Cochu's blue tetra

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep a group of at least six, more if you have room, since this is a schooling fish that turns into a fin-nipper when kept in small numbers. It swims in the middle of the tank and is otherwise peaceful with similar-sized fish. A 75 liter tank suits a proper school. Feed quality flake and micro-pellets along with frozen brine shrimp and daphnia. Keep pH from 6 to 7.5 and the water warm and clean.

In the wild

Boehlkea fredcochui comes from the Amazon region of Peru, living in warm, slow stretches of river and side channels. The water is soft and runs from acidic to neutral. A planted tank with some open swimming space and gentle flow matches what it knows. Keep it warm, anywhere from the low 20s to the high 20s C.

Good to know

This is a small characin in the family Characidae, reaching around 5 to 6 cm. It's an egg scatterer with no parental care, and breeding it at home is difficult. The steel-blue body color is its defining trait and is strongest on healthy, settled fish.

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Golden tetra

  Hemigrammus rodwayi

  2.2 in (5.5 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)

  2.2 in (5.5 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Dusky tetra

  Moenkhausia phaeonota

  2.2 in (5.6 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)

  2.2 in (5.6 cm)20 gal (75 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)

• 

  Lesser bleeding heart tetra

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  2.2 in (5.6 cm) · 24 gal (90 L)

  2.2 in (5.6 cm)24 gal (90 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)

• 

  Flameback bleeding heart tetra

  Hyphessobrycon pyrrhonotus

  2.1 in (5.4 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)

  2.1 in (5.4 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Ruby moenkhausia

  Moenkhausia rubra

  2.1 in (5.4 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)

  2.1 in (5.4 cm)20 gal (75 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)

• 

  Blackmargin tetra

  Moenkhausia nigromarginata

  2.1 in (5.3 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)

  2.1 in (5.3 cm)20 gal (75 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)