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Koi Hut

Red Eye Tetra

Red Eye Tetra

Regular price £3.99 GBP
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The Red Eye Tetra (Bario sanctaefilomenae) is a species of Tetra native to the São Francisco, Upper Paraná, Paraguay, Parnaiba, and Uruguay river basins.

They have a shimmering silver coloured body, black and white markings on their fins, and a bright red streak across the top of their eyes which gives them their common name.

Habitat

In the wild, Redeye Tetras are found in rivers and streams in various river systems of South America. They congregate in large shoals for feeding and safety, and enjoy exploring dense vegetation in more cloudy waters.

Male specimens of this species tend to be more smaller than Females when reaching maturity, with the Females being rounder and more full bodied.

A comfortable temperature for these fish is between 22°C - 26°C.

Size

Our specimens currently measure approx. 3cm - 5cm

This species' maximum size typically reaches approx. 7cm

Aquarium

We recommend an aquarium with a minimum capacity of 40 Litres. The more fish you have, the more space they will require in which to thrive.

These are very peaceful fish that do well in a community aquarium with other fish of similar size and temperament. They can display fin nipping behaviour so do not house with any tank mates that have longer fins.

Red Eye Tetras thrive when in a group of at least 6 fish as they are a shoaling fish, and more members of the shoal make them feeler safer and behave with more confidence.

The aquarium should have plants, including floating plants for them to hide in. Employ darker substrate and dimmer lighting to better display this fish's natural colour.

Most Red Eye Tetras in the aquarium trade today are captive bred, with wild caught specimens being rare. Because of this captive breeding they have developed into a much hardier fish than their wild cousins. Therefore the water conditions do not have to exactly match wild conditions and they can tolerate a much wider variation in water chemistry. However, try not to stray too far into the extreme ends of their preferred environment.

The tank should be well established to avoid any surprise changes in water parameters that may upset or be otherwise detrimental to the fish.

Feed with flake, granules, or frozen meaty foods such as daphnia, cyclops, and mosquito larvae.

Red Eye Tetras are quite hardly and can tolerate a wider range of pH and Hardness levels. They make an excellent beginner fish.

pH levels should fall between the 5.5 - 8.5 range.
Hardness should fall between 5 - 25 dGH

Behaviour

This peaceful fish gets along with most species of similar size. As with most tetras, they look more impressive the bigger their shoal is. They can be easily housed in a community tank so long as there is nothing too aggressive with them that can cause them to become skittish and stressed.

These fish can sometimes target fish with long flowing fins and are noted as being "fin nippers." For this reason, it is prudent not to house them with tank mates that have longer fins or are particularly slow moving. The larger your shoal of Red Eye Tetras, the less likely they are to display this fin nipping behaviour.

This is a freshwater species - Do not put them in a marine / saltwater aquarium.

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