Should I buy it?
Splash tetra
Copella arnoldi
Also known as: jumping characin
A fascinating tetra that jumps onto overhanging leaves to deposit eggs above water. Needs a species-specific setup to observe this natural behaviour.
Splash tetra tank mates · 80L tank size hub
peaceful · advanced care
Sources & confidencehigh · partially verified · beginner: not recommended
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: Specialist biotope or behaviour-focused tanks 80L or more with overhanging plants, a tight lid, and soft acidic water.
Avoid if: You want a standard community fish. Splash tetras are a specialist observation species.
Common mistakeSkipping overhanging plants and a tight lid is how keepers miss the egg-depositing behaviour that makes splash tetras interesting — and lose jumpers. Soft acidic water and a real school of six matter as much as the novelty label on the bag.
Top things that go wrong
- Mouth gap vs tiny tank mates. May eat tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth — plan adult sizes, not shop sizes.
- 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.
- Specialist husbandry. Schooling species — buy 6+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
More issue cards below, after species context.
Additional planning warnings
Shrimp & snails
Not shrimp-safe — adults, fry, or both get eaten.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Myth: splash tetras are hardy community surface fish for any planted community tank. Reality: they need soft acidic water, a sealed lid, overhanging cover, and a real school — hard community kits erase the behaviour people bought the species for.
- 2.Predation risk scales with gape, night feeding, and crowding. 'they grew up together' is a schedule, not a law.
- 3.Classed peaceful for similar-sized community use. Still a bite-sized risk toward fry or very small comm fish in small volumes.
- 4.Kept in hard, brightly lit, bare water as a 'novelty tetra' for a mixed community.
- 5.Open-topped after water changes. They jump within hours of a refill.
- 6.Kept by breeders more than community keepers. Plan a species-only or specialist setup if you want reliable surface-spawning behaviour.
- 7.Advanced species — research stable parameters before buying.
About this species
Splash tetras spawn on leaves above the water, the male splashing eggs up and then guarding. A blackwater species that wants soft acidic leaf-stained water. Lid the tank tightly: they jump.
- 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
- Rosy Tetra80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Rummy Nose 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
- Chocolate gouramialso advanced peaceful, similar tank size
- Hillstream Loachalso advanced peaceful, similar tank size
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 ease26
- Peacefulness76
- Community fit76
- Small-tank fit100
- Hardiness36
- 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: Chili Rasbora, Dwarf pencilfish, Ember Tetra.
Prioritise 6+ of Splash tetra in 80L+ with filtration sized for messy feeding — add only mates that already pass pair checks with this species.
Compatibility
Tank mates for Splash tetra
Usually safer (engine GOOD): Chili Rasbora, Dwarf pencilfish, Ember Tetra, Golden / Beckford's pencilfish, Panda Corydoras. Conditional (CAUTION — read the pair page before buying): Betta, Corydoras Catfish, German Blue Ram, Pea Puffer. Avoid (RISKY): African Cichlid, 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: Splash tetra + Chili Rasbora
Behaviour and temperament
Splash tetras are peaceful surface schoolers that focus on the film and each other more than on midwater neighbours. They stay calmer in soft water with six or more fish. Stress shows as jumping and hiding when the lid is loose or the tank is bright and bare.
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: May eat tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth — plan adult sizes, not shop sizes.
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
- A school of six or more holds the surface under plants and may splash when spawning.
- Jumping after a fright is normal — the lid is part of husbandry, not optional décor.
- Repeated lid escapes mean cover failed, not a mystery urge to explore the room.
- Washed-out fish in hard alkaline water usually need chemistry before a new food brand.
- Low listed risk toward similar-sized peaceful fish in soft water.
- They lose contests to boisterous barbs long before they start fin wars.
- Move them out of hard-water livebearer plans that will not be rewritten.
- Increase school size before adding another surface 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
carnivore
Splash tetras are surface-oriented carnivores that take tiny floating foods and frozen micro-prey at the film. Food that sinks past them too fast leaves the school underfed. Offer baby brine, daphnia, or fine floating foods where they hold under overhanging plants, and keep portions the group can finish.
Shrimp & snails
Not shrimp-safe — adults, fry, or both get eaten.
Schooling species — buy 6+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
- Hold 23 to 28 °C steadily on a real thermometer, not the dial on the heater.
- Aim for pH 4.5 to 6.5 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 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.
- No tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth gap for this species.
- Filter maturity / stable parameters before adding sensitive stock.
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 80L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 320L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 23–28°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Splash tetra does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 23–28°C and pH 4.5–6.5:
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. Copella arnoldi
Primary: aquarium size, water chemistry, behaviour, and compatibility (URL verified in upgrade script; recheck if site content changes).
- FishBase. Copella arnoldi
Secondary: taxonomy, distribution, and maximum length in nature; cross-check with aquarium import lines and measured tank parameters.
- Wikipedia. Copella arnoldi
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 Splash tetra
- How big do Splash tetra get?
- Splash tetra adults reach about 5 cm. Shop fish look smaller; stock for the adult length.
- What size tank does Splash tetra need?
- 80L is the planning floor for adult swimming space and bioload. A 98L+ tank is the more comfortable long-term footprint. Length and depth matter as much as raw litres for active or territorial fish.
- Are Splash tetra aggressive?
- Splash tetras are peaceful surface schoolers that focus on the film and each other more than on midwater neighbours. They stay calmer in soft water with six or more fish. Stress shows as jumping and hiding when the lid is loose or the tank is bright and bare.
- Do Splash 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 Splash tetra?
- Skipping overhanging plants and a tight lid is how keepers miss the egg-depositing behaviour that makes splash tetras interesting — and lose jumpers. Soft acidic water and a real school of six matter as much as the novelty label on the bag.
- What fish can live with Splash tetra?
- The Splash tetra profile lists Chili Rasbora, Dwarf pencilfish, Ember Tetra, Golden / Beckford's pencilfish among its safer pairings (engine-checked GOOD). Betta, Corydoras Catfish, German Blue Ram, Pea Puffer are conditional (CAUTION): workable only with the specific conditions on each pair page. Avoid African Cichlid, Jack Dempsey, Oscar (RISKY). Run the pair checker for your exact water and tank size before stocking.