Freshwater Fish · Tetras
Ember Tetra
Hyphessobrycon amandae
Small orange tetra for planted tanksBeginner
- Lifespan
- 2-4 years
- Size
- 0.8 in2 cm
- Social needs
- Shoaler; keep 10+ together
- Time
- Low; daily feeding, weekly water change
- Cost
- Low
- Diet
- Omnivore; micro pellets, crushed flakes, frozen foods
Overview
What is this animal?
- 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 0.8 inchestwo centimetres, it is one of the smallest popular tetras and well suited to small planted 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.
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.
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- 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
- Small planted aquariums
- Beginners wanting an easy colourful shoal
- Peaceful shrimp-friendly community tanks
- Keepers wanting a big shoal of tiny fish
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
Enclosure
Minimum 15 gallons57 litres, for a group of 10
Cannot be kept alone. The minimum is 10, and the space above is for that group.
- A shoal of ten or more needs at least 15 US gallons57 litres and 18 in45 cm of length, filtered and gently heated to 73-82°F23-28°C.
- 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.
Supplies
Setup
- Tank and stand
- Filter
- Heater and thermometer
- Substrate, plants and decor
- Liquid test kit
- Dechlorinator and starter supplies
Ongoing
- Micro-pellet or finely crushed tropical flake
- Frozen daphnia and cyclops
- Frozen or live baby brine shrimp
- Microworm culture (optional, for fry and conditioning)
- Spirulina-based flake
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- Fine net for removing leftovers
- Small feeding spoon for accurate pinches
Safe substrate: Fine, smooth sand · Smooth, rounded fine gravel (not for loaches or sand-sifting cichlids; sand is better for corydoras) · Bare bottom (quarantine and grow-out only)
Care routine
Daily
- Check temperature and equipment
- Feed
- Head-count and look everyone over
Every few days
- Top up evaporationevery 3 days
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Weekly
- Count the school
- Test the water
- Water change and gravel vacuum
- Wipe the front glass only
Every few weeks
- Trim and thin the plantsevery 2 weeks
Monthly
- Check supplies and reagent dates
- Replace or recharge chemical media, if you use any (skip it in a blackwater tank)
- Rinse the filter media
Health review: Quarterly school and stability review, every 3 months
Tools
Care in depth
Diet
Omnivore; micro pellets, crushed flakes, frozen foods
- 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
Signs of good health, and the common problems
- 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.
Is this urgent?
6 warning signs and how fast to act, 3 of them right away
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.
NowFish gasping at the surface with fast gill movement, or crowding the filter outflowIncrease surface movement now (gently in a betta or gourami tank, without creating a strong current), then test the water. Either the oxygen has crashed or the gills are being chemically burned. Both are hours-scale problems. Bettas, gouramis and corydoras rise to gulp air as part of normal breathing; the warning is constant gulping, fast gill movement, or the whole group hanging at the top.
NowSudden 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 usually point at the water or the equipment rather than a pathogen, so rule those out first.
NowToday
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.
TodayWhite 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.
TodaySoon
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 daysNever 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.
Bedding and substrate
3 safe, 4 with a caveat, 2 to avoid
Substrate in an aquarium is a filter as much as a floor. Most of the biology lives in and on it.
Safe
Fine, smooth sandCorrect for corydoras, kuhli loaches, eartheaters such as rams and acaras, and anything else that sifts or burrows. Barbels wear away on sharp gravel.
safeSmooth, rounded fine gravel (not for loaches or sand-sifting cichlids; sand is better for corydoras)Rinse thoroughly before use. Grain size should be too large to swallow and too small to trap food. Kuhli loaches need sand to burrow into and rams and acaras sift mouthfuls of it; bronze and panda corydoras manage on smooth fine gravel, but sterbai corydoras need sand.
safeBare bottom (quarantine and grow-out only)Legitimate for quarantine and grow-out tanks. Easy to clean, but it holds far less biological filtration, and it is no long-term home for burrowing loaches or sand-sifters.
safeWith a caveat
Crushed coral or aragoniteDeliberately raises hardness and pH. Correct for rift-lake cichlids, wrong for soft-water species.
with a caveatAquasoil for planted tanksExcellent for plants, but most active soils soften the water and pull pH and KH down for months, and many leach ammonia for the first weeks. Right for soft-water species; wrong for hard-water animals (livebearers, rainbowfish, goldfish, and snails, whose shells erode in soft, acidic water) unless you test GH and KH and remineralise. Cycle around it; do not stock into it.
with a caveatVery deep sand bedsAnaerobic pockets form below about 2 inches5 cm in still sand. Either keep it shallow or keep it stirred.
with a caveatPainted or coated gravelUsually fine, but coatings chip. Test a handful in a jar for a week first.
with a caveatNever
Sharp or angular gravel with bottom-dwellersWears down barbels and leads to infection in corydoras and loaches.
neverAnything containing metal, limestone of unknown origin, or shells in a soft-water tankSlowly alters chemistry in ways that are hard to diagnose later.
neverThis is our general list for freshwater fish. We have not built one specific to Tetras yet.
Top resources for more info
Independent creators and organisations we would send a friend to. We have no affiliation with any of them, and nothing here is sponsored. Links checked 2026-10-22.
YouTubers
Girl Talks FishCare how-tos by fish type, tank setup and beginner mistakes (the host works for Aquarium Co-Op, a retailer)Aquarium Co-OpSpecies care guides, filtration and fish health (run by a retailer)Prime Time AquaticsSpecies profiles, stocking and water chemistry explained plainly
Sites
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Tetras, side by side
Same axes, same care guides: the honest way to choose between types.
