Tetra

A tetra is one of several species of small freshwater fish from Africa, Central America and South America belonging to the biological family Characidae and to its former subfamilies Alestidae (the "African tetras") and Lebiasinidae. The Characidae are distinguished from other fish by the presence of a small adipose fin between the dorsal and caudal fins. Many of these, such as the neon tetra (Paracheirodon innesi), are brightly colored and easy to keep in captivity. Consequently, they are extremely popular for home aquaria.

Tetra is no longer a taxonomic, phylogenetic term. It is short for Tetragonopterus, a genus name formerly applied to many of these fish, which is Greek for "square-finned" (literally, four-sided-wing).

Because of the popularity of tetras in the fishkeeping hobby, many unrelated fish are commonly known as tetras, including species from different families. Even vastly different fish may be called tetras. For example, payara (Hydrolycus scomberoides) is occasionally known as the "sabretooth tetra" or "vampire tetra".

Aesop Rock

Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American hip hop recording artist and producer residing in Portland, Oregon. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerged during the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was signed to El-P's Definitive Jux label until it went on hiatus in 2010. betterPropaganda ranked him at number 19 at the Top 100 Artists of the Decade.

He is a member of the groups The Weathermen, Hail Mary Mallon (with Rob Sonic & DJ Big Wiz), The Uncluded (with Kimya Dawson) and Two of Every Animal (with Cage). Regarding his name, he said: "I acquired the name Aesop from a movie I had acted in with some friends. It was my character's name and it sort of stuck. The rock part came later just from throwing it in rhymes."

Early life and education

Early and personal life

Bavitz was born at Syosset Hospital in Syosset, New York and raised in Northport, Long Island, New York to his father Paul and mother Jameija. Ian has two brothers: Chris (born 1975) and Graham (born 1977). Ian, along with his siblings, was raised Catholic but later on in his life became agnostic. Bavitz attended Northport High School in 1990 and graduated in 1994. He married Allyson Baker, guitarist and vocalist of rock band Dirty Ghosts in 2005. They resided in San Francisco but have since divorced.

Neon tetra

The neon tetra (Paracheirodon innesi) is a freshwater fish of the characin family (family Characidae) of order Characiformes. The type species of its genus, it is native to blackwater or clearwater streams in southeastern Colombia, eastern Peru, and western Brazil, including the tributaries of the Solimões where the water is between 20 and 26 °C (68 and 79 °F). It is not found in the whitewater rivers of Andean origin. Its bright colouring makes the fish visible to conspecifics in the dark blackwater streams, and is also the main reason for its popularity among tropical fish hobbyists.

Description

The Neon Tetra has a light-blue back over a silver-white abdomen. The fish is characterized by an iridescent blue horizontal stripe along each side of the fish from its nose to the base of the adipose fin, and an iridescent red stripe that begins at the middle of the body and extends posteriorly to the base of the caudal fin. Rarely, they develop an dark olive-green sheen lining on their backs. The fish is partially transparent (including fins) except for these markings. During the night, the blue and red become gray or black as the fish rests—it reactivates once it becomes active in the morning. It grows to approximately 3 cm (1.2 in) in overall length. Sexual dimorphism is slight, with the female having a slightly larger belly, and a bent iridescent stripe rather than the male's straight stripe. They have recently become available in a long-fin variety.