Black neon tetra

Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–82°F; 22–28°C
pH: 5.5–7.5
Adult size: 1.4 in; 3.5 cm
Minimum tank: 16 gal; 60 L

Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Beginner
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Common
Family: Characidae
Origin: Brazil

Overview

Keep them in a group of at least six, in a tank of about 60 liters or more, and they'll spend most of their time cruising the middle. They're peaceful and fine in a community with other small, calm fish. Temperature in the low to high 20s C and a pH anywhere from soft acidic up to neutral both work. Feed a mix of small flake, micro pellets, and the odd serving of frozen brine shrimp or daphnia.

In the wild

Black neon tetras come from slow streams in the Paraguay basin of Brazil, the kind of water that runs soft, acidic, and tea-stained from fallen leaves. To match that at home, give them a planted tank with some dim corners, a sandy bottom, and a few dried leaves if you want. They settle in faster and color up better when the lighting is on the low side.

Good to know

This is a small characin in the family Characidae, topping out around 3.5 cm. You can spot it by the black stripe with a thin glowing line running just above it along the body. They are egg scatterers and don't guard their eggs. The species is not considered threatened in the wild.

Did you know

The species name honors Herbert R. Axelrod, the aquarium publisher. Despite the shared common name, it isn't closely related to the regular neon tetra, which sits in a different genus.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

Black neon tetra is a peaceful, schooling species that keeps to the middle. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator