Bleeding Heart Tetra Care Guide - Aquarium Setup, Diet & Breeding

The Bleeding Heart Tetra is a deep-bodied, elegant characin named for the vivid red marking on its chest. Its silvery-pink body is often enhanced by a dark lateral stripe, red fins and a prominent red patch behind the gill cover, creating a striking appearance that becomes richer when the fish is settled and displaying normally.

These are peaceful, active schooling fish that spend much of their time in the middle levels of the aquarium. In a properly sized group they develop a confident, engaging presence, with males frequently displaying to one another by extending their fins and intensifying their colour.

In the wild, Bleeding Heart Tetras are associated with quiet Amazonian waterways bordered by dense vegetation and overhanging branches. Leaf litter, submerged roots and filtered sunlight create a complex habitat with shaded areas and plenty of cover.

Hyphessobrycon erythrostigma has long been valued by aquarists for combining the classic shimmering movement of a tetra with a more substantial body shape and expressive social behaviour. Their colour and finnage can vary in intensity according to age, sex, mood and the conditions in which they are kept.

Bleeding Heart Tetras are native to the upper Amazon Basin in South America, particularly parts of western Brazil, Colombia and Peru. They inhabit slow-moving tributaries, forest streams and flooded areas where the water may be clear, tea-coloured or enriched with tannins from leaf litter.

A group of Bleeding Heart Tetras should have an aquarium of at least 80 litres, with a footprint of approximately 90 cm long by 30 cm wide or larger to provide useful swimming space. Use a dark sand or fine-gravel substrate, dense planting around the sides and rear, and open water through the centre. Driftwood, roots, leaf litter and floating plants create the shaded, structurally rich setting they favour, while gentle filtration and subdued lighting help them feel secure. Keep the aquarium mature, stable and well oxygenated without producing a harsh current.

Bleeding Heart Tetras reach a maximum adult length of about 6 cm (2.4 in). Males are generally slightly larger and more elongated, while females are often shorter-bodied and deeper through the abdomen.

Bleeding Heart Tetras are omnivores that thrive on a varied diet. Offer a quality small tropical flake or micro-pellet as a staple, supplemented with frozen or live foods such as brine shrimp, daphnia, mosquito larvae and bloodworm. Small portions given once or twice daily are preferable, with enough food for the group to consume quickly. Regular live or frozen foods help maintain their colour and support conditioning for breeding.

Bleeding Heart Tetras are peaceful community fish and can be kept with similarly sized, calm species such as other South American tetras, pencilfish, rasboras, Corydoras, peaceful small plecos and gentle dwarf cichlids. Suitable tankmates should not be large enough to view them as prey or excessively boisterous enough to intimidate them. Avoid aggressive cichlids, fin-nipping species and very small shrimp, which may be harassed or eaten, particularly in a densely stocked aquarium.

Bleeding Heart Tetras are egg-scattering fish that breed most successfully in a separate, dimly lit breeding aquarium with soft, slightly acidic water and fine-leaved plants or a spawning mop. Condition a group with abundant live or frozen foods, then introduce selected adults. Spawning usually takes place among the plants, after which the adults should be removed because they may eat the eggs. The eggs hatch in roughly 24 to 36 hours, and the tiny fry can be raised on infusoria or commercially prepared first foods before progressing to newly hatched brine shrimp.

Males are typically slimmer, more colourful and more strongly finned, with longer dorsal and anal fins and a more pronounced red breast marking. Females are usually rounder-bodied, especially when carrying eggs, and tend to have shorter, less extended fins.