Bloodfin tetra (Aphyocharax anisitsi) care guide

Group
Freshwater fish
Other names
Aphyocharax rubropinnis, Aphyocharax affinis
Family
Characidae (characins)
Origin
Paraná River basin in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina; streams, rivers and tributaries, especially areas shaded by floating or overhanging plants.
Water
freshwater
Maximum size
5.5 cm
Temperature
18–28°C
pH
6–8
Hardness
Soft to hard, 3–25 dGH
Minimum tank
54 litres
Care level
beginner
Temperament
peaceful
Lifespan
Up to 10+ years years

Care

A hardy, active and long-lived tetra and a good choice for beginners; captive fish of over ten years old are not unheard of. Keep at least six together. A tank with a base of 60 × 30 cm (about 55 litres) will do for a small group, though this fast swimmer appreciates more length. Provide dense planting with plenty of open swimming space, plus some roots or bogwood and floating plants to shade the surface. It jumps, so a tight-fitting lid is essential. It copes with a very wide range of conditions: roughly 18–28°C, pH 6.0–8.0 and soft to hard water. It can even live unheated in a well-insulated home, but the red in the fins is noticeably duller in cooler water, so around 22–26°C is a good compromise for colour. Aquarium releases have established it outside its native range in parts of Brazil, so it should never be released into the wild. Sources: Seriously Fish (seriouslyfish.com/species/aphyocharax-anisitsi/); FishBase (fishbase.se/summary/Aphyocharax-anisitsi.html); Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodfintetra). Checked October 2026.

Diet

Unfussy and will take most dried, frozen and live foods. A good flake or small pellet as the staple, with regular bloodworm, Daphnia and brine shrimp, keeps it in top condition.

Breeding

A fairly prolific egg scatterer that can produce several hundred fry. Condition males and females separately on good frozen and live foods, then put them in a spawning tank with fine-leaved plants such as Java moss. The adults will eat the eggs, so remove them after spawning. Eggs hatch in about 24 hours; feed the fry on infusoria first, then microworm and brine shrimp nauplii. Males are slimmer than females and develop tiny hooks on some pelvic and anal fin rays as they mature.

Compatibility and tank mates

Peaceful on the whole, but it can nip a little at long-finned or slow-moving fish, so avoid fancy guppies, bettas and angelfish. Good with other active characins, danios, barbs of similar size, Corydoras and small loricariids.

Last updated 4 October 2026. Community-edited care guide on Aquatic-Auctions.

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