Coffee bean tetra
Hyphessobrycon takasei
Also known as Takase's tetra
FreshwaterFish
Care at a glance
- Temperature
- 73–82°F
- 23–28°C
- pH
- 5.0–6.8
- Adult size
- 1.4 in
- 3.6 cm
- Minimum tank
- 15 gal
- 55 L
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Social behavior
- Schooling
- Swim level
- Middle
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Breeding
- Hard
- Rarity
- Rare
- Family
- Characidae
- Origin
- Araguari and Oyapock basins, Amapa, Brazil and French Guiana
Overview
The coffee bean tetra is a peaceful schooling fish for a blackwater community tank. It is best with a little experience.
Did you know
The coffee bean tetra's giant shoulder spot is unmistakable, and no other tetra in the hobby can be confused with it. Its common name came straight from that mark.
Caring for the coffee bean tetra
Keep coffee bean tetras in a group of six or more, in 15 gal (55 L) or larger. They can be shy at first and settle fastest in a shaded tank rich in botanicals, with leaf litter and dim light.
Give them warm, acidic, tea-dark water at 73 to 82°F (23 to 28°C) and a pH of 5.0 to 6.8. Feed crushed flake, micro granules, and small live or frozen foods.
Coffee bean tetras are peaceful, so choose gentle blackwater company. Once they feel comfortable, the bean-marked school works the open water together. Breeding them is hard.
Good to know
Hyphessobrycon takasei was described by Gery in 1964. Its mark is a huge oval shoulder blotch shaped like a coffee bean, far larger than the spots of related species.
In the wild
The coffee bean tetra lives in quiet blackwater creeks of the Araguari and Oyapock basins. These lie along the border between Brazil and French Guiana.
Weekly picks
Tank mates
The coffee bean 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.
New Guinea blue-eye
Pseudomugil novaeguineae
Freshwater1.8 in (4.5 cm) · 15 gal (55 L)79–86°F (26–30°C)
Green lace shrimp
Atyoida pilipes
Freshwater2.8 in (7 cm) · 14 gal (54 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)
Zebra pleco
Hypancistrus zebra
Freshwater3.1 in (8 cm) · 15 gal (55 L)79–86°F (26–30°C)
Spotted danio
Danio nigrofasciatus
Freshwater1.5 in (3.7 cm) · 15 gal (55 L)64–79°F (18–26°C)
Scherer's hatchetfish
Carnegiella schereri
Freshwater1 in (2.6 cm) · 14 gal (54 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)
Martin's dwarf cichlid
Apistogramma martini
Freshwater1.6 in (4 cm) · 15 gal (55 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)
Common questions
What size tank does a coffee bean tetra need?
A coffee bean tetra needs at least 15 gal (55 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.
What temperature and pH does a coffee bean tetra need?
A coffee bean tetra is comfortable at 73–82°F (23–28°C) with a pH of 5.0–6.8.
What does a coffee bean tetra eat?
A coffee bean tetra eats crushed flake and micro granules, along with small live or frozen foods.
How big does a coffee bean tetra get?
An adult coffee bean tetra reaches about 1.4 in (3.6 cm).
Does a coffee bean tetra need a group?
Yes. A coffee bean tetra is a schooling species and should be kept in a group, not singly.
Related species
1.4 in (3.6 cm)15 gal (55 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)Amapa tetra
Hyphessobrycon amapaensis
1.4 in (3.6 cm) · 15 gal (55 L)
1.4 in (3.6 cm)17 gal (65 L)70–82°F (21–28°C)Black phantom tetra
Hyphessobrycon megalopterus
1.4 in (3.6 cm) · 17 gal (65 L)
1.4 in (3.6 cm)15 gal (55 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)Pinnistriatus tetra
Hyphessobrycon pinnistriatus
1.4 in (3.6 cm) · 15 gal (55 L)
1.4 in (3.6 cm)15 gal (55 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)Simulatus tetra
Hyphessobrycon simulatus
1.4 in (3.6 cm) · 15 gal (55 L)
1.5 in (3.7 cm)15 gal (55 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)Clavatus tetra
Hyphessobrycon clavatus
1.5 in (3.7 cm) · 15 gal (55 L)
1.5 in (3.7 cm)15 gal (55 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)Moniliger tetra
Hyphessobrycon moniliger
1.5 in (3.7 cm) · 15 gal (55 L)