Jelly Bean Tetra Care Guide - Tank Setup, Diet & Breeding

The Jelly Bean Tetra, more widely known as the Ember Tetra, is a tiny characin with a warm orange to reddish body and a subtle translucent sheen. Its compact size and vivid colour make it especially popular in planted nano aquariums, where a group can create a lively, glowing display.

These tetras are peaceful, active and naturally social. They spend much of their time moving through the middle levels of the aquarium, often forming a loose shoal that tightens when the fish feel startled. In a settled group, they become noticeably bolder and display their colours more confidently.

In the wild, Hyphessobrycon amandae is associated with shallow, slow-flowing waters surrounded by dense vegetation. Leaf litter, submerged roots and shaded margins provide cover and create a complex habitat in which these small fish can forage for tiny aquatic organisms.

The species was described in 1987 and is named after aquarist and fish exporter Amanda Bleher. Despite their delicate appearance, Jelly Bean Tetras are energetic little fish with engaging social behaviour, making them a striking choice for peaceful community aquariums.

Jelly Bean Tetras come from the upper and central Rio Araguaia basin in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, South America. They inhabit small, slow-moving forest streams, tributaries and flooded areas associated with the clear and tea-stained waters of the region.

A group of Jelly Bean Tetras should have an aquarium of at least 40 litres, with a footprint around 60 by 30 cm providing useful swimming length. Use gentle filtration and moderate water movement, along with dense planting, floating plants, driftwood and shaded areas that reflect their forest-stream habitat. A dark, fine-grained substrate helps their colours stand out, while open water should be left available for shoaling. Stable, mature aquarium conditions are preferable to a newly established tank.

Up to 2 cm (0.8 inches). Females are usually slightly larger and deeper-bodied than males, while males tend to remain slimmer.

Jelly Bean Tetras are omnivores and should receive a varied diet of high-quality micro pellets or finely crushed flakes supplemented with small frozen or live foods. Baby brine shrimp, daphnia, cyclops and grindal worms are excellent choices that help maintain colour and condition. Their small mouths require appropriately tiny portions, offered once or twice daily with only as much food as they can consume promptly.

Jelly Bean Tetras are excellent community fish and can be kept with other peaceful, similarly sized species. Suitable companions include pygmy Corydoras, small rasboras, celestial pearl danios, otocinclus, peaceful small gouramis and other gentle nano fish. Avoid large, boisterous or predatory species, including angelfish, larger cichlids and aggressive barbs, as well as fin-nipping tankmates that may intimidate or consume them.

Jelly Bean Tetras are egg scatterers that breed best in a separate, dimly lit aquarium with soft, slightly acidic water and fine-leaved plants or spawning mops. Condition a group with plenty of small live or frozen foods, then introduce mature males and females. They scatter adhesive eggs among the vegetation, after which the adults should be removed because they may eat the eggs. The eggs usually hatch within 24 to 36 hours, and the fry can be raised on infusoria or other suitably tiny first foods before moving on to newly hatched brine shrimp.

Females are generally a little larger and rounder through the abdomen, particularly when carrying eggs. Males are more slender and may show a stronger, richer reddish-orange colour, although differences can be subtle in young fish.