Crystal Red Tetra

Remarks:  The crystal red tetra is a beautiful gem of a nano fish native to the Rio Araguaia in Brazil. In the wild, their intensely bright red coloration helps them blend into the reddish-brown water of tannin-stained tributaries. Mature, healthy specimens in captivity display this brilliant red color more than any other tetra when in the hobby which makes them look absolutely incredible when kept among green plants. Most will note this species bears a striking resemblance to young specimens of the serpae tetra, but they can be told apart by the fact the crystal red tetra has a smaller black spot on the dorsal fin and that it has white tips on its fins. As it was only described in the past few years, is rarely imported, and is very difficult to spawn for a tetra, they are fairly rare within the hobby.

  Housing the crystal red tetra in a heavily planted tank will make these shy fish feel brave enough to come out more readily. Their shy nature and small size does mean care should be taken when choosing tankmates, ensuring the other species they are housed with are not aggressive or large enough to swallow them. If provided the right conditions, these little fish add plenty of movement to the tank. They will dart around exploring every corner of the tank and performing display dances as males compete for females. If you are looking to add a splash of red to your tank, these rare little tetras can be an excellent choice.

  The scientific name for the crystal red tetra used to be Hyphessobrycon haraldschultzi. However, it was reclassified as Megalamphodus haraldschultzi after the completion of an intensive phylogenic study on species in the family Characidae. Many other species were reclassified as well as a result of this study which can be read here: https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/202/1/zlae101/7748269

  The following article also provides a good breakdown of the results of the study and does not have a paywall: https://aquainfo.org/the-end-of-the-characidae-family-as-we-know-it/