Redtail Brycon ?'s

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MyFishEatYourFish

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May 15, 2008
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monsterville
i just brought home my new redtail brycon ive been eyein for a while. he is 7" and seems to have some good color. i paid 35 for him, is that a good price?
ive been trying to do research but there seems to be so little available. i can't even figure out what species he is for sure. i;m trying to learn as much as i can about this guy so i can care for him as best as possible, any help with info/ care and a way to id the specific species would be awesome, thanks.
 
The species is often called B. dentex although there is no proof other than unsourced ID's on other forums.

B. dentex tends to be nervous with aggressive fish in the tank, but it also highly aggressive to bright silver fish.

35 is the cheaper price for them in my area.

I would expect him to get about a foot, the biggest I have ever seen for this unproven B. dentex though is only about 8" just from what I have seen at work.

http://www.atlasoffish.com/cs/bryconsp1.html
 
I had a brycon dentex in the past. It is a beautiful fish always swimming around the tank at all times. But it harassed any other fish with him and constantly bit and tormented any fish smaller than itself. This fish has a horrible personality and I would not recommend it to anyone. You will know what I mean in coming weeks. About the price $35 is cheap for it.
 
There are some 50 plus species of Brycon and several with red tails - Dentex, Cephalus, and Whitei are more commonly found in aquaria. Rubricauda another Red Tail species and the soon to be extinct -Orbignyanus is yet another and there are more.

Without a pic for ID it's impossible to posotivley ID. Assuming your fish is one of the common Red Tail Brycon species - Cephalus has a small black line in the caudal area and a small black dot in the hummeral area. Dentex will have a longer black line running the length of the caudal area (25-30% of it's body length) and a black dot in the humeral. Whitei will have a black line running most of the length of it's body from tail to snout having a small break in the middle of the body.

Hope this helps
 
35 is what i paid for my 6" red tailed brycon. But be warned, this fish is what they say it is and is viscious and will torment most fish even of the same size. I gave one to my friend when i was trying to get rid of them and it took down a jardini was was his same size. This fish does well with other toothed predators that will size up well against the ill tempered brycon family.

They also go after their own species. My two never stoped fighting but also never inflicted any serious wounds but i think i was just lucky and had a big enough tank. Goodluck, they are definitely cool and very active fish and fun to watch eat.
 
awesome fish. it seem pretty cheap to me.
 
Brycon as a whole, differ in sizes from small to large. Some are even considered game fish. Once again - without specific species theres no way to tell how large they can get and most of the info I've gathered would consist of wild sizes. I'm yet to see pics or info on Brycon larger than 16" in captivity and those that are live in aquariums the size of large swimming pools.

What I can tell you is that my Dentex grew quickly to 8" then slowed to a crawl, he's a bastard but easily punked by more aggressive species like my Payara and Datniodes. He's an eating machine, eats anything and everything from live to flake to frozen to massivore, I've even seen him chew on live plants as well. I paid like $20 for him labeled as Ace. Falcatus, red tail cuda. I believe it was Aprilrider who ID'ed him for me in this forum close to a year ago and google has been my best friend in researching this species as a whole.
 
If you all would take a minute and look at Thefishjunky's for sale thread you will see pictures of the brycon that he has.I'm not sure if that one is dentex or not but it seems to be the one that is most availible.I rarely see any other types offered for sale and a few shops in my area have those currently...I have had a few of them a few years ago and they were nasty.
 
The fishjunkey's Dec-Feb. labeled Brycon Whitei is incorrect it is Dentex. IDing can be tricky kinda gotta follow the black line so to speak Cephalus has the shortest, then Dentex, then Moorei, then Hilarii, then Whitei where the line runs it's entire body and yes all these fish look very much similar. Believe it or not theres a few other Brycon that can fit inbetween. I found these 5 species are the most commonly referenced "Red-tail Brycon". There are old threads and pics on all 5 of these guys here on MFK.

Fish database has Dentex @ 14" in average lengths, Moorei @ 20", Whitei @16", and Hiliarii @ 22" - Cephalus is rated @ approx 9" but fisherman say 18".

Theres not alot of info on these guys relating to home aquaria other than what I commonly read on this site. There's tons of info on wild Brycon in relation to fishing and conservation on the web. There are a bunch of photos on google pics of fisherman with numerous species of massive Brycon. I suspect their large sizes, massive diets, and overly aggressive temperment has not made them very popular in home aquaria. And YUP - I got too much time on my hands in the winter months.
 
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