At a glance the quick version
Looks how to spot one
Slender scaled characin
A sleek, silvery tetra with bright red at the base of the tail, anal and pelvic fins, giving it its name. Males are slimmer and develop tiny hooks on the anal and pelvic fin rays when mature. Colours are strongest in warmer water and in breeding condition.31
Personality what they are like
Peaceful and quick-moving. It gets along with most other active community fish and does best alongside species that are not slow or long-finned.1
Daily activity how busy a day looks
Energetic swimmer that spends most time in the upper water layers and needs open swimming room. It can jump, so a tight-fitting lid is important.123
Grooming and care the hands-on bits
One of the easier tetras: accepts a wide range of water conditions. Keep the tank covered and do regular partial water changes.1
Home where they are happiest
Tank with a base of at least about 60 x 30 cm (around 54 litres). Temperature 18 to 28 °C, pH 6.0 to 8.0, hardness roughly 3 to 25 dGH (FishBase up to 30 dH). In nature it lives in still or slow waters such as floodplain lakes.123
Food basics what goes in the bowl
Unfussy omnivore. Natural food is zooplankton, insects, worms and small crustaceans; in the aquarium it takes most dried, frozen and live foods.123
Company who they like around
Shoaling fish: keep at least 5 to 6 together with other characins, Corydoras or small suckermouth catfish.12
The story where it all began
Eigenmann and Kennedy described the bloodfin tetra in 1903 from fish collected near Asunción, Paraguay. The name honours botanist Juan Daniel Anisits, whose collection, including the type specimen, went to Indiana University. It has long been one of the classic hardy tetras of the hobby.312
Fun facts for the dinner table
- 1
Seriously Fish notes that it can even be kept unheated in a well-insulated house.1
- 2
Captive bloodfins over ten years old have been recorded.1
- 3
Spawning usually happens in the early morning, and a female can lay around 700 to 800 clear eggs that hatch in less than a day.2
- 4
It is a good jumper, so aquarium lids are a must.1
Recognised by the official bits
- IUCN Red List
- Least Concern (assessed 4 March 2021)2
- FishBase
- Highly commercial aquarium species2
The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you
A typical home-care rhythm for a Bloodfin Tetra. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.
- FeedingSmall amounts once or twice a dayevery day
- Temperature checkevery day
- Water changeAbout 25% of the waterevery week
- Water testevery week
- Glass cleanevery week
- Filter rinseRinse in old tank water, never tap waterevery month
You might also like
Buenos Aires Tetra
Flame TetraLike what we are building? Buy us a coffee.
The breed atlas is free for everyone, with a source on every fact, and it will never show ads. If it helped you, a small tip keeps the research going. Any amount is lovely, and no is a perfectly fine answer too.
Where this comes from
Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
- Seriously Fish: Aphyocharax anisitsi seriouslyfish.comused for range, size, care parameters, diet, behaviour, lifespan note, history
- FishBase: Aphyocharax anisitsi fishbase.seused for distribution, max length, water parameters, IUCN status, breeding
- Wikipedia: Bloodfin tetra en.wikipedia.orgused for appearance, habitat, diet, history, etymology
Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.