At present the small tetras of South America experience a new boom. Numerous species have been and are being described scientifically. Thus also the ornamental fish collectors leave their beaten tracks and look for these animals, particularly since currently peppered prices are paid for the novelties. Naturally, such a thing only works for a short time, then offspring of the particularly attractive species come onto the market, the less attractive ones disappear again and wild catches only come to us once in a blue moon as rarities for a few specialists. But we are still in phase 1 of this development and welcome the novelties enthusiastically.
One of them is Hyphessobrycon negodagua, which was scientifically described in 2001. Its area of origin is in the northeast of Brazil, in the state of Bahia. There, this tetra with a maximum length of 3 – 3.5 cm inhabits the Rio Pratinah, a tributary of the Rio Santo Antonio, which in turn drains into the Rio Paraguaçú, which is one of the important coastal rivers of Brazil without connection to other river systems. H. negodagua differs from almost all other Hyphessobrycon species by the absence of the typical tetra adipose fin in most specimens, the unique coloration of the males in courtship display also makes them distinctive. Freshly imported and not yet acclimated animals are silvery, but acclimated males show already after a few days their fiery courtship dances, during which they turn black, which contrasts very effectively with the white fin seams. The fluttering courtship swim of this pretty species prompted Hans-Georg Evers to call it the “Butterfly Dwarf Tetra”.
The care of the animals is simple and corresponds to that of other small tetras. Incidentally, the species name “negodagua” refers to a mythical man-like monster (Nego d’agua) that lurks at the bottom of rivers and attacks inattentive fishermen at night. Why scientists associated the small, peaceful tetra with this monster, they do not reveal….
For our customers: the animals have code 261232 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale. Only available in small quantities!
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
