Should I buy it?
Bloodfin tetra
Aphyocharax anisitsi
A hardy silver-bodied tetra with blood-red fins. Tolerant of a wide temperature range, peaceful, and works in most community setups.
Bloodfin tetra tank mates · 60L tank size hub
peaceful · beginner care
Sources & confidencehigh · partially verified · beginner: good
Checked against several solid care sources that mostly agree. Numbers here are a careful starting point. Your tap water, tank size, and habits decide the rest. How we evaluate.
Best for: Community tanks 60L or more with neutral to slightly acidic water and a school of eight.
Avoid if: You keep cichlids or any predatory fish that treats 5 cm tetras as prey.
Common mistakeBuying three bloodfins for a splash of red is how the display never arrives. The fin colour and schooling need eight or more; a trio scatters and looks unfinished. Start with a real school and open midwater, or pick a different accent fish.
Top things that go wrong
- Group welfare — not a solo display fish. Plan at least **6** together for normal behaviour; smaller groups often mean stress, colour loss, or nipping depending on species.
- Shrimp & snails. Cherry shrimp and other dwarfs can coexist with peaceful small fish; baby shrimp are food for almost anything that finds them.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Myth: a few bloodfin tetras are enough to add lasting colour to any community. Reality: the red display needs a tight school of eight or more with swim room — three fish is a shop sample, not the species people expect.
- 2.Kept in pairs or threes where they feel exposed and can nip when stressed.
- 3.Mixed with nippy or boisterous barbs in a tank that is too short in length.
- 4.Six or more steadies the skittish behaviour. Bloodfins jump, so fit a proper lid before the fish go in. Avoid feeding only protein-rich food long term.
About this species
Bloodfins are hardy characins with a silver body and red fin tips. An active top-and-mid water schooler that holds up in cooler water than most tetras tolerate, down to 20 °C.
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- Amano Shrimpalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
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No reverse lookups listed yet.
Plan grid
Key limits are above. Here: pH band, swim level, bioload, and activity.
Swim zones
Care snapshot
Quick compare before you buy. Not a score of how “good” the fish is.
- Beginner ease78
- Peacefulness90
- Community fit91
- Small-tank fit100
- Hardiness76
- Energy86
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Example setups
Starting points only. Run the pair checker for every fish you add.
Rough 90L+ layout: one calm centrepiece, 8–12 small tetras/rasboras, 6–8 corydoras-type bottom fish — verify every name in the pair checker before buying.
Safer directions include: Cherry Barb, Dwarf Gourami, Ember Tetra.
Prioritise 6+ of Bloodfin tetra in 60L+ with filtration sized for messy feeding — add only mates that already pass pair checks with this species.
Compatibility
Tank mates for Bloodfin tetra
Usually safer (engine GOOD): Cherry Barb, Dwarf Gourami, Ember Tetra, Glowlight Tetra, Harlequin Rasbora. Conditional (CAUTION — read the pair page before buying): Angelfish, Betta, Corydoras Catfish, German Blue Ram, Pea Puffer. Avoid (RISKY): Green Terror, Jack Dempsey, Oscar. Every name links to a live pair check — the lists are a shortlist, not a stocking plan.
Usually safer
Open a pair page with this fish as the starting point.
Needs planning
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Usually avoid
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Bloodfin tetra + Cherry Barb
- Try Cherry Barb — open the pair check.
- Try Dwarf Gourami — open the pair check.
- Try Ember Tetra — open the pair check.
- Try Glowlight Tetra — open the pair check.
Behaviour and temperament
Bloodfin tetras are peaceful, active midwater schoolers that look boisterous without being dedicated fin shredders. They stay kinder inside a proper group and stress when kept as a token trio. Give length and numbers before you blame the strain for dull fins.
What sets them off
- Sudden crowding
- Poor water quality
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper; stressed or crowded individuals can still test fins.
Predation: Not a predator toward similarly sized community fish; fry and dwarf shrimp are still fair game for most species.
Territory: Not strongly territorial, but still needs room so its working space does not overlap the next fish.
Planted tanks: excellent — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Eight or more patrol midwater with red fins flashing in open swim.
- In-school chasing is common sorting, not a reason to break the group up.
