Among the smallest species of tetra is Hyphessobrycon elachys, the veilfin tetra from Paraguay. The species becomes only 1.5-2 cm long (standard length without caudal fin). The charming animals inhabit swampy areas in the Rio Paraguay drainage. The genus Hyphessobrycon, as it is currently defined, represents an artifical assamblage of species which are not very closely related. So the placement of H. elachys in Hyphessobrycon is only provisionally and for sure it will be placed in another genus in case of a revision of Hyphessobrycon. The veilfin tetra is unique by the shape of the anal fin in males, the very long ventral fins in males and teeth structures.
In the natural habitat Hyphessobrycon elachys lives in mixed schools along with with other, very similar tetras and Corydoras hastatus. It is almost impossible to tell H. elachys from these other tetras apart on basis of the coloration. So imports of the species are always a mix, sometimes H. elachys is hardly represented in them at all. So to a certain degree there are always bycatches among H. elachys, but our current import contains at least 90% veilfin tetras.
For our customers: the animals have code 262052 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer
