Ember Tetra
Fish
Beastly Facts · Updated
The tiny orange schooler that glows like a coal against dark plants!
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Did you know? Ember tetras are named for Amanda Bleher, a German limnologist whose son collected the first specimens, and in the Araguaia basin of central Brazil where they live, people call them foguinhos: little fires.
The first week
The numbers a new owner needs in the first week, each from the article it links to. Rows with no link come from the encyclopedia.
- How many
- Ten is the target, with 8 to 10 as the least to buy.Handling guide →
- Tank size
- A 10-gallon tank on a base of roughly 18 x 12 inches (45 x 30 cm) for a school of 10. A 5-gallon only works with a smaller school.Setup guide →
- Temperature
- 75 to 82°F (24 to 28°C), held steady by a heater. 82°F is the top of the range, so set the heater inside it and never above it.Setup guide →
- Water chemistry
- Soft, acidic to neutral water: pH 5.0 to 7.0 and a hardness of 1 to 10 dGH.Setup guide →
- Cycle first
- Ammonia and nitrite both read zero in a fully cycled tank before the school goes in.Setup guide →
- Plants and filtration
- Heavily planted over a dark substrate, with floating plants as a useful addition and filtration kept gentle.Setup guide →
- Diet
- Micro-pellets or flake crushed fine as the staple, plus small live or frozen foods such as baby brine shrimp, daphnia, cyclops and moina. At about 0.8 inch, they need tiny, slow-sinking food.Feeding guide →
- Feeding schedule
- Once or twice a day, a small pinch the school finishes before it settles on the substrate.Feeding guide →
- Acclimation
- Lights off, then mix tank water into the bag over 30 to 60 minutes. Net the fish across, discard the bag water, and check the bag, net and floor for a missing fish.Handling guide →
- Tankmates
- Very peaceful, and they lose out to any tankmate that is rowdy or much bigger. Adult dwarf shrimp are safe; shrimplets are not.Handling guide →
- Quarantine
- At least 30 days in a separate tank before new fish join an established school.Health guide →
- Ich
- No heat cure: most strains die above 86°F and the ember's range tops out at 82°F. Warm only to 82°F and let salt, about a tablespoon per 5 gallons, or an ich medication do the killing.Health guide →
- Water changes
- 25 to 30% weekly from the substrate, with conditioned water at tank temperature. Test nitrate first: under 20 ppm the routine is right, past 40 ppm the next change is 50%.Aquarium Water Changes →
- Budget
- About $2.50 to $3.50 a fish, $25 to $35 for a school of 10 before shipping. Setup roughly $95 to $245.Cost guide →
- Lifespan
- About 2 to 4 years in captivity.Cost guide →
- Adult size
- About 0.8 inch (2 cm) standard length.
- Power outage
- Oxygen is the threat, not darkness. Unplug the filter rather than letting it sit dead in the water, and keep the surface moving.Power outage guide →
Emergency card
Test ammonia and nitrite first, then act on these today.
- Gasping at the surface or breathing fast
- Two or more fish showing the same sign at once
- A fish found dead: take the body out before anything else
- White spots like grains of salt on the body or fins: start ich treatment today
- Fast breathing that continues once the water tests clean: ich can infect the gills
Watch closely and check again tomorrow.
- Flashing: rubbing against plants, glass or substrate
- A fish off its food or hanging listless
- Extra mucus on the skin
- Color fading to dull
Most of what goes wrong starts in the water or arrives with a new fish, so test first and quarantine every newcomer.
Where to go next
How Much Does Ember Tetra Ownership Cost?
$2.50 to $3.50 a fish, why the school is bought ten at a time, and the $95 to $245 that goes into the tank around them.
Ember Tetra Tank Setup: A 10-Gallon School, Soft Water, and Dense Plants
Ten gallons for ten fish, soft water at 75 to 82°F, gentle flow, and the dense planting this species is kept in.
Ember Tetra Feeding: Diet, Food Size, and How Often to Feed
Food for a 0.8-inch fish, once or twice a day, and what fry eat first.
Ember Tetras Are Never Handled, So the Trip Home Is the Part to Get Right
Netting, bagging and an acclimation that takes 30 to 60 minutes, plus the school size and the tankmates that work.
Common Ember Tetra Health Issues (and Why the Ich Heat Cure Stops at 82°F)
Why the ich heat cure stops at 82°F, the 30-day quarantine, and the signs that need action today.
Ember Tetra Enrichment: Bright Orange, Built to Vanish
How a shoal hides from above in clear Brazilian water, and the cover and food that bring the same behavior out in a tank.
What to buy
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Underlined items are paid Amazon links, at no extra cost to you.
Prices and the reasoning behind each item are in How Much Does Ember Tetra Ownership Cost?.
Full Ember Tetra gear listFrequently Asked Questions
What size tank do ember tetras need?
A 10-gallon tank for a school of 10, on a base of roughly 18 x 12 inches (45 x 30 cm) or the equivalent. A 5-gallon only works with a smaller school, and 10 or more is the group to aim for.
How often should I feed ember tetras?
Once or twice a day, a small pinch each time that the school finishes before it settles on the substrate. Small live or frozen food can be one of those meals every day.
Can you treat ich in ember tetras with heat?
Not with heat alone. Most ich strains die above 86°F, and the ember tetra's range tops out at 82°F. Warm the tank slowly to 82°F with an air stone running, which speeds up the parasite's cycle, and let aquarium salt at about a tablespoon per 5 gallons or an ich medication do the killing.
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Deep Dive
🐠 How Much Does Ember Tetra Ownership Cost?
🐠 Ember Tetras Are Never Handled, So the Trip Home Is the Part to Get Right
🐠 Common Ember Tetra Health Issues (and Why the Ich Heat Cure Stops at 82°F)
🐠 Ember Tetra Tank Setup: A 10-Gallon School, Soft Water, and Dense Plants
🐠 Ember Tetra Feeding: Diet, Food Size, and How Often to Feed
🐠 Ember Tetra Enrichment: Bright Orange, Built to Vanish
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