Axelrodia riesei “Ruby Tetra”

Oh my nano! Talk about a stunning little tetra for a small planted tank! The Ruby Tetra, Axelrodia riesei, is a really small beauty hailing from only the upper Meta River Basin, a tributary of the Rio Orinoco in Columbia. Not exactly a common tetra, they come in smaller than I honestly would’ve expected, almost still a fish you’d consider to be fry! After some time in a planted tank with good food and treats of live baby brine shrimp, they’re larger, more colorful, and ready for sale. In my experience not every Ruby Tetra makes it upon arrival, and those difficulties are reflected in the price of the fish. Given their infrequent availability and true beauty, this seems like it’d be a great fish for breeding efforts (that’s just my opinion of course). This is a truly under-appreciated gem of a species, ideal for small planted aquaria. They are very shy fish at times, often hiding in the Java Moss in their holding tank, with the males setting up little territories to display and quarrel in. Female Ruby Tetras are not as colorful as the males (all the fish shown in the images are males, FYI). Expect fish no larger than 0.5″; these can be very small.  I’d recommend groups of 10 or more.