Buenos Aires Tetra - Hyphessobrycon anisitsi
Updated August 5, 2019
Author: Mike - FishLore Admin
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The Buenos Aires Tetra is one of the hardiest of the commonly available tropical fish but it may not make a good choice for a community tank or a planted tank. These tetras will view your aquarium plants as a food source and will nibble at them. Since it's best to keep them in small schools they can quickly destroy your live plant collection, so plastic plants are the way to go with this fish.
The Buenos Aires is a larger tetra, growing sometimes up to 3 inches (8 cm) and if kept in good water conditions can live 3 to 5 years or more.
If you are planning on keeping them in a community tank caution is advised. They can be fin nippers and may bully smaller tetras, nip the fins of fish with larger fins (e.g. angelfish and bettas) and slower tank mates. Keep them in schools of 6 or more which should help direct their aggression towards the other tetras instead of their more peaceful tank members.
There is an albino type of this Tetra that will sometimes be available, but it is not as common as the regular version. See the picture below.
The Buenos Aires Tetra is a great eater and you should offer them smaller fish foods including flakes, frozen, freeze dried and live foods. You may see more territorial aggression from them around feeding time.
Buenos Aires Tetra Care
Scientific Name : Hyphessobrycon anisitsi
Common Names : Diamond Spot Tetra
Care Level : Easy
Size : 3 inches (8 cm)
Water Parameters : pH 5.5 - 7.0, Temperature 72°F - 80°F (22°C - 27°C)
Lifespan : 3 - 5 years or longer
Habitat : South America, Paraguay, Uruguay - found in ponds
Temperament / Behavior : Can be fin nippers and best kept in a small school (shoal) of 6 or more.
Breeding : They have been bred in captivity and are egg layers. They will scatter eggs in plants and they should hatch in 24 hours. Adult fish may eat the eggs.
Aquarium Size : 20 gallon minimum (schooling fish)
Tank Mates : They can be a pest (bullying smaller fish) when kept singly and you may see better behavior if kept in a small school of 6 or more.
Diet / Foods : An omnivore - provide a varied diet with live food, frozen food and they should accept flake food. They will eat live plants too.
Tank Region : Middle to bottom
Gender : Can be difficult to determine, female may be more full bodied
Photo Credit : Photos copyright JJPhoto.dk
Site References :
Fishbase
Wikipedia
Fish Lore Forum : Buenos Aires Tetra Forum
Buenos Aires Tetra Comments and Tips
| From: Mitch I have 7 of these in a 55 gallon tank and they are definitely a lively bunch. They share the tank with a small group of silver dollars. They seemed to have developed a pecking order and their is a dominant one that the rest of the bunch follows. They are very aggressive eaters and will quickly grab any food off the top of the tank and dart back down towards the middle part of the tank. This is a cool fish. |
| From: Jennifer This is a pretty cool fish and can live quite long. Mine is over 11 years old and has moved about seven times so it is extremely hardy! |
| From: Kenny I have 6 Buenos Aires in a 60 gallon community tank with 12 Bloodfin Tetras, 2 Platies, 2 Glass Cats, 3 Zebra Danios and a 6 inch long Weather Loach. It is not recommended to keep the Buenos with some of these other passive fish but I have found that all aggression is limited to members of their own species and there is no problem at all. In fact I find that the Bloodfins and the Danios love hanging out with the Buenos and the Buenos still only tussle with each other. I have a very active tank and can watch for hours. |
| From: Desiree - Albino I have 3 albino buenos aires. They are amazing and fun to watch. They school with my 3 tiger barbs and silver dollar tetra. Sometimes they like to chase my albino dojo loach, but they don't hurt him. They are getting along great. I hope to eventually upgrade to a 100 gallon tank and get more fish. I'm only 14, so it will be a long time before I'm ready to do that lol. All in all, they are easy to take care of, and I recommend getting them if they are your first fish. |
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Go here: Buenos Aires Tetra Forum
More Tetra Fish Profiles
Bleeding Heart Tetra
Has the signature small red spot (don't think it looks like a heart though) on its sides.
Blind Cave Tetra
The Blind Cave tetras live in deep caves in the wild. They range from Texas to Mexico, with the sighted version from Mexico to Panama. There is no need for eye sight in the pitch black caves, so they have evolved to adapt to these conditions.
Bloodfin Tetra
A slim lined tetra with red fins, a fast swimmer that does well in planted tanks.