Genus · Tetras

Hemigrammopetersius

Hemigrammopetersius is a genus with 3 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Tetras section, recorded from Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Adult sizes run from 2.5 in to 3.5 in. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas
3
Adult sizes
2.5–3.5 in
IUCN assessed
3 of 3
Recorded from
3 countries

About the genus

Hemigrammopetersius is a genus of African tetras in family Alestidae, restricted to forest river systems of Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon in Central Africa. The atlas covers 3 species, ranging from about 2.5–3.5 in, all slim-bodied, laterally compressed schooling characins built for life in shaded rainforest streams — a body plan and habit that closely parallel the South American tetras despite the two groups having evolved on separate continents.

The Copper Tetra, Hemigrammopetersius pulcher, is the species with real aquarium standing: an attractive, coppery-flanked schooler that shows up periodically through specialist importers of West and Central African fish, kept much like other soft-water schooling characins. The Limeback Tetra, H. urotaenia, is a more occasional import, while H. major has essentially no hobby profile. Conservation status is only partly resolved — one species Least Concern, one Data Deficient, one not yet evaluated — typical of how patchy survey coverage is across Central African blackwater drainages.

IUCN Red List: Least Concern · 1 Data Deficient · 1 Not Evaluated · 1

The 3 species

Every Hemigrammopetersius recorded in this atlas. Each card links to a full researched profile — distribution, water parameters, and aquarium care, cited to primary sources.

(Boulenger, 1903)

3.5 in SL · NE

(Boulenger, 1909)

Copper Tetra

2.5 in TL · DD

(Boulenger, 1909)

Limeback Tetra

3 in TL · LC

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How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Hemigrammopetersius. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/hemigrammopetersius/

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