White fin rosy tetra ??

I was in the store the other day and they had some stunning white fin rosy tetra (they look like serpae but with white fins). I'm thinking of getting 6 for my ram tank (29 gallon tank with 2 rams and 4 kuhli) but i've not been able to find much about these fishes. They seem temp compatible and one article indicated they needed pristine water (very very low nitrate) but i'm not sure if that was wild or tank raised. Anyone with experience with these fishes can comment - are they related to serpae (one thing I noticed right off the back is unlike serpae none of their fins were nipped or torn - most serpa iv'e seen have done a good job at nipping at eat other).

 

Rosy Tetras are more closely related to the Bleeding Heart Tetra. Almost all are commercially bred.
I've kept Rosy's as well as their cousins, the Candy cane Tetra. I have to admit neither species did very well in my local hard tap water. Most died within two years of purchase. They are truly beautiful fish.

 

White Finned Rosy, aka Candy Cane, are a good fish in mixed community tanks. They are the same species as the commmon Rosy Tetra, but different populations. They will interbreed. As noted above, they do need softer water, though I've maintained them in moderately hard water (8-10 DH) with no problems. They are not as aggressive as Serpae, though they do tend to pick at one another if you don't have a decent group. Mostly it is males posturing at one another, or posing for the girls. I would say they are more similar to Bleeding Hearts than Serpae, though I wouldn't characterize it as being more closely related. All are in the same genus, Hyphessobrycon, which is a rather large genus.

 

The tap water here is around 7.5 hardness - so it sounds non optimal but I might give a group of 6 a try. I find them stunning - though to be honest there seem to be a lot of very nice tetras.
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it sounds like - or unlike many amazon fishes that are commercially bred they have not adopted to harder water - I know angels and rams will do ok in water that is a bit harder than their native amazon environment - though wild caught fishes still require soft water.

 

7.5 would be pH, not hardness. And usually a pH at that level doesn't occur with very hard water, so you likely will be OK.

 

No - the hardness is around 7.5 - at 7 drops it is negative at 8 drops it is positive so somehwere between 7 and 8 degrees
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the ph is around 7.2

7.5 would be pH, not hardness. And usually a pH at that level doesn't occur with very hard water, so you likely will be OK.

 

Ah, most people would report that as a 7 DH. That is relatively soft, those tetras will thrive and could even breed in that level of hardness.