Ornate Tetra

About

Two nearly identical pink tetras stand side by side in the shop and the labels swap places, so start with the mark. Seriously Fish puts it plainly on the rosy tetra's page: "The easiest way to distinguish them is by the presence of a dark marking just behind the operculum in H. bentosi, which is lacking in H. rosaceus." Our rosy tetra entry says the same thing from the other side, and both are right - a dark shoulder mark is this fish, a clean shoulder is the rosy tetra. The names are older and messier than the mark. Aquarium Glaser's account, following Zarske (2014), runs like this: the tetra first imported in 1933 was described as Hyphessobrycon ornatus; from the 1960s "it was believed that H. ornatus was identical with H. bentosi from Brazil described in 1908", and the pair were split into the subspecies H. bentosi bentosi and H. bentosi ornatus; the current position is that "the rosy tetra is in fact identical to H. rosaceus, a species described from Guyana in 1909 and to which H. ornatus is a synonym". So ornatus belongs to the rosy tetra, not to this fish, which is exactly why our rosy tetra entry carries it as a synonym and this one does not. There is one more trap in the same knot and Lithuanian shelves walk straight into it: two shops here list this species as "Bentosi tetra 'White Fin'". Aquarium Glaser attributes the 'White Fin' breeding form - the one where "the otherwise black parts in the fin coloring are replaced by white", first prize for new breeding forms at Aquarama Singapore in 1997 - to H. ornatus, that is, to H. rosaceus. H. bentosi has white on it too, but of a different kind: Wikipedia describes a black dorsal fin tipped with white, which is why the trade also sells it as the white tip tetra, the bentos tetra and, honestly enough, the false rosy tetra. Underneath all of that it is a 4-4.5 cm characin from sluggish tributaries, side arms and forest lakes of the lower Amazon, named in memory of a Colonel Bentos who volunteered on the Thayer Expedition of 1865-1866, and almost every one on sale is commercially bred rather than caught.

Care

Eight to ten, not six: Seriously Fish asks for "a mixed-sex group of at least 8-10 specimens" because the males spend the day displaying at one another, and a thin group turns that into one male harassing one female. Note the tank it asks for, too - "An aquarium with base dimensions of 90 * 30 cm or equivalent should be the smallest considered" - which is half a shelf longer than the 60 cm the same site gives the rosy tetra, so do not assume the twin's numbers carry over. Soft to moderately hard, slightly acidic water at 24-27 C. Décor is otherwise not critical, but Seriously Fish notes it colours up better over a dark substrate in a planted tank. Very peaceful company for other small characins, hatchetfish, pencilfish, small corydoras and loricariids, and non-predatory dwarf cichlids. Keep a lid on it, as with any small, active characin.

Diet

Omnivore taking small invertebrates, crustaceans, filamentous algae and fallen fruit in nature. A good dried staple plus live or frozen bloodworm, mosquito larvae and Daphnia several times a week.

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 Ornate Tetra need?

A Ornate Tetra needs an aquarium of at least 90 litres (23.8 US gallons) with a footprint at least 90 cm (35.4 in) long — for this species, swimming length matters as much as raw volume.

What water parameters does a Ornate Tetra need?

Ornate Tetra does best at 20–28 °C (68–82.4 °F), pH 5.5–7.5 and a general hardness of 1–14 °dGH.

What group size does a Ornate Tetra need?

Ornate Tetra is a social species — keep a group of at least 8 so natural behaviour emerges and stress stays low.

Is the Ornate Tetra suitable for beginners?

Yes — Ornate Tetra is one of the easier species to keep and forgives typical first-tank mistakes, as long as the aquarium is cycled and maintained.

Sources

• Seriously Fish — Hyphessobrycon bentosi (Ornate Tetra)
• Seriously Fish — Hyphessobrycon rosaceus (Rosy Tetra)
• FishBase — Megalamphodus bentosi (Durbin, 1908), Ornate tetra
• Wikipedia — Megalamphodus bentosi (Bentos tetra, ornate tetra)
• Aquarium Glaser — Hyphessobrycon rosaceus ("ornatus")
• Aquarium Glaser — Hyphessobrycon ornatus "White Fin"