The glowlight tetra is one of the most beautiful and easy to keep fish offered in our hobby. If you want an absolutely spectacular tank, put a school of glowlights in with black gravel, lots of plants and subdued lighting. You will understand the “glow” part of their name. They look almost unearthly, like some form of phosphorescent orange/red lines surrounded by fish.
The glowlight need slightly acid water with moderate hardness, but it is very sensitive to nitrate and nitrite, so this fish should be kept in a tank that has active and complete biological filtration. If the water quality is not to the fish’s liking it will not show to its best advantage, and can, in fact, become almost colorless. Water changes and plants will keep this fish happiest.
The glowlight tetra accepts all foods — flake and frozen — and is always a greedy eater. Spawning is in the typical tetra fashion, although the glowlight tetra has a habit of turning completely upside down when spawning. The eggs, as with neons and cardinals, are very sensitive to light, so once the parents have spawned, the tank should be kept in the dark for two days until the eggs actually hatch out.