Golden Tetra
Hemigrammus rodwayi
Characidae
About
A roughly 5 cm characin from the coastal creeks, slow rivers and floodplain lakes of Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and the western Amazon, occasionally found in mildly brackish water. Its famous gold dusting is not pigment: wild fish lay down guanine in the skin as a defensive reaction to a trematode parasite, so captive-bred stock is a plain silvery grey and imported golden fish gradually lose the shine in a parasite-free tank. Expect a black arrowhead marking at the tail base, red in the caudal and dorsal fins, and a restless, peaceful mid-water shoaler that only looks and behaves right in a proper group.
Care
Keep eight to ten or more in a tank of 70 litres and 60 cm or longer, with soft slightly acidic freshwater at 24-27 C, gentle flow, sand, driftwood, leaf litter and dim lighting. It suits a quiet South American community with other small tetras, pencilfish, Corydoras and dwarf cichlids, but is easily outcompeted by boisterous or much larger tankmates. Skin parasites and flukes hit this species harder than most tetras, which makes it a poor first fish: quarantine every new arrival, acclimatise slowly and hold parameters rock steady.
Diet
Offer a quality flake or small granule as the daily staple and supplement two or three times a week with frozen or live daphnia, brine shrimp and small bloodworm. Portions should be eaten within a couple of minutes.
Tankmate compatibility
Gets along with (70)
Possible with care (108)
Avoid (93)
Computed by the AquaSage engine for a spacious reference tank — always check the full verdict for your exact setup in the calculator.
Telling males from females
What works for this species, most reliable first.
- Belly depthA hint only · only on well-fed adults, and only as a comparison
For most tetras, barbs and rasboras this is all there is: a conditioned female is deeper through the belly than a male of the same length.
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Frequently asked questions
- What tank size does a Golden Tetra need?
- A Golden Tetra needs an aquarium of at least 70 litres (18.5 US gallons) with a footprint at least 60 cm (23.6 in) long — for this species, swimming length matters as much as raw volume.
- What water parameters does a Golden Tetra need?
- Golden Tetra does best at 23–28 °C (73.4–82.4 °F), pH 5.5–7.5 and a general hardness of 1–15 °dGH.
- What group size does a Golden Tetra need?
- Golden Tetra is a social species — keep a group of at least 8 so natural behaviour emerges and stress stays low.
- Is the Golden Tetra suitable for beginners?
- Golden Tetra sits in the middle of the difficulty scale — manageable for a careful beginner who has done the reading, but it has specific needs worth researching first.