Splash Tetra

Copella arnoldi is a small characiform in the family Lebiasinidae, described by Regan in 1912 and long traded under the name Copeina arnoldi. Its slender, golden-beige body carries fins flecked with red and edged in white. Males grow larger and showier, with a tall dorsal fin and a caudal fin whose upper lobe is drawn out into a point. The species rarely exceeds 5.5 cm. It ranges across the lower Amazon basin in Brazil and the coastal drainages of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, favouring shaded forest streams stained amber with tannins and fringed by overhanging vegetation. Shoals hold station in the top few centimetres of water, watching for insects and zooplankton drifting at the surface. Keep a mixed-sex group of eight to ten in a tank at least 90 cm long, around 80 litres, with soft acidic water and floating plants. Dried food is accepted, but live or frozen surface fare such as Artemia nauplii or Moina brings out the best condition. Spawning is extraordinary: the pair leap from the water together and deposit their eggs on an emersed leaf, which the male then splashes for two to three days until they hatch. Cover the tank — this determined jumper will otherwise end up on the floor.