Kitty Tetra: Are there two types?

So We’ve been pondering our usual Questions. Which Tetra to get next and what tank should we buy and of course filters, lights, decor, etc! Have you ever just been looking and thinking I want it all lol.

Anywho we decided to head off to our local fishery at good old Dobbies – maidenhead aquatics – we were taking a gander at the tetra.

Of course, the other fish when something caught our eye “KITTY TETRA” We hadn’t seen this type of tetra before and so after some time looking at this amazing little fish we think we have found our next TETRA so here we are the KITTY TETRA!

Obviously, we had to take some pictures before leaving here’s one here. We then went home to do some more research on our next amazing little tetra fish via Starbucks of course.

After arriving home and after a few hours of research (I know we are thorough here at Tank0fish)(!.) Anyway, after looking for a bit something seemed strange.

(Then the penny dropped) Could there be two distinct types of KITTY TETRA? So we have to ask ourselves the QUESTION are there two types of kitty tetra?

After some more research that evening I can confirm that YES there are two types of Kitty Tetra. One is Hyphessobrycon – cf. Loweae and there’s also Hyphessobrycon Heliacus 

 

This only makes us want them even more but now we need both variants of them. (It’s now our mission to find both versions of this little fish.)

SO LET’S LOOK AT THESE FISHES STARTING WITH                          THEIR SCIENTIFIC NAMES

So let us dive in with fish or (fishes.) As we now know and delve a little deeper starting at the beginning with the kitty tetras’ scientific name(s)(!.)

They are both HYPHESSOBRYCON as all tetra falls into this category. ( It is basically the name given or GENUS of the fish.) There are around 700 within this genus or tetra fish.

The family name is also the same as all tetra fall into the family of “CHARACIADE”.Fun fact there are 1654 species of fish within the family of Characidae crazy I know right?

This is what caught our eye and caused a slight bit of confusion as it appears this fish has two scientific names.

Anyway back to the kitty tetra and the scientific names. Turns out we have hyphessobrycon – cf. Loweae and also hyphessobrycon heliacus – What’s this all about I hear you cry.

Well, let’s take a closer look starting with the first one Loweae. This fish was first described back in 1994 by grey & costa and apparently named in honor of renowned ecologist Rosemary lowe – McConnell.

Another bit of trivia for you. The fish was named after rosemary “LOWE” McConnell. That’s how we arrive at lowe but how did the fish get “AE” furthermore how do we get the “CF?

As the fish to give you its full name is cf. Loweae (I hear you ask) Glad you asked as we have the answer.

Differences In Kitty Tetra Fish

Well, the “AE” at the end turns out it was given because of Rosemary and the fact she is female. If she had been male the fish would have had “ii” at the end.

(Oh I see gotchya) but what about the “CF” At the beginning? This happens to be Latin “Confere” OR Compared to (in English.) As there has it seems to be some debate over whether we have the original Kitty tetra! – hence the name CF. LOWEAE.

So back to the fish itself. Found as we said in 1994 in the headwaters of Xingu drainage of Matto Grosso Brazil. Its natural habitat was faster waters of the local streams.

But was found within slower waters that were softer and acidic in nature. Were abundant with leaf litter rooted plants flora branches etc.

Water conditions would suggest temperatures of between 75-82f. Which equates to 24-28c  with a ph level of between 6.0-7.5. (More acidic water is preferred) With water hardness of between 3-12 dGH.

Although like all tetra they have been bred for so long they are now seemingly a very hardy fish!.

H CF. LOWEAE KITTY TETRA LOOKS & SIZE:

 

This particular tetra has a golden yellow blended in with an orange body. With a superbly distinctive black mark where the body meets the tail!.

The fish has a prolonged abdominal and dorsal fin. With the first anal fin of this kitty tetra not being elongated. The fins themselves are edged in bright orange.

After observing some more you can see that the black marking near the base of the tail is edged in a bright white on the tail side.

On the eyes, the pupils are black. With the outer eye being clear and with the tops of the eyes themselves being very red. The fish also seems to have a smallish snout (to us anyway)(!.)

With that being said this kitty tetra is believed to live for up to five years. Not too bad for tetra size-wise they generally get to around 1.2 inches just on or around 3cm. So definitely on the smaller side of things.

So how does the CF. LOWEAE compare to the HELIACUS! Let’s find out.

HELIACUS KITTY TETRA:

 

While looking into kitty tetra and researching the subject. It appears the Heliacus kitty tetra was first discovered in 2002.

Some eight years after the cf. Loweae kitty tetra. These particular fish were seen in the faster waters of teles Pires river in the upper Tapajos basin in Brazil. (So not that far away from each other.)

But they were collected it seems in slower waters. In marginal portions of those streams with very muddy water and again plenty of vegetation.

Including submerged plants flora branch roots leaf litter etc – sounds all too familiar. That’s not all the fish seem to be the same fish.

Down to the colors and markings and even the orange edges on the fins and the tail. Oh and the black marking where the body and tail meet.

