Ember Tetra

Looks how to spot one

Tiny scaled characin with a partly see-through body

A very small, slender tetra whose body is somewhat translucent, so the backbone can often be seen. It glows in shades of orange to fiery red, strongest on the head, belly, dorsal fin and tail, and it has large eyes for its size with a dark rim. Males tend to be slimmer and more intensely coloured, while females are a little larger and rounder.432

Personality what they are like

A gentle, unhurried schooling fish that keeps to the middle of the tank and gets along with other small, calm species. Its relaxed presence can help shy fish such as dwarf cichlids feel secure enough to come out into the open.24

Daily activity how busy a day looks

An active mid-water swimmer that likes to move about as a group, so it appreciates some open swimming space between areas of dense planting.42

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Keep the water clean and stable with soft to moderately soft, slightly acidic conditions. Suggested ranges: temperature roughly 20-29 C (most sources centre on 23-28 C), pH about 5.0-7.0 (around 6.6 is often cited), and hardness about 1-17 dGH, with softer water closer to its wild habitat. Colours tend to be best in a mature, well-planted tank with a dark substrate.2413

Home where they are happiest

A tank of at least about 38-41 litres (10-11 US gallons, roughly 45 x 30 cm footprint) suits a group. Heavy planting, a dark substrate, floating plants, driftwood and a layer of dried leaf litter recreate the soft, tannin-tinted waters it comes from. In the wild it is thought to live in quiet side streams, backwaters, oxbow lakes and flooded areas rather than main river channels.243

Food basics what goes in the bowl

A micropredator that picks off tiny invertebrates and zooplankton in nature. In the aquarium it takes small dried foods such as fine flakes, but does best with regular small live or frozen foods like baby brine shrimp (Artemia nauplii), Moina and grindal worms.24

Company who they like around

A shoaling species that should be kept in a group: recommendations range from a minimum of 6 to 8-10 or more fish. Good tankmates are other small, peaceful fish such as similar-sized tetras, hatchetfish, small catfish and dwarf cichlids.24

The story where it all began

The ember tetra was scientifically described in 1987 by Gery and Uj, who placed it in the large characin genus Hyphessobrycon. They chose the species name amandae to honour Amanda Bleher (1910-1991), a German limnologist and the mother of the well-known fish explorer Heiko Bleher; the Bleher family had spent decades on collecting expeditions in South America and ran an aquatic nursery in Brazil from 1958. The species comes from the Rio Araguaia system in central Brazil and has since become a staple of the ornamental fish trade, prized in particular by nano tank and planted aquarium keepers. Later studies of the genus, including a 2011 molecular analysis, kept H. amandae within the core group of true Hyphessobrycon species.1452

Recognised by the official bits

IUCN Red List

Assessed as Least Concern (November 2018)1

FishBase

Formally described by Gery & Uj in 1987; listed as a commercial ornamental aquarium species1