Red-tail brycinus

Brycinus macrolepidotus

Also known as True big-scale tetra

FreshwaterFish

Red-tail brycinus (Brycinus macrolepidotus) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–82°F (23–28°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 20.9 in (53 cm)
Minimum tank: 264 gal (1,000 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Nilo-Sudanic and Congo rivers, Africa
Family: Alestidae

Overview

This is a half-meter schooling tetra, so while it is mostly peaceful for its size, it belongs only in a very large aquarium and is best kept as a small group of at least five, since lone fish are nervous and a shoal settles. It is a fast, active midwater swimmer that needs a long, open tank measured in the thousands of liters. It leaves comparable tankmates alone but will eat anything small enough to fit in its mouth, so keep only robust, similar-sized companions. Feed generously on large pellets, meaty frozen foods, whole foods, and some plant matter. Realistically this is a fish for a public aquarium or a dedicated monster-tank keeper, with a tank around 1000 liters or more.

In the wild

The red-tail brycinus is widespread across Africa, through the Nile, Niger, Senegal, Volta, Chad, and Congo basins and the great lakes of the region. It is more a river fish than a lake fish, living in large, warm, open, flowing water. In captivity it needs a huge tank with a long swimming lane, heavy-duty filtration, and heavy oxygenation rather than fine planting. Keep it at 23 to 28 degrees Celsius across a pH of 6.0 to 7.5, with strong flow and pristine water to support a fish of this size.

Good to know

Brycinus macrolepidotus, the true big-scale tetra, is one of the largest African tetras, reaching about 53 centimeters. Its name macrolepidotus means large-scaled, for the big, plated silver scales that catch the light, set off by a reddish wash in the tail. It is a valuable food and fishery species across much of Africa and eats insects, crustaceans, smaller fish, and plant matter. Aquarium breeding is not recorded; in the wild it is a seasonal river spawner.

Did you know

This is a tetra you measure against an arowana, not a neon: it reaches around half a meter, and its coarse, plated scales, unusually large for a tetra, are what earned it the name big-scale tetra.

Tank mates

Red-tail brycinus is a mostly peaceful, schooling species that keeps to the middle. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.