Vampire Tetra

Care at a glance

Overview

The vampire tetra, also called the payara or sabre-tooth tetra, is a large, muscular predator for the experienced keeper with a very big tank. It can be kept alone or in a small group of three or more where there is room, and it is calm toward fish too big to be seen as food, but it will eat anything that fits in its mouth. Choose only large, fast tankmates if any. It is a fish-eater by nature, so expect to feed meaty foods such as whole frozen fish, prawns, and strips of seafood, weaning imports off live food over time. Give it a long tank of at least 700 liters with strong current and a tight lid, since it is a powerful jumper.

In the wild

This predator ranges through the central and upper Amazon in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador, holding in the flowing channels of both clear and blackwater rivers. It is built for open, moving water rather than still tanks. Recreate strong flow with powerful filtration and aim for warm water at 24 to 28 C and a pH from about 5.0 to 7.5. Keep the layout simple and open, with driftwood and a large clear swimming lane, so this fast fish has the room and current it expects.

Good to know

The vampire tetra belongs to Cynodontidae, the dogtooth tetras, a family of streamlined Amazon predators. It reaches around 30 cm in the aquarium and a little more in the wild, with much larger reports usually tracing back to its bigger relative Hydrolycus armatus. Its most distinctive feature is a pair of long fangs in the lower jaw that slot into sockets in the upper jaw when its mouth closes. It is an obligate fish-eater and has no record of being bred in home aquaria.

Did you know

The two fangs jutting from a vampire tetra's lower jaw can reach around 4 cm long and are used to spear prey through the body. When the fish closes its mouth the fangs slide into matching pockets in the upper jaw, so they never stop it feeding. In the wild much of its diet is smaller fish, including young piranhas.

Related species

• 

  Payara

  Hydrolycus armatus

  35 in (89 cm)1,057 gal (4,000 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Biara

  Rhaphiodon vulpinus

  31.5 in (80 cm)660 gal (2,500 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)

• 

  African knifefish

  Xenomystus nigri

  11.8 in (30 cm)53 gal (200 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)

• 

  Red tail barracuda

  Acestrorhynchus falcatus

  11.8 in (30 cm)100 gal (380 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)

• 

  Silver tiger perch

  Datnioides polota

  11.8 in (30 cm)79 gal (300 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Flagtail prochilodus

  Semaprochilodus taeniurus

  11.8 in (30 cm)159 gal (600 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)