Bentosi Tetra Care Guide - Aquarium Setup, Diet & Breeding

The Bentosi Tetra is a graceful, laterally compressed characin with a silvery to translucent body, a rosy flush through the flanks and a dark mark at the base of the dorsal fin. Its fins can develop warm red colouring, especially when the fish is settled and displaying in good condition. The flowing dorsal and anal fins give this species a more elegant outline than many small community tetras.

These active but generally peaceful fish spend most of their time in the middle levels of the aquarium. Males often display alongside one another, spreading their fins and intensifying their colour without usually causing serious harm. They are most confident and attractive when kept in a properly sized group.

In the wild, Bentosi Tetras inhabit quiet forest streams, tributaries and flooded areas with subdued light, submerged roots and leaf litter. The surrounding cover helps them avoid predators and provides a complex environment in which to forage.

Hyphessobrycon bentosi is sometimes confused with the closely related Rosy Tetra, Hyphessobrycon rosaceus. Bentosi Tetras are valued for their calm nature, subtle pink colouring and suitability for a peaceful South American community aquarium.

Bentosi Tetras are native to the northern and central Amazon region of South America, particularly slow-moving tributaries and forest streams in Brazil and neighbouring parts of the Guiana Shield and Peru. Their natural waters are often shaded by dense vegetation and may be lightly stained with tannins from fallen leaves.

A group of Bentosi Tetras should have an aquarium of at least 75 litres, with a footprint around 60 × 30 cm or larger. Use gentle filtration and leave open swimming space through the middle of the tank, while providing shaded areas with tall plants, floating cover, roots and branches. A dark fine-grained substrate, leaf litter and subdued lighting help recreate their forest-stream surroundings and bring out their colours. Keep the aquarium securely covered, as startled tetras can jump.

Up to 5 cm (2 inches) in total length. Females are usually slightly larger and deeper-bodied than males, while males tend to be slimmer and have more extended fins.

Bentosi Tetras are omnivorous micro-predators that feed on small insects, crustaceans and other tiny organisms in nature. Offer a varied diet of quality small flakes or micro-pellets supplemented with frozen or live foods such as daphnia, baby brine shrimp, cyclops and mosquito larvae. Small portions fed regularly help maintain their colour, body condition and spawning readiness.

Bentosi Tetras are peaceful community fish and can be kept with other similarly sized, non-aggressive species. Suitable companions include small Corydoras, peaceful dwarf cichlids such as Apistogramma, pencilfish, small rasboras, peaceful gouramis and other gentle tetras. Avoid large predatory fish, boisterous species and persistent fin-nippers, which may intimidate them or damage their flowing fins. Keeping them in a full group also reduces the chance of shy or unsettled behaviour.

Bentosi Tetras are egg-scattering fish that can be bred in a separate, dimly lit spawning aquarium. Condition a group with plenty of small live or frozen foods, then introduce a pair or several males and females among fine-leaved plants or a spawning mop. The adults may eat the eggs, so remove them after spawning or protect the eggs with a mesh barrier. Eggs usually hatch within one to two days, and the tiny fry can initially be fed infusoria or another liquid fry food before moving on to newly hatched brine shrimp.

Females are generally fuller through the abdomen, particularly when carrying eggs, and are often slightly larger. Males are typically slimmer, more intensely coloured during displays and may develop longer, more pointed dorsal and anal fins.