The fish is golden yellow with orange. With eyes with the same black pupils with clear outer eyes and bright red on the tops of the eyes.

The size you guessed it the same 1.2 inches or around 3cm ( oh and if you were thinking they live around five years yep you’d be right.

What about water conditions and temperature? What’s that the same yep it’s all the same. Ph levels hardness of the water you name it  (I think that you’re thinking along with us over here at Tank0fish that this is the same “FISH.”)

ALL JOKING ASIDE  THIS FISH IS DIFFERENT AFTER ALL!

 

But wait! It appears there’s an answer and a definitive way to tell these two fish apart. And it lies with the discovery of a third fish from that region.

Yes this fish namely H. Peugeot (you what I hear you cry.) But wait a minute hold on bare with me. This third fish is almost identical to the other two.

Except it’s redder in the body and has no dark marking like a chevron arrow along its middle. Unlike the Heliacus which apparently does and the CF. Leweae also has no “CHEVRON.”

Well, thanks to science and thanks to this third fish which seems to have been named after Peugeot. As they fund programs that help the rainforest and rivers streams of the Matto Grosso.

This is where all of the fish in today’s post originate from Thanks Peugeot for funding these helpful projects and for helping solve our conundrum!.

HOW’D H. HELIACUS  GET ITS NAME?

Well ok then back to the H. Heliacus kitty tetra and how did it get its name. (Done some more digging) and looks as though it has been named after the late Latin word Heliacus.

As the word references the sun in being golden yellow and orange .-As the word Heliacus also pertains to the sun as it rises and sets great word fantastic name very apt I think you would agree.

(We learn something new every day “A”)(!.)

So wow I hear you cry. I know right amazing. Well, we now know how they both got their names and that they are indeed two separate fish both fish called kitty tetra awesome but what about tank mates, etc?

TANK MATES!

There are indeed plenty of options for tank mates for this little fish. All of them would do great with our kitty tetra but we thought why not try something different and have come up with five options.

All from the same region, a kind of south American biotope style tank hope you enjoy it.

So we narrowed things down to these five in no particular order Any short-nosed Corydoras, Hatchet fish, Pencil fish, Dwarf cichlids, Endler’s guppy oh, and of course some Tetra.

All of these will do well together and add in some greenery. By way of some Myriophyllum, any Echinodorus and some Hyorocotyle would make an interesting centerpiece.

Along with some driftwood, of course, and plenty of hiding places and we think you will be well on your way to an amazing tank.

SEXING AND BREEDING?

Egg Scatterers

The Kitty tetra is an egg layer or rather better described as an egg scatterer. These particular little fish after spawning which fun fact involves a colorful display by the male.

Some dancing while trying to entice the female over to the plants for some hum hugging. This usually happens in the evening unlike some tetra that seems more likely to spawn in the morning strange but hay.

Once she’s ready and after the spawning, She lays/scatters her eggs this process can take a good few hours and she will lay/scatter between 30-50 eggs.

(Which is on the low side for tetra) these eggs will be yellow and appear transparent.

Responsibility For The Eggs

The parents as with all tetra take no parental responsibility for either the eggs or the young. In fact, they are more than likely to munch a few eggs themselves.

This is why it’s best to remove the parents after spawning. Some advice we recommend is to use a spawning grid and place a piece of mesh over the planted area where the magic is to happen.

So the eggs fall through the gaps and the parents can’t get to them then after she’s finished laying you can safely remove the parents.

Protecting The Eggs & Fry

A savvy little trick you can try is to fill the bottom of the tank with marbles. The eggs will fall through the gaps and will also protect them from the parents and other fish etc giving you time to remove them.

What about the eggs well they take 24-36 hours to hatch and the young fry takes a further 3-4 days eating the yolk sack until becoming free and swimming.

Then they will spend most of their time near the bottom of the tank. Feeding them infusoria and or artemia. These foods are basically brine shrimp after that maybe a week or so they can incorporate some finely crushed flakes etc.

A FEW THOUGHTS AND SOME BASICS IN CLOSING:

Although the kitty tetra is fairly small. (Either type.) (Lol.) They will need some open spaces to swim in as are after all shoaling fish.

And need to be kept in groups of at least six although for best results similar to other tetras we feel eight or ten to be the sweet spot.

For both healthy vibrant colors and good overall behavior. To keep them super happy. Maybe have more females than males. (Helps with chasing the girls around.)(!.)

Tanks should, therefore, be at least 100 liters – 20 gallons. With a specific planted area some good lighting not too bright some driftwood lots of hiding areas.

Dark substrate the darker the better will only help the fish show off their amazing colors. We would also suggest a HOB. (Hang on the back.) The filter should be plenty for these types of fish and the size of the tank.

So in closing, we hope you enjoyed the read we are by no means experts but we are enthusiastic hobbyists. Learning all the time and wanting to share our thoughts.

If you have any comments and or advice great please leave us a message again hope you found it interesting we sure did here at Tank0fish.

You now know there are indeed two distinct types of Kitty Tetra! and remember to keep on Tetraing – The Tank0fish team.