Strawberry Tetra Care Guide - Aquarium Setup, Diet & Breeding

The Strawberry Tetra is a tiny, brilliantly coloured characin whose warm red-orange body gives it its appealing common name. Its colour can range from translucent peach and amber to a deeper strawberry-red, with a darker mark near the base of the tail and delicate, often reddish fins. Despite its small size, a healthy group creates a striking display as the fish move together through the aquarium.

These are peaceful, active but not overly boisterous schooling fish. They spend much of their time in the middle and upper levels of the water, frequently pausing among plants before making quick, coordinated movements as a group. Their confidence and colour improve when they are kept in a suitably sized shoal.

In the wild, Hyphessobrycon amandae inhabits shallow, slow-flowing streams and flooded forest waters. Such environments are typically shaded by dense vegetation, with soft, acidic water darkened by tannins from fallen leaves and wood. The subdued surroundings help emphasise the species' vivid body colour.

The Strawberry Tetra is one of the smallest commonly kept tetras and is well suited to carefully planned nano and planted aquariums. It is often confused with other tiny red characins, but its compact build, subtle dark caudal marking and gentle temperament make it a distinctive and rewarding community fish.

Strawberry Tetras are native to Brazil in South America, particularly slow-moving tributaries and floodplain waters of the Araguaia and Tocantins river systems. They are associated with warm, tannin-stained blackwater habitats rich in submerged vegetation and leaf litter.

A group of Strawberry Tetras should have at least 40 litres, with a footprint around 60 x 30 cm or larger. Use gentle filtration and moderate circulation, leaving calm areas among dense plants, floating cover, driftwood and shaded spaces that echo their forest-stream habitat. A dark sand or fine-gravel substrate helps their colours stand out, while leaf litter and smooth natural wood can provide additional cover. Keep the aquarium securely covered, as small tetras may jump when startled.

Up to 2 cm (0.8 in) in total length. Females are usually slightly larger and deeper-bodied than males.

Strawberry Tetras are omnivores with small mouths and should receive a varied diet of fine-quality micro pellets or crushed flake supplemented with small frozen or live foods. Baby brine shrimp, daphnia, cyclops and other appropriately sized foods help maintain their colour and condition. Offer small portions once or twice daily, ensuring every item is small enough to swallow and removing uneaten food promptly.

Strawberry Tetras are excellent community fish and can be kept with other calm, similarly sized species. Suitable companions include small rasboras, celestial pearl danios, pygmy Corydoras, otocinclus, peaceful small gouramis and freshwater shrimp, provided the shrimp are not so small that they can be eaten. Avoid large, predatory or highly boisterous fish, fin-nippers and aggressive species, which may intimidate or consume these delicate tetras.

Strawberry Tetras are egg-scattering fish that can breed in a mature, peaceful aquarium when provided with soft, slightly acidic water and fine-leaved plants or spawning mops. Condition the adults with plenty of small live or frozen foods, then introduce a pair or small group to a separate spawning tank. They usually scatter adhesive eggs among the plants, after which the adults should be removed because they may eat the eggs. The eggs generally hatch within a day or two, and the tiny fry can be raised initially on infusoria or other suitably small foods before progressing to newly hatched brine shrimp.

Females are generally fuller through the abdomen, especially when carrying eggs, while males tend to be slimmer and may show a more intense red colour. The differences are subtle in young or poorly conditioned fish.