Silver Tipped Tetra Care Guide - Aquarium Setup, Diet & Breeding

Silver Tipped Tetras are small, lively characins named for the striking silvery-white tips on their translucent fins. Their bodies are typically golden to olive-silver, with a darker lateral area that becomes especially noticeable when the fish are active or displaying to one another.

These energetic fish spend much of their time in the middle and upper levels of the aquarium. Males often spar harmlessly by displaying beside one another, flashing their fins and intensifying their colour, while a well-kept group moves through the water with constant, entertaining activity.

In the wild, Hasemania nana is associated with warm Brazilian streams and tributaries, including habitats influenced by overhanging vegetation and submerged plant growth. Seasonal changes in water flow and the availability of cover help shape the species’ active, alert behaviour.

The Silver Tipped Tetra is a long-established aquarium fish that remains popular because of its compact size, metallic markings and robust nature. Its bright fin tips show particularly well against darker surroundings, making a group an eye-catching feature in a planted community aquarium.

Silver Tipped Tetras are native to eastern South America, particularly the São Francisco River basin and nearby coastal drainages of Brazil. They inhabit warm, slow-moving streams, tributaries and flooded forest environments.

A group should be housed in an aquarium of at least 60 litres, with a footprint around 60 × 30 cm or larger. Use open swimming space through the centre and rear of the aquarium, balanced with dense plants, floating cover, driftwood and shaded areas around the edges. A dark sand or fine rounded gravel substrate complements their colours and is gentle on tankmates, while subdued lighting and moderate water movement create a natural-looking setting. A secure cover is advisable because these active tetras can jump.

Up to 5 cm (2 inches) in length. Females are usually slightly deeper-bodied and may reach a little more bulk than males, although overall length is often similar.

Silver Tipped Tetras are omnivores that appreciate a varied diet. Offer a quality small tropical flake or micro-pellet as a staple, supplemented with foods such as baby brine shrimp, daphnia, cyclops and bloodworm. Small live or frozen foods help bring out their colour and support conditioning for breeding, while occasional finely crushed vegetable matter can provide useful variety.

Silver Tipped Tetras are generally peaceful community fish and can be kept with similarly sized tetras, rasboras, danios, peaceful barbs, Corydoras, small peaceful catfish and other non-aggressive South American species. They are active and may occasionally nip flowing fins, especially when kept in too small a group, so long-finned bettas, fancy guppies and slow, timid fish are best avoided. They should also not be housed with large predatory fish that could swallow them.

Silver Tipped Tetras are egg-scattering fish that can be bred in a separate, dimly lit breeding aquarium. Condition a group with plenty of live or frozen foods, then place a pair or small group over fine-leaved plants or a spawning mop. The eggs are scattered among the vegetation, after which the adults should be removed because they may eat them. The eggs generally hatch within a day or two, and the tiny fry can be fed infusoria or another suitably fine first food before progressing to newly hatched brine shrimp.

Males are generally slimmer and more intensely coloured, with brighter copper-gold tones and more pronounced fin markings. Females are fuller through the abdomen, particularly when carrying eggs, and usually have a paler, less saturated appearance.