Head and Tail Light Tetra (Hemigrammus ocellifer)

The Head and Tail Light Tetra (Hemigrammus ocellifer) earns its name honestly: a bright copper spot glows just above the eye and a second one burns at the base of the tail, so a moving school looks like a string of little running lights. It is also sold as the Beacon Tetra. This is one of the easiest tetras in the hobby, peaceful, forgiving of ordinary tap water, and cheap enough to buy in a proper group, which makes it an excellent first schooling fish for a community tank.

Browse the rest of our freshwater livestock and live fish, or pair them with our Ember Tetras and Rummy Nose Tetras.

Care Guide

Buy them in a group. Six is the floor and ten or more is where they actually look right. Kept in twos and threes they hide, lose color, and can turn nippy. In a proper school they spread out into the open water and the tail spot lights up.

Tank size. A 20 gallon long is the practical minimum for a school of six to eight. They swim horizontally more than they hover, so floor length matters more than height.

Water parameters. Temperature 72 to 80°F, pH 5.5 to 7.5, soft to moderately hard. They are noticeably less fussy than most South American tetras and do fine in average tap water once it is dechlorinated. Stability beats chasing numbers.

Diet. Omnivore with a small mouth. A quality micro pellet or crushed flake as the staple, plus frozen or freeze-dried daphnia and bloodworms two or three times a week for color and conditioning. Feed small amounts twice daily rather than one large meal.

Aquascaping. Dark substrate, driftwood, and planted edges bring out the copper markings. Leave the middle of the tank open for swimming. A few floating plants to soften the light will visibly relax them, and the tank should have a lid since startled tetras can jump.

Behavior. Active, peaceful, and constantly on the move. They occupy the middle of the water column, which makes them a good match for surface fish and bottom dwellers alike.

Specifications

Compatibility

This is a textbook community tetra. Anything peaceful and roughly the same size works.

• Great matches. Other small tetras such as Embers and Rummy Nose, rasboras, livebearers, and peaceful dwarf cichlids.
• Cleanup crew. Otocinclus, Amano Shrimp, and nerite snails all coexist happily.
• Avoid. Anything with a mouth big enough to swallow a 2 inch fish: Oscars, large cichlids, angelfish at full size. Also skip fin nippers like Tiger Barbs unless the barbs are in a large group of their own.
• Plants. Completely plant safe. They will not touch your live plants.

Recommended Foods & Supplies

• Hikari Micro Pellets or Xtreme Nano Slow-Sinking Pellets as the daily staple
• Tetra TetraMin Tropical Flakes for easy everyday feeding
• Freeze-Dried Daphnia and frozen bloodworms as conditioning treats
• Java Fern or Java Moss for cover and security
• Seachem Safe for water changes and Seachem Stability when cycling
• More in Nutrition, Water Care, and Water Testing

Frequently Asked Questions

How many should I buy?
Six minimum, ten or more if the tank allows. This is the single biggest factor in how good they look and how confident they behave. A larger school is genuinely a different fish.

Do the spots really glow?
They are reflective rather than luminous, so they catch light rather than emit it. Against a dark substrate with decent lighting the effect is striking, especially when the whole school turns at once.

Are they hardy enough for a new tank?
They are among the tougher small tetras, but no fish belongs in an uncycled tank. Get the tank cycled first, then add the school in one group rather than a few at a time.

Will they breed in my tank?
They are egg scatterers and will spawn readily in soft, slightly acidic water, but the adults eat the eggs immediately. You would need a separate breeding tank with a spawning mop or mesh to raise any fry.

Do you hold fish for pickup?
Yes. Your order is reserved as soon as it is placed, and we leave the fish in its tank until you arrive so it stays in the best possible shape.