Cope's tetra

Moenkhausia copei

Also known as Copei tetra, Red tail tetra

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–82°F (23–28°C)
pH: 5.5–7.0
Adult size: 2.4 in (6 cm)
Minimum tank: 20 gal (75 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Amazon lowlands
Family: Characidae

Overview

Cope's tetra is a docile, middle-swimming schooler that does best in a group of at least eight to ten and blends easily into a soft-water community. It is peaceful and pairs nicely with corydoras, dwarf cichlids, pencilfish, and other small, calm tetras. Keep it away from large or aggressive fish that would bully it or beat it to food. Offer a varied diet of quality flake or micro pellets with frozen and live foods such as daphnia, bloodworm, and brine shrimp. A group is comfortable in around 75 liters or more with planting, driftwood, and open water to swim.

In the wild

Moenkhausia copei lives along the quiet edges and floodplains of the Amazon lowlands, in soft, warm, gently acidic water. Recreate that with a temperature of 23 to 28 degrees Celsius and pH 5.5 to 7.0, a dark sandy bottom, driftwood, and leaf litter to tint the water. Plant the margins and leave open central swimming space, keep the light dim, and maintain clean water with steady, gentle flow.

Good to know

Moenkhausia copei belongs to the family Characidae and grows to about 6 centimeters, showing pearly flanks and a dark tail marked with a white tip. The species honors Edward Drinker Cope, the nineteenth-century American naturalist, while the genus name commemorates the physiologist William Moenkhaus. It is an egg-scattering spawner, and there are no established aquarium breeding records.

Did you know

It is named for Edward Drinker Cope, the fossil hunter of the so-called Bone Wars; this quiet little Amazon tetra may be the gentlest thing ever to carry his combative name.