Hemiodus anyone? Hemiodontidae (Show your fish)

[FJB]

One of my favorite fish, unfortunately not that frequently seen. The one species seen somewhat commonly is the red tail Hemiodus (H. gracilis from Guyana/Brazil said to grow to ~6 inches but usually much smaller in aquaria. I don’t have any of those but will love to get some, and to see pictures of yours.

Below are what I think are single-spot Hemiodus (H. unimaculatus), from Venezuela/Guianas/Brazil, although another possibility (less likely) is that they are the Paraguay Hemiodus (H. orthonops). I have had hem for about 2 years and have grown from 2.5inch to presently ~6 inches.
The single spot mid-body becomes one with an on-off gray/black line connecting the spot with the fork of the tail, which is mood-dependent.
Beautiful, lightning-fast schooling swimmers (hard to photograph!), prompt to jump, and very aggressive eaters, yet gentle and well mannered, not eating smaller fish or picking on anybody. They eat everything offered although supposedly are primarily aufwuchs-eaters. A delight to have. My four fish may include 2 males and two females judging by the tinge of reddish on the tails of two of them, versus the silver/white tail of the other two.

Got any Hemiodus of any kind? Would you show them here?
Cheers!

 

[BIG-G]

Interesting fish. Don’t know that I’ve ever seen any in person.
Thanks for posting.

 

[kno4te]

A fish not many keep. Get a good size too. Thanks for sharing.

 

[MatteoTheEnder22]

Ive never seen or heard of one before where are they from???

 

[FJB]

Thank you all.
Very nice fish indeed. Hopefully somebody has some and will post some in the future.
In the meantime, I will continue enjoying mine, and l include now a picture where I was able to have all four fish.

Also, I leave you with 2 images of Hemiodus gracilis in a large aquarium at Zoologico de Cali (Colombia). I wish they were my fish as they look absolutely beautiful.
Cheers!

 

[BIG-G]

Very nice. Reminds me of Penguin Tetra (Thayeria boehlkei).

 

[Fishnerd360]

Awesome, I haven’t heard of these ones, but I have saw redtail ones.

 

[FJB]

Cool!
(Post some pics sometime?)

 

[Chet E.]

Hello,
Very nice pictures. Great detail on the scales. H. unimaculatus have larger scales than H. orthonops, especially evident on the belly.
It's nice to know others keep these great fish too. I hope yours are still doing well.
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My favorite Hemiodidae tetra is the Argonectes longiceps from Venezuela.
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I understand that there are scores of species of Hemiodidae tetras, yet all that is ever offered for sale is the Red-tailed and Black-tailed Hemiodus. Usually there is no way of actually knowing what species you are buying until you have them in your aquarium. Here in Minnesota I've seen at least four different species offered as Red-tailed Hemiodus. Mostly H. cf. gracilis. These are small stiff-bodied fish (~4").
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Recently I ordered some fish from The Wet Spot Tropical Fish in Oregon. 6-Kyburzi tetras and 6-Black-tailed Hemiodus. The store does a great job of shipping. Only one Kyburzi tetra was lost! As of last week (Nov. 2, 2021) there were still about eight Black-tailed Hemiodus ("H. microlepis") for sale at the pet shop. They're only $8 each and with shipping they could be had for about $100. That's a great price!
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I've added a picture to illustrate the trouble in communication about these fish. Of the six fish two had a stripe from the body spot to the tail. I had received two species. After calling the store they were able to identify one more fish in their tank which looked the same and I ordered three more fish. Now I have Three with the stripe (possibly H. orthonops) and six without (H. unimaculatus).
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This is my third time keeping the H. unimaculatus. They only live about a decade. Large females can reach 8".

 

[FJB]

Very cool and many thanks for posting about your Hemiodus. Absolutely gorgeous fish.
C Chet E. - As you correctly point out, it is nearly impossible to easily tell what species we are actually getting, in part due to the fact that their source locations are usually unknown, and the existence of multiple very similar looking species, in vastly different areas of northern, central and southern South America. Do you think the three fish in your photo are a singe species? I could go either way. And I don't think they are quite the same as the ne as I have, differences being the color of the tail, and the extent of the black lateral line (minimal on mine, quite strong in one of your photo).
I am glad they are available for sale. now. I wish I could order some but at this time I am maxed out of fish in all my tanks (only 6), so I just can't. And Hemiodus are not just like any little tetra that you can stick in whatever tank. They grow big. My fish are at about 8 inches and are very active! Very friendly (not skittish), interacting with me, but also lightning fast and freaking out if I make an out-of-the-ordinary move in their tank. They eat everything thrown at them but seem to have a special taste for algae and vegetables (but also small invertebrates and everything in between). They are also thick, like cigars, approaching 1 inch!
Beautiful fish! Thanks again.....
Anybody else got some Hemiodus and wants to show them?