Redeye tetra (Bario sanctaefilomenae) or (Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae)

Red-eye tetra (Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae) is a sturdy silver characin from central South America, named for the bright red crescent over the top of the eye. The body is plain polished silver, with a black band at the base of the tail edged in pale yellow. It is a simple pattern that reads well in numbers and holds up under any lighting, and this is one of the easier and least fragile tetras to keep.

Aquarium care

• A shoaling fish: keep six or more, and more than that if the tank allows, to spread out the pecking order.
• Undemanding on water chemistry. Warm, clean, well filtered water is enough.
• Takes flake, pellets, frozen and freeze-dried foods readily.
• Wants swimming room, since they cruise the middle of the tank all day.
• Known fin nippers. Do not keep them with bettas, angelfish, fancy guppies or other slow, long-finned fish.

They suit a busy community of similarly sized, fast, robust fish, such as other mid-sized tetras, danios, rainbowfish, corydoras and plecos. Keeping the group large and well fed is the most reliable way to keep the nipping in check.

Stock rotates, and local pickup is available at our Lethbridge store. Browse tetras.