Amapá Tetra
Hyphessobrycon amapaensis
Characidae
No photo of this species yet
Got one of your own? Send it and your name goes under it.
About
This is not a rosy tetra, and that matters the moment you put it on a shelf next to the ones that are. Serpae, rosy, ornate and bleeding heart are all deep-bodied pink fish from one corner of the genus; the Amapá tetra is a slim, three-striped fish from a different corner altogether, and its nearest look-alike is not on that shelf at all. Seriously Fish places it in the putative H. heterorhabdus-group and, at the end of the same page, states the wider problem plainly: "as currently recognised, Hyphessobrycon is a polyphyletic lineage containing several genera." A shared genus name here is weaker evidence than a shopper assumes. The stripes are the identification, and the trap is the flag tetra. Seriously Fish: "It is very similar to the flag tetra, H. heterorhabdus, which also displays three lateral body stripes but has a relatively less broad red stripe, and the central stripe is golden (vs. white or creamy-coloured in H. amapaensis). In addition, the lower (black) stripe is often reduced to a horizontally-orientated humeral spot in H. amapaensis." So look for a broad red line, a creamy-white line beneath it, and a black line that fades into a shoulder smudge rather than running to the tail. AquaInfo describes the same mark from the other side: the black stripe "is only visible in the first part and gradually narrows towards the base of the tail". The trade sells the fish on that red line — Wikipedia lists it as "the red line tetra, Amapá tetra or scarlet tetra", and Seriously Fish adds a fourth label, "neon black red stripe" tetra. Home is one small area of savanna in the far north-east of Brazil, and the water there is why this entry's chemistry is narrow rather than comfortable. Seriously Fish records the type-locality readings: "At the type locality pH varied between 5.8 – 6.3, GH and KH were both <1°, conductivity was 9-13 µs and temperature 24.7 – 27.2°C/76.6 – 80.1°F." Hardness under one degree and conductivity in the low teens is rainwater with leaves in it. The published aquarium range is wider — "Temperature: 23 – 28 °C", "pH: 5.0 – 7.0", "Hardness: 18 – 143 ppm" — and this entry uses that range with its soft, acid half favoured, because that is what the habitat measurement argues for. One source disagrees, and it is worth saying which way. AquaInfo's summary table gives "a pH of 6.5 to 7.5 and a temperature of 24-27°C" as ideal — a band sitting entirely above the pH the same page reports for the wild stream, and above the top of the aquarium range Seriously Fish publishes. Where a care table and a habitat measurement disagree, this entry follows the habitat. Size is the last thing to get right, because everything else follows from it. Seriously Fish gives a maximum standard length of "25 – 30 mm", FishBase "3.0 cm SL", Wikipedia "about 2.5–3 cm", AquaInfo "only grows to 3 centimeters". This entry uses 3.5 cm as total length for a fully grown adult, tail included. A fish that size is food for anything with a mouth, and it is a shoaler that only looks like itself in numbers: Seriously Fish asks you to "buy a mixed-sex group of at least 8-10 specimens".
Care
Eight to ten minimum, in soft acidic water at 24-27 °C over a base of at least 60 x 30 cm — Seriously Fish's own filter note puts that base at 54 litres, and this entry gates at 60 for a group of that size. Sandy substrate, driftwood roots and branches, dried leaf litter, gentle flow; a planted tank suits it equally well and it is no threat to the plants. Company must be peaceful and small: other little characins, hatchetfish, pencilfish, small Corydoras and suckermouth catfish, non-predatory dwarf cichlids. A 3 cm fish belongs nowhere near an angelfish or anything else that can swallow it. Keep the lid on. If you are choosing between this and the flag tetra off a shop label, check the middle stripe — creamy-white here, golden there.
Diet
Micro-omnivore. Crushed flake or micro-granules daily, with live or frozen Daphnia, Moina, cyclops, bloodworm and mosquito larvae several times a week. Leaf litter feeds the fry indirectly by growing microbe colonies.
Tankmate compatibility
Gets along with (153)
Possible with care (196)
Avoid (69)
Computed by the AquaSage engine for a spacious reference tank — always check the full verdict for your exact setup in the calculator.
Telling males from females
What works for this species, most reliable first.
- Belly depthA hint only · only on well-fed adults, and only as a comparison
For most tetras, barbs and rasboras this is all there is: a conditioned female is deeper through the belly than a male of the same length.
Also in these lists
Similar species
Same category and the closest water parameters — if this species isn't quite it, start here.
Sold in Lithuania
These Lithuanian shops listed this species in their public catalogue (checked August 8, 2026). Stock moves — ask before you travel.
These links are unpaid: we get nothing for them and ask for nothing.
Frequently asked questions
- What tank size does a Amapá Tetra need?
- A Amapá Tetra needs an aquarium of at least 60 litres (15.9 US gallons) with a footprint at least 60 cm (23.6 in) long — for this species, swimming length matters as much as raw volume.
- What water parameters does a Amapá Tetra need?
- Amapá Tetra does best at 23–28 °C (73.4–82.4 °F), pH 5–7 and a general hardness of 1–8 °dGH.
- What group size does a Amapá Tetra need?
- Amapá Tetra is a social species — keep a group of at least 8 so natural behaviour emerges and stress stays low.
- Is the Amapá Tetra suitable for beginners?
- Amapá Tetra sits in the middle of the difficulty scale — manageable for a careful beginner who has done the reading, but it has specific needs worth researching first.