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Overlooked by many the glow light is a peaceful handsome fish that should be considered for any community setup.

Quick stats:

Listed tank sizes are the minimum
Size:	1.5 inches (4 cm)
Tank:	20 inches
Strata:	All
PH:	6.0 to 7.5
Hardness:	Soft to medium hard
Temperature:	72ºF to 82ºF (24-28°C)

Classification:

Order:	Cypriniformes
Suborder:	Characoidei
Family:	Characidae
Genera:	Hemigrammus
Species:	Erthrozonus

Common name: Glowlight tetra Glowlite tetra, glolight tetra Image gallery: Additional species photographs Discuss: Badmans' Forum

Photo from Essequibo River, Guyana

Distribution

Northeastern South America, Guyana

The abdominal area of the male curves in slightly (concave), and he is smaller and less robust than the female. Generally this is a very slender species resembling the neon tetra in shape and form. Top size is about 1.5 inches.

Overall a very pleasing species to look at. The anal, ventral and dorsal fins are slightly off white to translucent in coloration, in addition the front of the dorsal fin is marked by a bright red stripe. This color is repeated on the top section of the eye. The basic body color is pale translucent olive green color. There is a shimmering purple to red stripe starting at the base of the tail fin extending to the mouth area. Under certain light you can see an additional golden stripe on top of the red.

Glow lights are happiest and show off their colors best in a tank with subdued lighting and a dark substrate. The water should have a pH of 7.0 and the temperature maintained between 72ºF and 82ºF, hardness to 20º. The tank can be small and decorated with live plants and some driftwood. Stock the aquarium with equally peaceful species and keep them in as large a school as possible. Once established they are easily fed and cared for with flake and frozen food.

Essequibo River, in Guyana

Breeding:

Difficult. Use a heavily planted tank (fine leafed like Myriophyllium) and reduced light levels. The water should be soft and slightly acidic. Place well conditioned fish in the tank and raise the temperature to about 82°F. The female is usually larger than the male and her girth must be noticeable rounded to show she is ready. The small and almost transparent eggs are scattered among the plants. The parents are egg eaters and should be removed after spawning. The fry will hatch in about 24 hours and are free swimming in about four days. They should be fed baby brine shrimp or crushed flake food. It is important to change about 25% the water frequently, at least once a week.

Glowlight Tetra Click photo to buy Hemigrammus erythrozonus

Your comments:

Add your comments:

From: Jessica H. Date:10/17/2008 I have had my glowlights for about a year now, they have looked great in my planted tank. After keeping fish for 10 years, I finally decided to try breeding egglayers. So, I picked the plumpest female and the biggest male. I put them into a bare 10 gallon tank with an airstone. They bred the next day! Within 2 days, I had at least 100 fry. I didn't expect my first try to be so successful! And not to mention, easy. I highly recommend them, they are beautiful little fish. From: Zach Date:11/26/2007 I love the look of these guys when you can see strait though them in a planted tank and you can see the pretty dark lattice of scales if you look at them close enough. I also have observed them courting and when males appear to be defending their territory the tips of their dorsal and anal fins gleam silver as they dart around erratically. From: Bradley Date:07/07/2006 Fantastic to Cycle your tank with, very excitable, and always seem to know when food is coming, quite productive too, I had some breeding going on only 8 days after I bought them! From: Nathalie Date:04/02/2002 I used these little guys for cycling my tank cos they were basically inexpensive and figured if I had a few losses that it wouldn't matter so much, but I find myself always and forever counting them to make sure they're still all there and happy. Seems they have a leader that rounds them up (there are 5 in the tank) when its feeding time. They daunt feed on the surface and they pretty much hang in the lower half of the tank catching food as it comes down. They're usually together, hidden among the plants. IM liking them more and more daily. From: Scott Allen Date:04/04/2002 These fish are as stated easy to keep, they do seem to do well with a school, rather then single fish, their colors show up best if the tank has dark colors From: Lindsay Date:04/08/2002 Nice, friendly fish. Eats well, not very picky about different kinds of food. I like that they are a larger species of the tetras. From: Kasey Date:06/22/2002 I bought 3 neons to go in my tank of various tetras. When they were first put in they were chased and their fins were nipped. The smallest of the three lost almost all of its fins but is on its way to full recovery. My Glowlight tetra seems to be most aggressive towards them, other than that they tend to chase each other as well. I can't figure out the glowlight. I have one albino and one regular. I definitely prefer the albino it is far more exotic looking but I was only able to find one and have been looking for more since. The normal one can be aggressive to my neons and sometimes is very outgoing and at other times hide in the back of the tank. I know I should have more of them as it would solve some of the problems. From: Kasey Date:07/03/2002 OK so now I love my glowlight. I introduced 2 more pristella tetras and a cory and another von rio and now he doesn't nip anyone. It is a very rewarding fish as its fins tips will turn white when it id happy and well fed, try bloodworms.

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