Cosmops tetra

Bario cosmops

Also known as Moenkhausia cosmops, Lipstick tetra

FreshwaterFish

Cosmops tetra (Bario cosmops) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–82°F (23–28°C)
pH: 5.5–7.0
Adult size: 2.6 in (6.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 24 gal (90 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Upper Tapajós and Paraguay headwaters, Brazil
Family: Characidae

Overview

The cosmops or lipstick tetra is a hardy, peaceful schooling fish that shows its painted face best in a group of at least eight over a dark substrate. It swims in the middle of the tank and is undemanding about water, which makes it forgiving for less experienced keepers. Mix it with other calm community fish of similar size, such as tetras, pencilfish, peaceful barbs, and corydoras. Feed quality flake and micro pellets along with frozen or live foods like daphnia, bloodworm, and brine shrimp. Give a group around 90 liters or more with open water and some shade.

In the wild

Bario cosmops comes from clear headwater streams on the divide between the upper Rio Tapajos and Rio Paraguay in Mato Grosso, Brazil. It is adaptable, but does well in soft to moderately hard water at 23 to 28 degrees Celsius and pH 5.5 to 7.0. A darker substrate deepens its colors; add driftwood, some planting, and open swimming lanes, with gentle flow and clean water kept stable by regular changes.

Good to know

Described in 2007 as Moenkhausia cosmops and later moved to the genus Bario, this characin of the family Characidae reaches about 6.5 centimeters. Its name comes from Greek for decorated or adorned face, a fair description of the red lips, blue eye shadow, and glittering scales that earn it the trade name lipstick tetra. It is an egg scatterer, and home breeding is not formally documented.

Did you know

Cosmops means adorned face in Greek, and the fish lives up to it with red lips and a smear of blue over the eye, coloring it carries straight out of the river.