The black neon tetra (Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi) is a freshwater fish of the characin family (Characidae) of the order Characiformes. It is native to the Paraguay basin of southern Brazil. They are often found in the aquarium trade, and a feral population has been established in the rio Paraíba do Sul basin due to the trade.
Taxonomy
The species is named in honor of pet-book publisher Herbert R. Axelrod (1927–2017), whose Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine published this description and several others by Géry.
Description
thumb|200px|An adult black neon tetra
thumb|200px|A juvenile black neon tetraThis species is of typical elongated tetra appearance; it is of plain basic coloration, but with two distinct, adjacent, longitudinal stripes, white above black. The eye has two thin but distinctive color bands across the top, red above yellow. It grows to a maximum overall length of approximately .
The fish's natural diet consists of small invertebrates and plants.
H. herbertaxelrodi is commonly kept as an aquarium fish by hobbyists. In 2020, the fish beat Pokemon Sapphire after 3,195 hours, a feat that takes about 30 hours for a typical human. Mutekimaru later requested a refund of the 500 yen from Nintendo. Several media outlets facetiously described the fish as having committed "credit card fraud". After about seven hours, their movements shut down the Switch.
See also
- List of freshwater aquarium fish species