Freshwater
Nurse tetra
Brachyalestes nurse
Alestidae
Facts
Characteristics
- Length
- Up to 25.4 cm
- Body shape
- Streamlined
Care
- Group
- At least 6 together
- Smallest aquarium
- 522 liters
- Diet
- Missing
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Behavior
Water values
Smallest tank
Range
Native
Lives wild in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo - Kinshasa, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, and 16 more countries.
More about the species
Description
Inhabits rivers, lakes, irrigation canals and fringing vegetation; feeds on zooplankton, Caridina, insects, snails and vegetation. Dwarf populations are described in lake basins: Lake Turkana, B. n. nana Pellegrin, 1935 and Lake Chad, B. n. dageti Blache and Miton, 1960 (see Ref. 2880).
Other names
Other scientific names
- Alestes bouboni
- Alestes dageti
- Alestes erythropterus
- Alestes nurse
- Alestes nurse nana
- Alestes rueppellii
In other languages
- Isomessinkitetra, Messinkialesti
- Characin, Silversides
Articles
All articles
How many fish can I keep?4 min read
Why "one cm of fish per liter" falls short, and what adult size, schools, territory and swimming zones mean for how many fish a tank can hold.
How to set up an African aquarium5 min read
Two completely different aquariums: forest rivers with soft, brown water, roots and leaves, and Rift Valley lake cichlids in hard, alkaline water with big rock piles.
How to add new fish4 min read
From the store to the tank: how to get the fish used to your water, why you should add only a few at a time, and what to watch for in the first few days.
Quarantine for new fish3 min read
Why new fish should live in a tank of their own for a few weeks before they move in, what you need, and what to look for.