Florida Het

[Tempest]

I am trying to id a fish the LFS calls a Florida HET. They are a small slender fish which the lfs says is related to a tetra. The one s I got for my sister's tetra tank are less than one inch long and a tannish color with a pinkish hue. The gill covers are outlined in black and the fins also have some black on them. What stands out when you look at them is the dark triangle on the back part of the body with an almost neon pinkish stripe above. The tail is forked like the serpae tetra but the body isn't as deep as a serpae.

Does anyone have a clue what I've bought? I wish I had a camera to picture them.

[pinballqueen]

could it be one of these fish? This site has a few pics of tetra species.

http://www.ekkwill.com/tetras.html

[Tempest]

Pinball... I think they are in that family type somewhere.. The pics of the Rasbora heteromorpha show a body that is too deep though for these fish I have unless they grow deeper as they get older. I said the fins had black on them but looking closer I guess it's more of a brownish red. They really are a pretty little fish and I had been looking at them for some time at the fish store. They've had them in stock for a few months. (Maybe a new shipment, shrugs)

[wetmanNY]

Could it beRasbora HETeromorpha? Sure sounds like them. And rasboras are pretty tetra-like, eh. The "Florida" part would mean "raised in Florida, not imported from Singapore."

[Tempest]

It's close to the Rasbora heteromorpha but a little different from the pictures I saw. The fishes body is more slender on the ones I have and the colors are somewhat different. Maybe it's some *variety* of the same species?

[Darkangel]

It sounds a little like Rasbora espei. Often imported as heteromorpha but is somewhat more slender and a little different in colour. Treat as heteromorpha. Same requirements and all.

[wetmanNY]

Good call, Darkangel! Rasbora hengeli is a third in this trio of look-alikes.

[Tempest]

Thanks guys. I'm hoping to acquire a digital camera soon so I can take some pics of these and my tanks. I'm getting ready to set up another smaller planted tank next week and these little guys are so pretty I may just have to steal them back from my sis for it. ;)

[wetmanNY]

... I'm just relieved this thread doesn't refer to the very last married guy in South Miami...