Freshwater Fish

Ember Tetra

Hyphessobrycon amandae

Small orange tetra for nano planted tanks · Beginner

Lifespan: 2-4 years
Adult size: 2 cm / 0.8 in
Min. habitat: Aquarium 40L+ / 10gal+, heated and filtered
Social needs: Shoaler; keep 8-10+ together
Diet: Omnivore; micro pellets, crushed flakes, frozen foods
Time: Low; daily feeding, weekly water change
Cost: Low

Overview

The ember tetra is a tiny characin from the slow, vegetated waters of the Araguaia basin in Brazil, named for its warm orange-red colour.
Rarely exceeding two centimetres, it is one of the smallest popular tetras and well suited to planted nano aquariums.

Captive-bred and hardy, embers are genuinely beginner-friendly once a tank is cycled.
Their small size means they are easily bullied or eaten, so tankmate choice matters more than for larger species.

Housing

A shoal of eight to ten fits comfortably in 40 litres (10 gallons), filtered and gently heated to 23-28C.
They look best against dark substrate in a densely planted tank with driftwood and light tannin staining.

They prefer soft, slightly acidic to neutral water and low flow, as strong current tires such small fish.
Stable, well-cycled water and plenty of planted cover let timid embers leave the back of the tank and colour up.

Diet

Embers are micro-predators with tiny mouths, so food must be small.
Offer fine micro-pellets, crushed flake and powdered foods as the staple, supplemented with frozen or live cyclops, baby brine shrimp and microworms.

Feed small amounts once or twice daily, only what is eaten quickly.
Larger frozen foods such as whole bloodworm are often too big; chop them or choose smaller items so every fish gets fed.

Health

Embers are robust for their size but vulnerable to the usual stress-linked diseases, ich and fin rot, when chilled or kept in unstable water.
Their small bodies show problems quickly, so daily observation is the best early warning.

Stable temperature, soft water and weekly partial changes prevent most issues.
Acclimatise gently, quarantine new fish, and avoid sudden parameter swings, which hit nano species hard because small volumes buffer poorly.

Temperament

Peaceful, shy and social, embers shoal loosely and drift through midwater plants.
A larger group gives them the confidence to swim in the open rather than hiding at the back of the tank.

They suit calm nano communities with other tiny, gentle species such as pygmy corydoras, small rasboras and dwarf shrimp.
Keep them away from anything large enough to swallow them or boisterous enough to outcompete them at feeding.

A good fit for

Planted nano and desktop aquariums
Beginners wanting an easy colourful shoal
Peaceful shrimp-friendly community tanks
Keepers with limited space

Common mistakes to avoid

Food too large for their tiny mouths
Housing with fish big enough to eat them
Keeping too few, causing them to hide
Parameter swings in small, poorly buffered tanks

Is your enclosure big enough?

Minimum volume40 litres (11 US gallons)

CompanyCannot be kept alone. The minimum is 8, and the space above is for that group.

Check your own enclosure against this

Is this urgent?

In a fish tank the patient is usually the water. Test before you treat — dosing a healthy tank for a disease it does not have makes things worse.

Go now

Any detectable ammonia or nitrite in a stocked tankLarge water change now with dechlorinated, temperature-matched water. Stop feeding. Test again in 12 hours. Both are directly toxic. How toxic the ammonia reading is depends on pH and temperature, so the same number can be harmless or lethal.

Now

Fish gasping at the surface, or crowding the filter outflowIncrease surface agitation immediately, then test the water. Either the oxygen has crashed or the gills are being chemically burned. Both are hours-scale problems.

Now

Sudden deaths, more than one fish in a dayTest ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and temperature before doing anything else. Do not add medication yet. Multiple simultaneous deaths point at the water or the equipment, not at a pathogen.

Now

Today

Flashing — repeatedly scraping against decor or substrateTest the water, then look closely for parasites. Irritation is either chemical or parasitic; the test tells you which before you medicate.

Today

White salt-grain spots over the body and finsBegin the appropriate treatment today and check the temperature. The parasite's life cycle is temperature-driven, and it multiplies with every cycle you wait.

Today

Soon

Clamped fins, hiding, or refusing food for more than two daysTest the water and review recent changes. Usually the earliest visible sign of a parameter drifting.

A few days

Never add a new fish to a tank that is not fully cycled, and never treat blind. A test kit is cheaper than the fish.

This is general guidance for a healthy adult, not a diagnosis. An exotics vet who knows your animal always overrides it — and the time to find one is before you need one.

What it really costs

Setup, monthly, first year and across a whole life, itemised and with the electricity worked out from the actual wattage. Published figures for the same animal disagree by a factor of four, so the calculator shows ranges rather than picking one.

Work out the cost of a ember tetra

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