Mexican tetra
Astyanax mexicanus
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A tetra from Texas and Mexico that lives in pools and backwaters of creeks and rivers with rocky or sandy bottoms, and migrates to warmer waters in winter. It eats insects, crustaceans and worms. It lives in schools and is peaceful. Caves in Mexico hold a blind form derived from it, sometimes treated as a separate species (Astyanax jordani).
- Scientific name
- Astyanax mexicanus
- Family
- Acestrorhamphidae
Fact sheet
General
- Water
- Freshwater
- Group
- Fish
Taxonomy
- Family
- Acestrorhamphidae
- Order
- Characiformes
- Synonyms
- Astianax mexicanus, Astyanax fasciatus mexicanus, Tetragonopterus fulgens, Tetragonopterus mexicanus, Tetragonopterus nitidus, Tetragonopterus streetsii
Origin
- Native region
- América do Norte
Water
- Temperature
- 20–25 °C
- pH
- 6.5–8
- General hardness (GH)
- 5–25 °dGH
Size and lifespan
- Adult size
- 9.5 cm
- Lifespan
- 9.8 years
- Minimum tank (volume)
- 72 L
- Minimum tank (length)
- 80 cm
Behavior
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Social life
- School
- Swimming level
- Middle
Care
- Care difficulty
- Easy
Reproduction
- Breeding strategy
- Egg scatterer
Conservation and trade
- IUCN status
- Least concern (LC)
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