Purple Tetra
Hyphessobrycon metae
Characidae
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About
Two warnings before the fish. First, this catalogue already contains a Corydoras metae — the bandit cory, now Hoplisoma metae — and it is not related to this animal in any way that matters: different family, different body plan, different half of the tank. Both are named after the Río Meta in Colombia, and that is the entire connection. Seriously Fish spells out the epithet: "metae: named for its type locality; the Río Meta in Colombia." Search for the epithet and you will find the wrong fish half the time. Second, the purple tetra is one of a trio that the trade mixes up constantly. Aquarium Glaser: "Three species of tetra in northern South America are obviously close relatives to each other and often confused: Hyphessobrycon loretoensis from Peru, H. metae from Colombia, and H. peruvianus, again from Peru." Seriously Fish says the confusion runs in the same direction in print — "In particular, the congener H. peruvianus has repeatedly appeared under the name H. metae in aquarium literature" — and then gives the field mark, which is all about the tail: "In H. metae the dark caudal peduncle marking continues onto the base of the median caudal-fin rays, and there is a yellow-to-orange marking at the base of each caudal-fin lobe." The two Peruvians instead carry "a broad dark band in the lower portion of the body, between the opercle and caudal peduncle", with H. peruvianus showing bright red at the caudal-fin lobe bases and H. loretoensis a caudal fin that is "a more-or-less solid brick red colour". If the black band runs the length of the flank, you are not holding H. metae. (Amusingly, the same Seriously Fish sentence names "the similar-looking Peruvian congeners H. loretoensis and H. metae" — a slip for H. peruvianus, on a page about H. metae.) What you are actually buying is a small, elongate characin from the Llanos, the vast seasonally flooded plains of Colombia and Venezuela. Seriously Fish describes two very different homes: Venezuelan morichals, which "tend to contain transparent, clear water and sandy substrates, often with dense growth of aquatic plants or riparian vegetation among which the fish take shelter", and elsewhere "blackwater streams flowing through tropical rainforest and still floodplain lakes". That split is why its published pH floor is so low. Seriously Fish gives pH "4.0 – 7.0" — a floor matched among this catalogue's other Hyphessobrycon only by the bleeding heart tetra — with hardness "18 – 143 ppm" and temperature "20 – 28 °C"; FishBase narrows it to "pH range: 5.8 - 6.2; dH range: 4 - 8" and "22°C - 26°C". Those two are not in conflict so much as at different zoom levels, and this entry sets the optimum where they overlap: soft, acid, 23-26 °C. Do not try to keep this fish at pH 7.5 in liquid rock because the shop tank was. Colour varies with locality and the trade has noticed. Seriously Fish: "Some variability in colour pattern has been observed in populations collected at different localities, particularly in the colour and intensity of the pale lateral body stripe... some of these variants have been traded with names such as H. cf. metae 'gold line', 'teal line', etc." Expect to see those labels; expect them to mean a wild-caught population rather than a strain. Size is modest — "35 – 40 mm" standard length on Seriously Fish, "4.0 cm SL" on FishBase — and this entry uses 4.5 cm total length for a grown adult. Breeding is the one blank space: Seriously Fish's Reproduction section reads, in full, "Unreported."
Care
A mixed-sex group of at least eight, in genuinely soft acidic water at 23-26 °C. Seriously Fish asks for a base of at least 80 x 30 cm and its own filter note puts that at 72 litres; this entry gates at 80 litres for a shoal of that size. Sandy substrate, driftwood roots and branches, dried leaf litter and gentle flow, or a heavily planted tank — both are on the source's list, and the fish does no harm to plants either way. Very peaceful and easy company: other small characins, hatchetfish, pencilfish, small Corydoras and suckermouth catfish, non-predatory dwarf cichlids. Keep a lid on it. The difficulty here is chemistry, not temperament — a shoal in hard alkaline tap water is the way this species goes wrong. Check what you are sold: the black band should be prominent only on the tail wrist, not along the whole flank.
Diet
Omnivore taking small invertebrates, crustaceans, filamentous algae and fallen fruit in the wild. Dried staple plus regular live or frozen bloodworm, mosquito larvae, Daphnia and Moina.
Tankmate compatibility
Gets along with (157)
Possible with care (201)
Avoid (60)
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.
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Frequently asked questions
- What tank size does a Purple Tetra need?
- A Purple Tetra needs an aquarium of at least 80 litres (21.1 US gallons) with a footprint at least 80 cm (31.5 in) long — for this species, swimming length matters as much as raw volume.
- What water parameters does a Purple Tetra need?
- Purple Tetra does best at 20–28 °C (68–82.4 °F), pH 4–7 and a general hardness of 1–8 °dGH.
- What group size does a Purple Tetra need?
- Purple Tetra is a social species — keep a group of at least 8 so natural behaviour emerges and stress stays low.
- Is the Purple Tetra suitable for beginners?
- Purple 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.