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EveryFish
Bleeding heart tetra

Bleeding heart tetra

Small Amazonian fish with a red flank spot

This small freshwater characin lives in the western Amazon basin. Henry Weed Fowler described it in 1943. It is widely kept in home tanks, mostly from captive breeding.

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  • Max length is 6.1 cm
  • Described by Fowler in 1943
  • Found in western Amazon basin
  • Mostly captive-bred for trade
  • Moved to Megalamphodus in 2024

What it is

This ray-finned fish belongs to the American tetras. Adults reach just over six centimetres in standard length. Body colour shifts between beige, orange and silvery pale purple. A bright crimson mark on the side gives the species its common name. Males are slimmer than females and grow longer fins. A white line runs along the anal fin in mature specimens.

Where it lives

Wild populations inhabit the western Amazon basin. Records exist for Brazil, Colombia and Peru. The fish occupies floodplains and major tributaries. Water conditions vary from clear to slightly stained. It does not occur in marine or brackish environments.

Fish and people

Hobbyists value this species for home tanks. Nearly all individuals sold commercially come from captive breeding programmes rather than wild capture. Its striking appearance makes it a frequent choice for community aquariums.

Questions people ask about Bleeding heart tetra

How big does this fish get?

The maximum standard length recorded is 6.1 cm. Males tend to be slimmer and develop longer fins than females.

Where does it live in the wild?

It inhabits the western Amazon basin across Brazil, Colombia and Peru. You find it in floodplains and large tributaries with clear or stained water.

Is it caught from the wild for pets?

No. Almost all specimens in the aquarium trade are captive-bred. Wild collection is not the primary source for hobbyists.

Good reading and sources

Where this page comes from

The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Bleeding heart tetra", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryFish rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.

It may contain mistakes, and figures change over time. Nothing here is investment or buying advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-11-15.

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Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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