- A thin group that hangs at the glass usually needs more of its own kind and more length.
- Dull fins while eating often means numbers and current before a new flake brand.
- Low listed malice in an honest school; under-stocked groups look more restless.
- They rarely wreck short-finned robust neighbours when the school is real.
- Increase school size before adding another midwater species to ‘calm them.’
- Move them out of short cubes that cannot give a real swim lane.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Water, food, and grouping
Hardness
medium
Diet
omnivore
Bloodfin tetras take flake and micro-pellets in the midwater rush and hold the red fins better with frozen foods a few times a week. Feed a pinch the school can reach before surface specialists clear the film. Active fish burn energy all day — token feeding leaves them looking dull while still ‘eating.’
Shrimp & snails
Cherry shrimp and other dwarfs can coexist with peaceful small fish; baby shrimp are food for almost anything that finds them.
Schooling species — buy 6+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
- Hold 20 to 28 °C steadily on a real thermometer, not the dial on the heater.
- Aim for pH 6 to 7.5 and a hardness you can re-test in two weeks. A one-time strip in the shop car park is not a water test.
- Schooling species. Buy 6 or more from the same tank on the same day before adding any centrepiece fish.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 60L published minimum for adults.
- You can stock at least 6 individuals (group welfare).
- Heater can hold 20–28°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
Explore and stocking hubs
Tank-mates hub, matching guides, category peers, and litre stocking lists around this species’ minimum tank.
Plan with tools
Check mates as pairs first, then add this fish in the tank builder for the full stocking.
Filtration & heating
A 60L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 240L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 20–28°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Bloodfin tetra does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 20–28°C and pH 6–7.5:
Research: partially verified · Confidence: high · 3 linked source(s). We do not invent citations.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Aphyocharax anisitsi
Primary: aquarium size, water chemistry, behaviour, and compatibility (URL verified in upgrade script; recheck if site content changes).
- FishBase. Aphyocharax anisitsi
Secondary: taxonomy, distribution, and maximum length in nature; cross-check with aquarium import lines and measured tank parameters.
- Wikipedia. Aphyocharax anisitsi
Secondary: general species context; verify all husbandry numbers against a dedicated aquarium care sheet and your test kit, not a single table row.
Evidence notes
- The Seriously Fish profile for the binomial in this record was successfully reached as the primary aquarium reference.
- FishBase contributes natural-range size and habitat context. Translate those numbers through your heater, your water report, and your tank footprint before stocking.
- Wikipedia is only cited if the article URL returned OK. Use it for orientation, not as the only care sheet for an import.
- All compatibility text reflects typical hobby experience and the Fishori model. Individual fish, shop stress, and the order tank mates are added in can still defy a single-paragraph label.
Common questions about Bloodfin tetra
- How big do Bloodfin tetra get?
- Bloodfin tetra adults reach about 5 cm. Shop fish look smaller; stock for the adult length.
- What size tank does Bloodfin tetra need?
- 60L is the planning floor for adult swimming space and bioload. A 73L+ tank is the more comfortable long-term footprint. Length and depth matter as much as raw litres for active or territorial fish.
- Are Bloodfin tetra aggressive?
- Bloodfin tetras are peaceful, active midwater schoolers that look boisterous without being dedicated fin shredders. They stay kinder inside a proper group and stress when kept as a token trio. Give length and numbers before you blame the strain for dull fins.
- Do Bloodfin tetra need to be kept in a group?
- Schooling species — buy 6+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
- What is the most common mistake with Bloodfin tetra?
- Buying three bloodfins for a splash of red is how the display never arrives. The fin colour and schooling need eight or more; a trio scatters and looks unfinished. Start with a real school and open midwater, or pick a different accent fish.
- What fish can live with Bloodfin tetra?
- The Bloodfin tetra profile lists Cherry Barb, Dwarf Gourami, Ember Tetra, Glowlight Tetra among its safer pairings (engine-checked GOOD). Angelfish, Betta, Corydoras Catfish, German Blue Ram are conditional (CAUTION): workable only with the specific conditions on each pair page. Avoid Green Terror, Jack Dempsey, Oscar (RISKY). Run the pair checker for your exact water and tank size before stocking.