Comments: This is a Premium Pet Fish, and we rarely see Premium fish like this one in any of the live fish stores that we visit.

Premium Pet Fish are more energetic, hardier, and have brighter colors with a beautiful metallic sheen.

Click here to learn more about Premium Pet Fish.

Origin: This fish lived in West Africa between Gambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it was caught and shipped to us to live in aquariums.

Maximum Size: This fish can grow to be about 6" long including the tail.

Behaviors: These guys are very active and quarrel with each other but don't do much harm.

Compatibility: Some recommended tank mates include small fish like Kribensis Cichlids, Elephant Noses, Baby Whales, Congo Tetras, smallish Synodontis Catfish, and African Knifefish.

Click here to read more about compatible groups of pet fish.

Temperature: They can live pretty well from about 72 to 80 degrees F., but they're probably most comfortable at about 75 to 78 degrees F.

Click here to learn about aquarium temperature, aquarium thermometers, and aquarium heaters.

Feeding: Premium Fish Food Flakes and Pellets.

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Water Conditions: This fish seems to be tolerant of a wide range of water conditions. Probably a pH of about 7 with moderate hardness is best.

Most water in the US is different but seems to be OK, so it's probably best NOT to adjust the pH or the hardness of the water.

Here in our facilities the water is hard and the pH is usually about 7.8. We ship them in this water.

Click here for a lot more information about aquarium water conditions.

Aquarium Size: It is probably best to house these fish in at least a 40-gallon tank, but bigger is better, because they are very active swimmers and tend to quarrel with each other.

Keep at most one fish per 3-gallons, when they're smaller than 3" long, and one fish for each 6-gallons, when they're large.

Decor: They don't need gravel, and a layer of gravel more than 1/4" thick will usually fill with bits of uneaten food that will contaminate the water.

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Live Plants are beautiful, improve the water quality, and are enjoyed by these fish.

Aquarium Filter: Bio-Wheel Filters are highly recommended. A Penguin 350B Filter in an aquarium with 40 to 60-gallons of water is just right for these fish, when they're smallish.

Eventually they'll need a larger aquarium with at least 80-gallons of water and as many Penguin 350B Filters as will fit across the back of the aquarium.

Click here to learn more about aquarium filters.

The addition of Lava Rocks will keep nitrates in the ideal range, which is very important for this fish species. Click here to learn more about using Lava Rocks in aquariums.

Life Span: They can live for several years with good water and premium food.

Gender: Mature males have longer fins and mature females can fill with eggs and become plumper.

Breeding: they scatter their eggs on plants or special breeding mops made of nylon yarn.

Popularity: This is a long time favorite, but these days it's rarely imported so it is not widely kept in aquariums.

Names: The scientific name is Brycinus longipinnis. For many years aquarists called this fish Alestes longipinnis, which is now an invalid scientific name.

It was also called the Alestes Tetra, and although it's a rather close relative of the Tetras, it is no longer considered to be a Tetra.

We also suggest calling this fish a Long Finned Brycinus.

Variations: We haven't seen any.

We hope you've enjoyed reading these comments.