Should I buy it?
Ember Tetra
Hyphessobrycon amandae
Also known as: amanda's tetra
Tiny warm-orange schooler that fits a nano planted tank where larger tetras would not.
Ember Tetra tank mates · 60L tank size hub
peaceful · beginner care
Sources & confidencehigh · verified · beginner: excellent
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: Nano and small planted tanks 30 to 60L, for a coloured mid-water shoal of fish under 3 cm.
Avoid if: Your tank holds anything that eats 2cm fish (most cichlids, angels, large gouramis).
Common mistakeBuying six embers as a ‘pop of colour’ in a 60L is how the school disappears visually and socially. Ten or more with dense planting creates the orange cloud people paid for; six look like lost commas. Start the school first, then add calm nano neighbours — not gulp predators.
Top things that go wrong
- Group welfare — not a solo display fish. Plan at least **8** 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 small handful of ember tetras is enough colour for any community. Reality: the orange-school effect needs roughly eight to ten or more in planted water — six fish in a busy 60L is a sample bag, not the display.
- 2.Buying three or four to start. Ember Tetra settles in a group of 8 or more. An understocked school sulks at the back of the tank and loses colour within a fortnight.
- 3.Keep at least eight. Soft, acidic water improves the orange. Easily outcompeted by boisterous fish, so pick calm tank mates.
About this species
Tiny orange tetras from the Araguaia basin that school tightly in planted tanks. One of the smallest common Hyphessobrycon in the trade.
- Neon Tetra40L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Beckford Pencilfish60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Black Neon Tetra60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Bloodfin tetra60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Cardinal Tetra60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Glowlight Tetra60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Green neon tetra60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Lemon Tetra60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Amano Shrimpalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Assassin Snailalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Beckford Pencilfishalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Black Neon Tetraalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Black phantom tetraalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Bloodfin tetraalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Adolfoi cory tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Agassiz’s dwarf cichlid tank matesnames this fish as a conditional pairing — read the pair page conditions
- Black phantom tetra tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Black ruby barb tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Bloodfin tetra tank mateslists this fish among its recommended pairings
- Bronze corydoras tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Brown / hockey-stick pencilfish tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Checkerboard cichlid tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
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 ease85
- Peacefulness90
- Community fit91
- Small-tank fit100
- Hardiness79
- Energy54
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, Corydoras Catfish, Dwarf Gourami.
Prioritise 8+ of Ember Tetra in 45L+ with filtration sized for messy feeding — add only mates that already pass pair checks with this species.
Compatibility
Tank mates for Ember Tetra
Usually safer (engine GOOD): Cherry Barb, Corydoras Catfish, Dwarf Gourami, Glowlight Tetra, Harlequin Rasbora. Conditional (CAUTION — read the pair page before buying): Betta, Discus, Tiger Barb. Avoid (RISKY): Angelfish, 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: Ember Tetra + Cherry Barb
Behaviour and temperament
Ember tetras are peaceful and tightly shoaling nano fish that do not tolerate boisterous tank mates well. They stay calmer and brighter in honest numbers with dense plants. Washout and scattering usually mean under-stocking or midwater competition, not a bad strain from the shop.
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 hold midwater as an orange cloud among plants.
- In-school sparkle is normal; they are not fin shredders in an honest group.
- Scattered, pale fish at the glass usually need more of their own kind first.
- Losing every feed to danios or barbs is competition before you change brands.
- Low listed risk as aggressors; they get bullied or eaten long before they bully others.
- They rarely wreck short-finned robust nano neighbours in a proper school.
- Pull them from barb- or angel-dominated tanks before blaming ‘poor stock.’
- Increase school size before adding another dither species to fix hiding.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Water, food, and grouping
Hardness
soft
Diet
omnivore
Ember tetras take crushed flake, micro-pellets, and tiny frozen foods in the midwater scramble. Standard community flake often bypasses their small mouths. Feed small pinches they can finish among plants, and keep eight or more so the orange cloud holds condition without losing every meal to larger fish.
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 8+ 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 5 to 7 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 8 or more from the same tank on the same day before adding any centrepiece fish.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 45L published minimum for adults.
- You can stock at least 8 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 45L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 180L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 20–28°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Ember Tetra does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 20–28°C and pH 5–7:
Research: 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. Hyphessobrycon amandae
Primary: aquarium size, water chemistry, behaviour, and compatibility (URL verified in upgrade script; recheck if site content changes).
- FishBase. Hyphessobrycon amandae
Secondary: taxonomy, distribution, and maximum length in nature; cross-check with aquarium import lines and measured tank parameters.
- Wikipedia. Hyphessobrycon amandae
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.
Featured compatibility checks
Curated pair pages for Ember Tetra. Each opens a full verdict — not just a list label.
Common questions about Ember Tetra
- How big do Ember Tetra get?
- Just 2-2.5cm. True nano fish; the school's visual mass is what makes them effective.
- What size tank does Ember Tetra need?
- 30L floor for a school of eight to ten. Comfortable in 60L or more planted setups with cover.
- Are Ember Tetra aggressive?
- Ember tetras are peaceful and tightly shoaling nano fish that do not tolerate boisterous tank mates well. They stay calmer and brighter in honest numbers with dense plants. Washout and scattering usually mean under-stocking or midwater competition, not a bad strain from the shop.
- Do Ember Tetra need to be kept in a group?
- Schooling species — buy 8+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
- What is the most common mistake with Ember Tetra?
- Buying six embers as a ‘pop of colour’ in a 60L is how the school disappears visually and socially. Ten or more with dense planting creates the orange cloud people paid for; six look like lost commas. Start the school first, then add calm nano neighbours — not gulp predators.
- What fish can live with Ember Tetra?
- The Ember Tetra profile lists Cherry Barb, Corydoras Catfish, Dwarf Gourami, Glowlight Tetra among its safer pairings (engine-checked GOOD). Betta, Discus, Tiger Barb are conditional (CAUTION): workable only with the specific conditions on each pair page. Avoid Angelfish, Green Terror, Jack Dempsey, Oscar (RISKY). Run the pair checker for your exact water and tank size before stocking.