tetra tankmates for my blue acara

[Sandz]

Hmm, keeping it south american is a challenge. I am falling out of love with a lot of tetras but there are a lot of great choices out there. I think if you can find a nice school of Gold tetra's they would really pop.

[steeler1]

Golds are a good choice. I always forget to reccomend them for some reason.

[skullduggery1]

Wouldn't gold tetras be a little to small,say snack sized?

[thatcichlidguy]

Lots of what we tend to think of as small tetras will mature to a size that would be safe. The big issue is finding them at that size . The taller bodied tetras are a good place to start. I'm partial to Columbian tetras for looks and the tall body layout.

[brol79]

I also saw the candy cane tetras that I really liked.they look really similar to the bleeding heart just differant coloration.are they really closely related?

[thatcichlidguy]

I'm not familiar with that name, but they are related. How closely I cant tell you. Similar body shapes can also just be an adaptaion to their habitat that they share. Anyways, If you like them and their water requirements are compatable then go for it. You;ll want to keep in mind that there will be some attrition. Mostly because unless there are spots to let them get away from the acarra he'll get a few. That's the nature of the beast. Also tettras can be pretty nasty to each other too. Many of the taller bodied types are known "nippers" and can be pretty brutal to each other. The size of the tank limits the number of safe spots you can make for them so keep these things in mind if you notice a few missing from time to time.

One of these days I gotta find that close up pic I took of on of my old columbian tetras' face. Talk about some nasty lookin' chompers

[steeler1]

I also saw the candy cane tetras that I really liked.they look really similar to the bleeding heart just differant coloration.are they really closely related?

Well they are related as far as they are both classified in the Hyphessobrycon familey. The Candy Cane only gets as big as Bentos and Rosy tetras at 1 1/2" as opposed to the Bleeding Heart that gets 2 1/2". The candy cane is a relative new speices that they have not even given it a scientific name, simply call it (Hy 511).

I almost bought candy canes the last time I bought fish but went with Red Phantoms instead.