BLACK PHANTOM TETRA
■ Scientific name: Hyphessobrycon megalopterus
■ Pronunciation: Hi-fess-oh-bri-con meg-a-lop-turr-uss
■ Size: To 3.6cm
■ Origin: South America, Bolivia and Brazil
■ Habitat: Wetlands, slow streams and
rivers, ponds, lakes and pools.
■ Tank size: 90x30x30cm for a shoal
■ Water requirements: Soft and acidic to neutral water; 6.5-7.5pH, 2-12°H
■ Temperature: 21-28°C
■ Temperament: Peaceful community species, can fight between males
■ Feeding: Wholly unfussy, offer flakes, live and frozen Daphnia, bloodworm
■ Availability and cost: Farmed fish easy to find, prices starting at £2.50
Black (or Red as they are in the wild) phantom tetras are frequently found alongside several other aquarium favourites, including
Aphyocharax anisitsi, A. nattereri and
A. rathbuni. They occur in the same habitats as Apistogramma commbrae, A. trifasciata, Corydoras aeneus, C. hastatus and the aquarium classic, the Black widow tetra,
Gymnocorymbus ternetzi.
In the substrate beneath, at least two species of Rineloriaria,
R. auratus and R. parva can be spotted (with difficulty).
In the Pantanal, I’ve seen Black phantoms shoaling alongside
Moenkhausia forestii (the southern cousin of the famous Red-eye tetra, M. sanctaefilomenae) and with Hemigrammus neptunus, a relative of the popular Amazonian Head and tail light tetra, H. ocellifer. Another favourite of mine, the Black-line tetra, Hemigrammus ulreyi, is also often seen alongside Black phantoms in the wild.
Setting up a biotope
For those hoping to create a biotope with ‘authentic’ looking Black phantoms, there’s no need to despair. With some careful searching and politeness, you can find and request the netting of the reddest individuals from a store tank.
I’ve found that small, red males tend to become darker as they mature, but reddish females will retain their colour even as they grow. You might even have a go at breeding and separating the tiny males with the reddest colouration and try to ‘breed out’ the darker variant gene until, like some Jurassic Park creature, you bring back the original form to the hobby.
As we’ve seen, in terms of biotope correct tank-mates there’s a great array to choose from. Alternatives to ‘the real deal’ such as Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae and Hemigrammus ocellifer can act as stand-ins but for the hard-core biotope fanatic, and a
bit of searching and ordering through shops can lead to tracking down of Moenkhausia oligolepis and Moenkhausia dichroura, also common in the river habitats of
H. megalopterus. Whether you have a 60cm tank in a corner or a 180cm full on ‘dominating the room’ showpiece aquarium, you can create an array of easy, yet beautiful, natural looking displays.
Your first ingredient could be coarse, yellowish sand. I find that the ADA Colorado sand is most similar to what I see in the wild, but the JBL Sansibar range would offer some good choices too. Branches, roots, a few heavier bits of wood suggesting a fallen tree and a scattering of pebbles, such as those from the Prodobio Relief Series of gravels would look very natural. Frequently I’ve watched Black phantoms foraging over leaf litter and for those wanting something closer to biotope correct, the botanical products of Tannin Aquatics or Blackwater UK would provide a range of South American leaves, seeds, branches and pods. A 3D background that looks like a clay river bank, with some roots hanging down, some tangles of Hornwort caught against them swaying in the flow near the surface, and an open area of sand, gravel and leaf litter below would look very much like the sort of habitat in which these fish dash about and forage for food.
For a ‘wet season’ look, it’s a good idea to choose one or two dominant species (especially tetras) and then a mix of smaller numbers of others. For example, if I were asked to recreate the Salobra River in a 120cm tank, I’d have perhaps 12x Hyphessobrycon megalopterus, 30x
H. eques, 8x Aphyocharax rathbuni,
8x Hemigrammus ocellifer standing in for H. neptunus and perhaps a small gang of Apistogramma commbrae for a non-tetra point of interest.
The point is that you can mix and match to your heart’s content. A smaller tank, such as a 60cm, with only 12-15 H. megalopterus, floating plants and lots of leaf litter would create a very moody and interesting window into the shadow world underneath the beds of vegetation at the edges of a Pantanal lagoon. Whatever you choose, at least 12 Black phantoms should be kept together and a ratio of 2-3 females to each male is best as this will give you enough males to see regular display behaviour, but not so few that one is bullied into submission with no-where to hide. The presence of females will keep the males active and well coloured up, whether black or red!