Should I buy it?
Rosy Tetra
Hyphessobrycon rosaceus
Typical trade / ID note: Hyphessobrycon rosaceus
Also known as: rosaceus tetra, white tip tetra, Rosaceus tetra, White tip tetra
Fishori provides conservative planning guidance, not guarantees.
Based on typical aquarium care sources; details may vary between setups. Use the numbers here as planning defaults — your room, water, and routine still shape real-world outcomes.
A pink mid-size schooler for soft-water planted tanks. Less nippy than silver tips, still not safe with bettas. Six or more for colour.
Best for
Soft-water planted community tanks 80L or more with a school of six or more for full pink colouring.
Avoid if
Your water is hard alkaline, you keep bettas or guppies, or you can only find three fish.
Top things that go wrong
- Fin-nipping risk in typical community layouts. Fin-nipping risk toward long-finned or slow tank mates when the school is understocked, bored, or kept in a tank too short to spread out in.
- 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. Shrimp: compatible in most setups. Cherry shrimp and other dwarf species coexist with peaceful small fish, though baby shrimp are food for almost any fish that gets to them.
Common mistakeBuying only three. Three rosy tetras school poorly, show less colour, and are more vulnerable to harassment from other species.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Mixed with bettas in a 60L community. Even a proper school of rosies eventually nips the betta's fins down.
- 2.Bought as bleeding-heart tetras. The species are sometimes interchanged at the wholesaler and the larger bleeding-hearts need more volume.
- 3.More forgiving than silver tips but still a fin nipper around long-finned tank mates. A school of six or more in a planted 80L stays peaceful with cardinal tetras, corys, and otocinclus. Bettas and gouramis are not safe additions.
About this species
Rosy tetras are mid-size shoaling characins with a pink-bronze body and a white-tipped sickle-shaped dorsal fin in mature males. South American origin, soft acidic water, similar habits to silver tips but slightly less nippy in proper schools.
- Black phantom tetra80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Columbian Tetra80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Penguin tetra80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Rummy Nose Tetra80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Splash tetra80L 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
- Amano Shrimpalso 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
- Bristlenose Plecoalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
No reverse lookups on file yet.
Plan grid
Key limits are shown above; this section adds planning detail: pH band, swim level, bioload and activity, and the radar.
Swim zones
Planning trait chart
Six indices for comparing species on paper before you spend.
- Beginner ease78
- Peacefulness68
- Community fit53
- Small-tank fit100
- Hardiness76
- Energy54
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Common setup sketches
Conservative patterns from Fishori fields — still run the pair checker for every species you add; sketches are not a stocking guarantee.
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.
Safe directions on file include: Corydoras Catfish, Otocinclus, Harlequin Rasbora.
Prioritise 6+ of Rosy Tetra in 80L+ with filtration sized for messy feeding — add only mates that already pass pair checks with this species.
Tank mate intelligence
Use the "Often compatible" lists as a shortlist, not a stocking plan. Always run the pair tool and check the footprint of your actual tank first. Verify behaviour for Rosy Tetra against your own reading before you buy.
Pair-level compatibility with this fish as anchor.
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Rosy Tetra + Corydoras Catfish
Behaviour, temperament, and what to watch
Prose and lists come from the same record: read temperament first, then glass-level signals so you are not surprised after day three.
Rosy Tetra is peaceful in mixed company. Fin-nipper when the school is understocked, bored, or kept in a tank too short to spread out in.
Stress / aggression triggers on file
- long-finned tank mates
Fin nipping: Fin-nipping risk toward long-finned or slow tank mates when the school is understocked, bored, or kept in a tank too short to spread out in.
Predation: Not a predator toward similarly-sized community fish. The usual community caveats about mouth size still apply for very small fry or shrimp.
Territory: Not strongly territorial, but still claims a working area in the tank. Give it room to settle without overlapping the next species' patch.
Planted tanks: excellent — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Moderate pacing — not hyperactive, not motionless.
- Shoaling/schooling: most colour and confidence show when the group meets **6+**.
- Clamped fins, gasping at the surface, hiding non-stop, or refusing food after the first week.
- Rapid breathing when parameters swing — fix ammonia/nitrite first, then reassess mates.
- Chasing one individual repeatedly, torn fins on tank mates, or food theft every feed.
- Separate or rehome if injuries appear, one fish is pinned, or feeding becomes a daily chase.
- If water is stable but behaviour worsens, reduce stocking or remove the highest-impact species first.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Care parameters: water, food, inverts, grouping
Chemistry and group rules sit here so you are not re-reading the same line from tank mate or temperament blocks. Swim level is in the plan grid above.
Hardness
soft
Diet
omnivore
Mixed diet: a quality flake or pellet as the staple, with frozen or live foods two or three times a week.
Shrimp & snails
Shrimp: compatible in most setups. Cherry shrimp and other dwarf species coexist with peaceful small fish, though baby shrimp are food for almost any fish that gets to them.
Six or more. A school below this fragments and males chase each other into corners.
Egg scatterers and schoolers still spawn in stable tanks. Have a plan for the fry, or accept that the parents and tank mates will eat them in a community setup.
- Six or more from the same source.
- Soft acidic water (pH 6.0 to 7.5, soft) for colour development.
- Tank mates without trailing fins.
- An 80L planted setup with a clear mid-water swim path.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 80L published minimum for adults.
- You can stock at least 6 individuals (group welfare).
- Heater can hold 23–28°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
- No known fin-nippers paired with long-finned fish unless you accept documented risk.
Explore and stocking hubs
Same library as the rest of Fishori: tank-mate index for this species, category peers, guides, and litre-based stocking lists where min tank on file is within the hub volume.
Plan with tools
Pair-level rules and multi-fish stocking use the same conservative engine — add this fish in the tank builder only after mates pass pair checks.
Filtration & heating
A 80L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 320L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 23–28°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Rosy Tetra does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 23–28°C and pH 6–7.5:
Profile status: partially verified · Evidence tier: medium · 2 linked source(s). Fishori does not fabricate citations.
Fishori uses conservative planning rules based on these sources.
Confidence is explained in the summary at the top of this page (same tier as here), not repeated below.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Hyphessobrycon rosaceus
Primary: species page covering Amazon range, soft-water requirement, and the sickle-fin dimorphism in adult males.
- Practical Fishkeeping. Rosy Tetra Profile
Secondary: editor coverage of stocking, planted-tank scaping, and the long-fin tank-mate caveat.
Evidence notes
- Often confused with the similar-looking white-tip tetra (H. ornatus) and bleeding-heart tetra (H. erythrostigma). Care is similar but adult sizes and water needs vary slightly.
- The pink tone develops over six to twelve months in soft water with botanicals. New-tank specimens look washed out and recover slowly.
- Fishori profiles work from typical aquarium trade sizes and hobby care norms. Specialist site checks and literature review for this species are not yet recorded here, so the ranges on this page are planning numbers rather than guarantees.