Blind Cave Tetra

Blind Cave Tetra
(Astyanax fasciatus mexicanus)

A very active, greedy fish that will quickly find its food in spite of being deprived of eysight! It lives happily at temperatures down to 10° C and possibly lower, probably because low temperatures, rather than tropical ones, are the norm in its native habitat. Hans Frey states that even the young fry do well at temperatures as low as 12° C. It's an egg scatterer and is said to be easy to breed especially if one has large specimens. The young initially have eyes but soon lose them as they grow quickly and to reach breeding size within three or four months. The blind cave fish used to be known as Anoptichthys jordani, "anoptichthys" meaning fish without eyes, but was subsequently found to be an Astyanax that has adapted to cave dwelling. Hybridising between mexicanus and other Astyanax is unlikely to happen in nature as the breeding behaviours differ, that of mexicanus being adapted to cave dwelling. This is a peaceful, hardy fish that accepts life as a "cool tropical", putting on a fine display in a specialised single species tank.

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