Colombian tetra

Care at a glance

Overview

The Colombian tetra is an active, hardy schooling fish for a lively community tank. It is a good first tetra.

Caring for the Colombian tetra

Keep Colombian tetras in a tank of 20 gal (75 L) or larger. Open swimming space with planted edges, driftwood and a bit of current suits them. An open central channel gives the group room to school while it still feels secure.

Give them soft to moderately hard water at 73 to 82°F (23 to 28°C) and a pH of 6.0 to 7.0. They take almost any food. Feed a good flake or micro pellet, with regular frozen and live treats to deepen the blue body and red fins.

Colombian tetras need a group of at least six, and a larger group keeps them settled and reduces fin-nipping. They suit a lively community of similar-sized fish. A bold group can harass very small or long-finned tank mates.

Like other characids, they scatter their eggs and give no parental care. Breeding them at home is hard, and they need soft, acidic water and dim light to spawn.

Good to know

The Colombian tetra sits in Characidae, the large American tetra family. It is one of the bigger Hyphessobrycon tetras, with a tall, compressed silver-blue body. Its red-tinted fins brighten as it matures.

In the wild

The Colombian tetra comes from the Acandi River and nearby slow creeks in northwestern Colombia, close to the border with Panama. The water there is warm, soft and slightly acidic, moving gently through shaded, wooded margins.

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Bleeding heart tetra

  Hyphessobrycon erythrostigma

  2.4 in (6 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)

  2.4 in (6 cm)20 gal (75 L)70–81°F (21–27°C)

• 

  Lesser bleeding heart tetra

  Hyphessobrycon socolofi

  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)

• 

  Agulha tetra

  Hyphessobrycon agulha

  2 in (5.2 cm) · 17 gal (65 L)

  2 in (5.2 cm)17 gal (65 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)

• 

  Lemon tetra

  Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis

  2 in (5 cm) · 17 gal (65 L)

  2 in (5 cm)17 gal (65 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)

• 

  Margitae tetra

  Hyphessobrycon margitae

  1.9 in (4.8 cm) · 16 gal (60 L)

  1.9 in (4.8 cm)16 gal (60 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)