Bleeding Heart Tetra

Hyphessobrycon erythrostigma

Other Names: Spotfin Tetra
Family: Characidae
Origin: Peru
Adult Size: 2.5 inches (6 cm)
Social: Peaceful, good community fish
Lifespan: 5 years
Tank Level: Mid dweller
Diet: Omnivore, eats most foods
Breeding: Egglayer
Care: Easy
pH: 5.6 - 7.2
Hardness: to 12 dGH
Temperature: 73-82 F (23-28 C)

2 bleeding heart tetras in my community tank
click on image to enlarge

South American species, this fish is prized for the heart shaped spot near where you'd expect the heart to be. Several sub-species exist, including a long finned variety, as well as one that is gold tinted.

All of them sport attractive fins edged in white and black, in addition to the characteristic bright red heart in the upper abdomen. Although larger than many tetra species, males grow to an adult size of three inches, they are a relatively peaceful fish suitable for community tanks. Males are slightly larger than females and have elongated dorsal and anal fins.

Habitat/Care
Found in the upper Amazon River Basin and the Rio Negro, the Bleeding Heart Tetra prefers soft acidic water. They are most comfortable in a planted tank with at least a half dozen or more of their own kind.

Bleeding heart tetras prefer a somewhat dark environment. They are best housed in a tank that contains several bunches of large plants (either live or plastic) in back and on the sides of the tank, with smaller plants in the front, leaving plenty of open space for swimming. A layer of floating plants to diffuse the light is also suggested.

Diet
Undemanding, they will eat flake, freeze dried, or frozen foods. They particularly relish live foods of all types, and will develop more vibrant colours when fed a varied diet.

Breeding
The Bleeding Heart Tetra has not been successfully bred in captivity. Females often do not respond to mating attempts of males. Eggs are laid in floating plants and some fall to the bottom. Remove parents after eggs are laid. Fry hatch after 2-3 days and are free-swimming after 2-4 more. The fry are hard to raise and must be kept under a constant regime of regular, partial water changes. Start feeding with small live and crushed dry foods.

Bleeding heart tetras are, as all tetras, happier in a shoal. They can get to a fairly large size of 5 - 7 cm and can be a bit nippy with long finned fish, such as angels. When in prime condition they look really good, especially in a group of 6 or more, and show lots of red colouration. The little red shape on their sides is where they get their name from. They feed on flake, bloodworm and all the usual foods you would feed community aquarium fish. Brine shrimp really brings out their colour. A large shoal of 15 to 20 fish looks really nice in the aquarium.

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