Fish WikiAll fish / Iguanodectidae
Red-line lizard tetra
Iguanodectes geisleri
Also known as red line lizard tetra, geisler's tetra, red-lined lizard tetra, lizard tetra, red line tetra
A slim, pike-shaped little tetra with a silvery body and a bright red to orange line running along the upper flank. It is kept for its active, tight shoaling in the upper water layers and suits soft-water blackwater community tanks.
Care at a glance
- Care level
- Moderate
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Adult size
- 5.5 cm
- Temperature
- 23 to 28 °C
- pH
- 4.5 to 7
- Smallest tank
- 80 litres
- Keep as
- Shoal of 8 or more
- Diet
- Omnivore: small live and frozen foods such as bloodworm and daphnia, quality flakes and micro pellets, with some plant matter
- Swims
- Top of the tank
- Lifespan
- 3 to 5 years
- Water
- Freshwater
- Wild range
- Rio Negro basin, Brazil and Venezuela
Breeding
An egg scatterer with no parental care, but it has rarely been bred in home aquariums and most stock is wild caught.
Good to know
A quick, nervous jumper, so keep a tight-fitting lid and avoid boisterous or much larger tankmates. Wild fish can arrive thin and need careful acclimatisation to soft, clean water.