Jack Roberts Tetra Care Guide - Aquarium Setup, Diet & Breeding

Jack Roberts tetra is a small, lively characin with a slender, streamlined body and a refined silvery-golden base colour. Mature fish develop attractive reddish tones through the body and fins, while a darker marking along the midsection helps give the species a distinctive appearance in a planted aquarium.

These tetras are active but generally peaceful, spending much of their time in the middle levels of the aquarium. Their colour and confidence improve when they are kept in a proper shoal, where males may display to one another with extended fins and intensified markings.

In the wild, the species inhabits Amazonian streams and forest waterways shaded by overhanging vegetation. Such habitats are often visually complex, with subdued light, tannin-stained water, submerged roots and a floor covered with fallen leaves.

Hyphessobrycon jackrobertsi is a relatively recent and less commonly encountered member of the diverse South American tetra group. Its attractive colouration, manageable adult size and peaceful nature make it an appealing choice for aquarists interested in less familiar Amazonian characins.

Hyphessobrycon jackrobertsi is native to Peru in the western Amazon basin, with the species associated with the Rio Nanay drainage near Iquitos. It comes from warm, slow-moving and gently flowing forest waters containing abundant submerged vegetation and leaf litter.

A group should have at least a 60-litre aquarium, with a footprint around 60 x 30 cm or larger. Use gentle filtration and leave open swimming space across the front and centre, while planting the sides and rear with fine-leaved or broad-leaved plants. Dark sand or fine, smooth gravel, driftwood, roots, leaf litter and subdued lighting create a natural Amazonian setting and help the fish display their best colours. A tightly fitting cover is advisable because active tetras may jump.

Up to 4 cm (1.6 inches) in total length. Females are usually slightly larger and deeper-bodied than males.

This species is an omnivorous micro-predator that accepts quality small granules and flakes, but benefits from a varied diet. Offer regular portions of finely sized frozen or live foods such as daphnia, mosquito larvae, cyclops and baby brine shrimp. Small plant-based ingredients can also be included, although animal foods are particularly useful for maintaining condition and encouraging strong colour.

Jack Roberts tetras are peaceful community fish and can be housed with other similarly sized, non-aggressive species. Suitable companions include small rasboras, peaceful tetras, pencilfish, hatchetfish, Corydoras, Otocinclus and gentle dwarf cichlids such as Apistogramma. Avoid large predatory fish, fin-nippers and boisterous species that may intimidate or outcompete them, as well as fish large enough to swallow them.

Jack Roberts tetras are egg-scattering fish that can be bred in a separate, dimly lit spawning aquarium. Condition a group with plenty of small live or frozen foods, then introduce the adults when females are full of eggs. Fine-leaved plants or spawning mops can protect the eggs, which hatch after roughly one to two days. Remove the adults after spawning, and feed the free-swimming fry with infusoria or other suitably tiny foods before progressing to newly hatched brine shrimp.

Females are generally fuller through the abdomen, particularly when carrying eggs, while males tend to be slimmer and may show more intense colour and longer, more strongly extended fins. The differences are subtle in young fish.