AquaNexus verified profile
X-ray tetra
Pristella maxillaris
A hardy but still social South American tetra requiring a full shoal, stable freshwater and open swimming room.
Outcome: PASSED Permanent ID: 736
Profile overview
- Scientific Name
- Pristella maxillaris
- Identity and search names
- Pristella tetra, Water goldfinch, Pristella maxillaris
- Category
- Freshwater fish
- Subgroup
- Tetras and characins
- Environment
- Freshwater aquarium
- Origin
- Coastal drainages of Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and northern Brazil
- Care
- Beginner
- Adult Size
- 4–5 cm
- Lifespan
- 4–5 years
- Tank
- At least 100 L for twelve or more
- Temp
- 23–28 °C
- pH
- 6.0–8.0
- Hardness
- Soft to hard, provided conditions are stable
- Salinity
- Freshwater; no routine salt addition
- Lighting
- Normal aquarium lighting
- Placement
- Mid water
- Diet
- Omnivore; fine dry foods with frozen or live variety
- Filtration
- Use mature biological filtration with effective mechanical solids capture and turnover matched to the species’ natural flow needs. Protect intakes, preserve established media during cleaning and keep ammonia and nitrite at zero.
- Aeration
- Maintain continuous surface agitation and dependable dissolved oxygen across the whole aquarium. Increase oxygen reserve in warm water, strong-current systems, dense groups, medication periods and power interruptions.
- Maintenance
- Observe feeding, respiration, body condition and social behaviour daily; test nitrogen waste and key chemistry on a schedule; clean mechanical media before trapped waste decomposes; and perform regular temperature- and chemistry-matched water changes.
- Welfare
- Maintain the stated adult space and social structure, verify feeding, and intervene early when injury, exclusion, weight loss, abnormal respiration or altered behaviour appears. Broad water tolerance does not mean salt is routinely required. Maintain stable freshwater conditions and a full shoal rather than using brackish claims to excuse unstable husbandry.
- Biosecurity
- Never release fish, fry, eggs, aquarium water, sediment, plants or live foods into drains, dams or natural waterways. Confirm current Australian import conditions and South Australian possession, trade and movement rules before acquisition or transfer.
- Review Status
- PASSED
- Source Status
- CURRENT — accepted identity or explicitly bounded species profile; husbandry, welfare, sources and Australian/South Australian biosecurity rechecked. CURRENT
App-ready care, welfare and biosecurity details
Identity Scope
Single-species profile for Pristella maxillaris. Preserve permanent AquaNexus ID 736, slug x-ray-tetra and route /species/x-ray-tetra/; retain former combinations, locality labels and trade names only as searchable aliases.
Adult Size And Space
Expected adult size: 4–5 cm. Minimum permanent housing: At least 100 L for twelve or more. Plan around adult dimensions, activity, social structure, aggression, oxygen demand and waste production rather than sale size.
Social Structure
Keep twelve or more in a long shoal with open midwater and planted or woody refuge
Swimming Zone
Primary zone: Mid water. Keep that zone usable for movement, feeding, refuge and escape.
Feeding Ecology
Omnivore; fine dry foods with frozen or live variety
Feeding Plan
Small appropriate meals based on age and body condition
Water Stability
Maintain 23–28 °C; pH 6.0–8.0; hardness or minerals: Soft to hard, provided conditions are stable; salinity: Freshwater; no routine salt addition. Stable oxygenation and nitrogen-cycle control matter more than chasing one exact value.
Habitat Structure
Planted margins and open swimming space; captive fish tolerate a broad range when acclimated slowly
Compatibility Plan
Peaceful community fish with comparable adult size
Breeding Plan
Egg scatterer; adults provide no care and may eat eggs Parental care: No parental care; use dense fine plants or a separate spawning setup if breeding is attempted.
Quarantine
Quarantine new livestock in a separate cycled system for at least 30 days. Observe appetite, respiration, waste, skin, fins and behaviour; use dedicated equipment and never add transport water to the established aquarium.
Welfare Checks
Maintain the stated adult space and social structure, verify feeding, and intervene early when injury, exclusion, weight loss, abnormal respiration or altered behaviour appears. Broad water tolerance does not mean salt is routinely required. Maintain stable freshwater conditions and a full shoal rather than using brackish claims to excuse unstable husbandry.
Biosecurity And Release
Never release fish, fry, eggs, aquarium water, sediment, plants or live foods into drains, dams or natural waterways. Confirm current Australian import conditions and South Australian possession, trade and movement rules before acquisition or transfer.
Main Risk
Broad water tolerance does not mean salt is routinely required. Maintain stable freshwater conditions and a full shoal rather than using brackish claims to excuse unstable husbandry.
Adult Projected Load
Plan filtration and stocking for the full adult size (4–5 cm), the complete social group and peak feeding waste, not the current shop size. Permanent housing remains At least 100 L for twelve or more.
Filtration
Use mature biological filtration with effective mechanical solids capture and turnover matched to the species’ natural flow needs. Protect intakes, preserve established media during cleaning and keep ammonia and nitrite at zero.
Aeration
Maintain continuous surface agitation and dependable dissolved oxygen across the whole aquarium. Increase oxygen reserve in warm water, strong-current systems, dense groups, medication periods and power interruptions.
Maintenance
Observe feeding, respiration, body condition and social behaviour daily; test nitrogen waste and key chemistry on a schedule; clean mechanical media before trapped waste decomposes; and perform regular temperature- and chemistry-matched water changes.
Overridable Warnings
Warnings are decision support, not permission to ignore welfare limits. Override only with specimen-specific evidence, equivalent risk controls and a recorded reason; never override legal, biosecurity, provenance or no-release requirements.
Sources and review basis
- Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes — Pristella maxillaris: Taxonomy — accepted name, former combinations, synonyms and identity cross-check
- Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes — Pristella maxillaris: Taxonomy and distribution — accepted identity and former combinations
- IUCN Red List search — Pristella maxillaris: Conservation and provenance — wild status, locality and collection-risk cross-check
- PIRSA — South Australian noxious fish list: Australian biosecurity — current South Australian possession, trade and movement restrictions
- DAFF — importing live ornamental fish to Australia: Australian biosecurity — national live-fish import pathways and permitted-species warning
AquaNexus uses original editorial synthesis. Exact import, possession, movement and disposal requirements must be rechecked with the current authority before acquisition or transfer.