Need to add beautiful fish that are easy to care for and monitor in your peaceful community tank? Well, you can’t go wrong with the bloodfin tetra.
It can make a great choice for the beginners to the experts because this fish has never gotten the enthusiasts of the aquascape bored. The fantastic coloration of the fish along with its behavioral endeavors is always the strong reason to add this type to the wishlist.
It is so easy to care for so that you can also shift the caring tasks with your kids, friends, and other enthusiasts at any level. Adding this fish will make your tank community more colorful and fantastic. Let’s find out more about this fish in this post.
Species Overview
| Level of care | Easy |
| Temperament | Peaceful |
| Appearance | silver bodies with a greenish tone |
| Life Expectancy | 5 to 7 years |
| Size | 1 ½-2 inches (3.8-5 cm) |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Family | Characidae |
| Tank Size | 30 gallons |
| Tank Environment | Freshwater with plants and rocks. Lush greeneries. |
| Tank Mates | Other schooling fish of comparable size |
Their original habitat is in South America. Their most significant flocks are in the Paraná River basin. But the experts also claimed to spot them in the areas of Amazon, Peru, and Colombia.
Decades ago, the fishers and catchers took the fish to domesticate them for the aquarium tank community. And it has worked until now.
The Bloodfin Tetra is a favorite fresh-water fish amongst beginners and seasoned hobbyists alike.
An occasional group of these fish may be introduced by aquarists because they love the vibrant schooling behavior.
You won’t need to hesitate to add these to your colorful community tank.
Appearance
Features
While Bloodfin Tetras don’t have flowing fins or a unique body form like other aquarium fish, they are nevertheless rather lovely. The torpedo-shaped fish is what makes it so unique and desirable.
Their heads and midsections are girthier. Their form tapers off to a large caudal fin. This fish is not for everyone. But the segmented lovers of this fish have grown exponentially these recent years.
Color
The Bloodfin Tetra’s delicate color is admired by many.
The fish’s predominant color is silver. The scales become iridescent. As a result, light bouncing off their body may appear greenish-blue.
Their body is silvery in color. Since you add this to your community tank, it won’t be surprising that the group of fish will add more luminosity to the area they visit.
Depending on the tank lighting, their silver bodies could appear green, and their red fins give them their name.
Their fins have red vivid coloration that is attention-grabbing. I am sure the redfin will attract your attention for the first time before their entire body. It was also one of the reasons why I added this into my main tank five years ago.
Males tend to have more vibrant colors than females.
Size
An adult Tetra Bloodfin is around 2 inches long. In small to medium-sized aquariums they are easy to handle.
These fish are generally born in tough environments and are often smaller than normal. The poor conditions of the environment can affect their size.
Behavior & Temperament
The bloodfin tetra pets usually come in large groups and are peaceful with the other peaceful fish.
No matter the size of the tank that you have in your home, these fish will make great additions to them.
Lifespan
If you treat and care for them well, the bloodfin buddies’ lifespan can reach up to five to eight years in your main tank. It also works for the other tetra species.
But there is no exact measurement of age. You will need to make sure that the tank condition is very supportive for them to thrive. They won’t survive long in the poor water conditions.
With great maintenance and care, combined with proper diets, the bloodfin fish can survive much longer. The life expectancy might be shorter if they are suffering from the diseases. Therefore, attention from their owners is necessary to make sure that they are healthy and well all the time.
Bloodfin Tetra Care
Care for Bloodfin Tetra is usually straightforward. This species is robust and versatile, suitable for a community tank so that you don’t have to worry to overwatch them. They can thrive with the diets and care that you can easily conduct. They’re also soft and they seldom hurt their tank mates.
Healthy fish, of course, need proper care. Bloodfin Tetras need to thrive in environments carefully maintained. Pay attention to the tank size, tank decoration, tank components, as well as feeding. Then they get bigger and enjoy a long and happy life.
Tank Setup
The slow-moving water will be the right one for them since it replicates their original habitat.
Since it is a schooling fish, you will need to take them in groups of five to seven fish. For this smaller group, you will need around ten to twenty gallons of the tank. Preferably, you could get the larger tank than recommended since it will give more spaces for them to swim.
Their favorite spots for swimming are the middle to the upper sections. They will likely ignore the other middle-top dwellers. Maintaining the water parameters, they will thrive for a long time.
The pH level should be around 6 to 8. You would need to keep the water temperature between 70 to 80° Fahrenheit.
Most of the time, these buddies will survive and be happy in the colder water. That’s why you won’t need to purchase any heater for this fish type.
Some owners use the heater to maintain the temperature. But one thing you must know is that when you are using the heater for your community tank, the fluctuations will be large. And it can make your bloodfin fish more stressful.
To replicate the true habitat of the fish, don’t forget to add the live vegetation to your tank. You could use Java moss to make your tank fresher and greener. The moss can live in most conditions.
Some folks add artificial plants to their aquarium. But I won’t recommend you to do that since there’s a risk of hurting your little buddies, especially if you don’t have plenty of room to share in the tank.
Your bloodfin tetras are schooling fish. So, it is best to add them to their large groups. Do not add a solo fish type in the tank. It won’t survive.
Like any other fish species, they will survive if you manage to mimic their natural habitat.
As long as you maintain the tank conditions, your fish will be happy and healthy all the time. It is important to monitor the condition of the water, temperature, and other variables to make sure your fish are living in good condition.
The bloodfin fish groups take most of their time from the middle to top areas of the tank. However, you won’t neglect the bottom part as well. It is an important area where they will lay their eggs. You could add some items like anacharis or anubias for their protection and shades.
The floating plants are also great for providing them with good shade to cover them from the direct lighting.
To provide hiding places, you can add several items like plants, caves, holes, pipes, and others. These places can help them to hide and conceal when they need to avoid their enemies.
You must also provide enough space for them to swim. The bloodfin tetra pets are active swimmers. The narrow room will make them stressed and unwilling.
Tank Mates
Their best partners would be the other bloodfin fish groups. For 10-20 gallons of water, you can add from 5 to 7 fish. Consider expanding your tank if you add more groups.
If you prefer other species, focus only on similar-sized creatures. Avoid larger fish since they can be the victims of them. Some of the best tank mates for your bloodfins are cardinal tetra, neon tetra, ghost shrimp, freshwater snails, green tetra, as well as amano.
You can also add bottom-dwelling catfish. It will rather ignore your tetra and focus on cleaning up your tank instead.
Food & Diet
Their favorite foods are larvae and plants. You can indeed give them flakes as well. Add more protein-rich options like worms, bloodworms, brine shrimps, and other dried foods. They have small stomachs so you will want to keep the foods in small portions. They don’t know how to stop, so overeating can be a risky business.
Breeding Guidelines
To breed the bloodfin fish, you will need to give the couples more privacy. The water should be slightly more acidic. And you can turn the lighting to lower to give them more shades. Brine shrimp is the staple nutrient source for mothers.
There are around 300 to 500 eggs laid on the wide eaves. Provide some plants to cater to the egg lays.
Parents tend to eat the fry so you can separate them in different tanks. After the kids reach adult size, you could put the parents back in the main tank.
