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X-Ray Fish

Golden Pristella Tetra Family: Charadidae - Sub-family: Tetragonopterinae

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Pristella maxillaris Photo © Animal-World Courtesy Steve Foss

   A perky little fish, the X-Ray Fish is social, friendly, and very easy to care for!

   The pretty little X-Ray Fish, also called the Golden Pristella Tetra, is an excellent fish for the beginner. It is extremely hardy and undemanding. It is not at all choosy in its water type, probably because it is found naturally in both brackish water as well as soft water. It can even withstand very hard water, though it does do its best in soft.

   Its easy to keep in other respects as well, being a peaceful community member as well as being fairly prolific in breeding. It is also a very active schooling fish, but it is harmless to other fish and plants. A dark substrate and subdued lighting will show the X-Ray Fish best and enhance its colors. It will not get its full color in hard water or under bright light.

For more Information on keeping this fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Distribution:
   The X-Ray Fish or Golden Pristella Tetra was described by Ulrey in 1894. They are found in South America in Venezuela, British Guyana, lower Brazilian Amazon, Orinoco, and coastal river drainages of the Guianas. They inhabit coastal waters that are often brackish and densely vegetated swamps where they feed on worms, small crustaceans, and insects.

Status:
   The species is not listed on the IUCN Red List.

Description:
   The X-Ray Fish or Golden Pristella Tetra is a deep-bodied tetra species. It has a silvery to yellowish body, a large spot on the dorsal and anal fin, and a reddish tail. The dorsal and anal fins start out with a yellow stripe, changing to a black stripe, and finally end up with a white tip. Very striking.
   An albino variety has also been developed and is also popular. It has pink eyes and pink spots, but a more washed out general body coloration. It is even easier to breed than the natural X-Ray Fish, which may be why it is also popular.

Size - Weight:
   These fish get up to 1.75 inches (4.5 cm).

Care and feeding:
   Since they are omnivorous the The X-Ray Fish or Golden Pristella Tetra will generally eat all kinds of live, fresh, and flake foods. To keep a good balance give them a high quality flake food everyday. Feed brine shrimp (either live or frozen) or blood worms as a treat.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:
   These fish will swim in all areas of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:
   Hardness: to 35° dGH
   Ph: 6.0 to 8.0 (prefers 7.0)
   Temp: 74-82° F (24-28° C)

Social Behaviors:
   The X-Ray Fish or Golden Pristella Tetra are very peaceful and a good community fish.

Sexual Differences:
   The male is more slender with a sharply pointed swim bladder. The female is more rounded and you can actually see the eggs in a mature female.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   The The X-Ray Fish or Golden Pristella Tetra fish are egg layers. The female will spawn 300-400 eggs. The hard part is finding a compatible pair since they seem to be picky about who their partner is and sometimes the male is just unresponsive. Other than that they are easy to breed. See the general description of egg laying fish in Breeding Freshwater Fish.

Availability:
   The The X-Ray Fish or Golden Pristella Tetra is readily available.

Author: David Brough, CFS

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Latest Comments
This Is such a cool thing it helps me with my A-Z project/ my homework No One 2009-06-26
A very detailed article. Below is another sample of x-ray fish (transparent or glass fish). rwsphoto.blogspot.com/2008/02/tropical-transparent-fish-glass-fish-x.html RWS 2008-02-18
hahahahaha take that grandma! I'd been trying to tell her that x-ray fish do exist for about 8 years!... and now, sweet sweet justice is mine and she owes me an apology for all those times she made me look stupid weeeeeee...grandma is going to be so shocked when she sees this! whoot! Hey, how's everyone doing! I'm doing friggen splendid now that i know that i was right... whoot, whoot, whoot! kirstie linton 2007-11-11
I absolutely love and adore my pristella tetras. I got them with two black mollies to cycle my tank. I couldn't be happier that I didn't over look them! I had bought just the three pristellas and the two black molllies and upon returning home and making sure I met there needs, I darted back out to the lfs for extra supplies. When I got there I noticed a single pristella tetra in with some other tetras and I just didn't have the heart to leave him there solo. I brought him home with me and put him in the tank. It didn't take long for him to become a part of the school. My tetras accepted him easily and they are all doing just fine! Great story, great little tetras, love the dorsal fin, I think it is unique. It sticks straight up and has colorbands of yellow, black and white. The tail fin on the male has become very red, not so much with the female. But I don't think she is too worried about that since she has other things on her mind, like delivering her babies! Cheers, Brenda Brenda 2007-10-23
i have a small group of x-rays and harlequins and a couple of bloodfins. the x-rays are always slow especially during feeding time. gugye 2007-07-24
Some of the coolest comments:
I have kept these charming fish for about six months, and they are fun to watch! When I first bought them they were a dull off-white color, but as they matured they got slightly reddish tails, and the black, white and yellow markings on thier fins. They also co-habitate quite well with my harlequin rasboras! mandy 2004-03-29
Comments Dr Jungle REALLY Likes to Hear!
this site's sweet, it helped me with my homework! Christian 2007-05-27

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