species is available on a relatively regular basis, although it's sometimes confused with the similar-looking congeners H. loretoensis and H. metae. It can be identified via the following combination of characters as per Géry (1977): elongate in shape with body depth fitting 3.8-3.9 times in its standard length; caudal peduncle narrow, its depth fitting 1.8 times in its length; head short, interorbital broad, snout short and rounded; dorsal-fin insertion an...

This species is a popular aquarium fish and is bred on a commercial basis in several countries, with a selectively-bred albino form also available. Wild specimens are rarely collected due to the low price of the farmed fish, but the origin of the commercial strain is questionable. The species was considered endemic to the rio Tapajós basin, but in the early 1990s fish appearing identical to the aquarium form were photographed in the...

This is the smallest of three similar-looking species most commonly-referred to as the 'bleeding heart' subgroup, the other two being H. erythrostigma and H. socolofi. All possess a reddish humeral spot which is not present in any other characid with other shared characters including possession of 6 -14 maxillary teeth, 7-9 scales above the lateral line, 5-7 scales below the lateral line and 26-33 anal fin rays.

A beautiful species that is very similar to a host of others in the genus, some of which are undescribed. The most common of these in the hobby is H. bentosi. The two are so similar in appearance that H. rosaceus was once considered to be a subspecies of H. bentosi. The easiest way to distinguish them is by the presence of a dark marking just behind the operculum in H. bentosi, which is lacking in H. rosaceus. As with the closely related Hemigrammus, the taxonomic status of all species in the...

This small species is a popular aquarium fish but there is some confusion surrounding its identity. Two colour forms have been traded, one of which also possesses tiny hooks on the fin rays. It can be distinguished from congeners by colour pattern; the body is rose-coloured, fins red with no black markings, and the ovoid humeral spot is prominent, measuring around half of the body depth.

This species is uncommon in the aquarium trade although its name is sometimes applied to other species. It was originally described in the monotypic genus Pseudopristella, and can be distinguished from the vaguely similar Pristella maxillaris by possession of a relatively large (vs. relatively small) humeral spot and having black pigmentation in the anal-fin restricted to the first ray (vs. a prominent distal blotch).

This species is an opportunistic omnivore by nature. The stomach contents of wild specimens from the rio Padauari were composed of fruit remains and aquatic insects with the former constituting 99% and latter 1% of all items consumed. Stomachs of individuals from igarapé Água Boa cont...

In the aquarium hobby the name Hyphessobrycon stegemanni has frequently been misapplied to a species that has been described as Hemigrammus ataktos Marinho, Dagosta, & Birindelli 2014. The reasons for this confusion are presumably that the two occur sympatrically in the rio Tocantins system and both possess a dark lateral stripe on the body.

At least two colour forms have been traded, one of which is more intensely-coloured and has been referred to as H. sweglesi 'red' or 'rubra'. The bright red pigmentation is retained in long-term captive specimens, suggesting that it is not considered to be an artefact of diet, but we suspect it might reflect conditions at the collection locality with the reddest fish putatively inhabiting blackwater and plainer forms clearwater environments. Zarske (2014) found the two forms to be identical in terms of morphology an...

Choice of décor is not especially critical although it tends to show better colouration when maintained in a well-furnished set-up with live plants and a dark substrate. A natural-looking arrangement might consist of a soft, sandy substrate with wood roots and bran...

Hypoptopoma incognitum

This undescribed species is part of the Hypostomus cochliodon complex, all of which were previously included in the genus Cochliodon. This is now considered a synonym of Hypostomus. Members of this group can be distinguished from congeners by several differences in morphology, most notably the hump-backed profile of mature fish and spoon-shaped dentition. These features, along with the fishes tendency to eat wood, are shared with the Panaque genus of the Ancistrinae subfamily, but the two genera...

It's suprising that this relatively unknown species is not more popular in the hobby, given its small adult size and peaceable nature. It's often confused with LDA09, but can be distinguished by the pattern of small spots on its head, as in LDA09 the spots are larger and uniform in size over the whole body.

This species is part of the Hypostomus cochliodon complex, all of which were previously included in the genus Cochliodon, which is now considered a synonym of Hypostomus. Members of this group can be distinguished from congeners by several differences in morphology, most notably the hump-backed profile of mature fish and spoon-shaped dentition. These features, along with the fishes tendency to eat wood, are shared with the Panaque genus of the Ancistrinae subfamily, but the two genera are known ...

An attractive and very hardy larger plec.

Supposedly exported from the upper Amazon region in Peru but precise details are lacking. It's unclear whether this unidentified species is conspecific with the similarly nameless congener L266 or not.

This undescribed species is part of the Hypostomus cochliodon species complex, all members of which were previously included in the genus Cochliodon, now considered a synonym of Hypostomus. Members of this group can be distinguished from congeners by several differences in morphology, most notably the hump-backed profile of mature fish and spoon-shaped dentition. These features, along with the fishes tendency to eat wood, are shared with the Panaque genus of the Ancistrinae subfamily, but the tw...

This undescribed species is part of the Hypostomus cochliodon complex, all of which were previously included in the genus Cochliodon, which is now considered a synonym of Hypostomus. Members of this group can be distinguished from congeners by several differences in morphology, most notably the hump-backed profile of mature fish and spoon-shaped dentition. These features, along with the fishes tendency to eat wood, are shared with the Panaque genus of the Ancistrinae subfamily, but the two gener...

This species is much rarer in the trade than the only other member of the genus, H. temporalis. If the collection locality of the fish is known, identification of the species is easy, as the distribution of the two appears not to overlap in nature. Failing this, distinguishing physical characteristics include body shape, as H. coryphaenoides is a more elongate fish than the quite squat-looking H. temporalis. There are also differences in colour and patterning, although these are less reliable me...