Description
The lemon tetra is a fish you come to appreciate slowly. At first glance it looks unassuming — a translucent body with a pale yellow veil — but when an adult male displays, he spreads fins edged in vivid yellow and shows a blazing red iris you were not expecting. It is one of those tetras that improve with time rather than impress in the shop.
It is somewhat stockier than most small characins at about 4.5 cm, and it surprises with its lifespan: six years on normal care, and more if the tank is stable. Few fish this size stay with you that long.
There is one thing to know before buying, because it explains half the disappointments with this species: the yellow depends directly on what it eats. On a poor diet the fish turns colourless and translucent within weeks, and anyone who does not know that assumes they were sold a different fish.
Behavior
Peaceful and loosely shoaling. It does not swim tightly packed like a neon: it spreads across the middle zone while keeping visual contact with the others. Even so it needs a group — six minimum, ten is better — because alone it gets stressed and fades.
The best part of keeping it in a group is the male displays: they position sideways, spread every fin and size each other up without ever coming to blows. It is everyday behaviour that only appears when there are several.
It lives well with other tetras, rasboras, corydoras, otocinclus, bristlenose and pearl gourami. It fits almost any soft to medium water community tank.
Avoid housing it with adult angelfish and large cichlids, which see it as food; tiger barbs, which nip fins; and fish demanding hard, alkaline water such as molly, because the parameters are incompatible even where temperaments match.
With shrimp: no trouble with adults; Neocaridina fry do not survive.
Habitat
Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis is endemic to the Tapajós basin in Brazil. Unlike blackwater tetras, it lives in clear, only slightly acidic water, with dense bankside vegetation and submerged wood.
What it does share with them is the shade: in its river the light arrives filtered through riparian vegetation. Under a powerful lamp with nothing to diffuse it, the lemon tetra hides and loses colour, which is exactly the opposite of what you want.
The fix is easy and suits almost any community tank anyway: a few floating plants to break up the light. With that the fish comes out to swim at mid-water and shows its yellow.
Tetra limón is a schooling species, which means that in the wild it lives and moves in large, coordinated groups.
Keep at least 6 individuals so they feel comfortable and their stress level stays low.
Habitats
Fish sharing this habitat
These fish appear in one or more habitats linked to this profile. It doesn't mean they are directly compatible in an aquarium.
Details
🌊 Water parameters
🐠 Minimum tank size
Breeding
An egg scatterer, and one of the more rewarding characins if you want to try breeding for the first time. It spawns among fine-leaved plants or over a clump of moss, usually first thing in the morning.
The setup is the classic one for the group: separate tank, soft water, dim light and something to stop the parents reaching the eggs. Remove them as soon as they finish, because they eat the spawn without hesitation.
The fry grow faster than neon fry and take brine shrimp nauplii sooner, which makes breeding less frustrating. Even so, they need very fine food during the first week.
Diet
Omnivorous, but with a greater need for plant matter than other tetras. And here lies the key to this species: the yellow and the red iris come from carotenoid pigments the fish cannot manufacture — it gets them from food. Without them in the diet, the colour disappears.
- Staple: quality flake with spirulina, or a colour-enhancing food.
- Carotenoids: foods containing astaxanthin, krill or spirulina, regularly rather than occasionally.
- Supplement: frozen daphnia and brine shrimp, twice a week.
- Fry: infusoria for the first days, then brine shrimp nauplii.
If your lemon tetra has gone pale, it is almost always diet rather than disease. Correcting it restores the colour within weeks, though very old fish never fully come back.
What about your tank?
Enter your tank's values to see only the compatible species that fit them. Litres apply to fish.
Compatible fish
General guidance based on water parameters, behaviour and known exceptions; always review the individual animals' and aquarium's specific needs.
They share water: pH 5.5–7 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–27 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 26–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–25 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7 and 24–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–27 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–27 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–27 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7 and 24–27 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–25 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 23–24 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–27 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 25–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 26–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 24–27 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 7.5 and 24–28 °C. They only meet at the very edge, so the tank has to hold that value.
They share water: pH 7.5 and 24–28 °C. They only meet at the very edge, so the tank has to hold that value.
They share water: pH 5.5–7 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–6.5 and 23–27 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.2 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 25–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7.5 and 23–27 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.2 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–27 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.2 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.2 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7 and 26–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 25–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–6.5 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7.5 and 23–27 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7.2 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7.5 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7.5 and 23–27 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7.5 and 24–27 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–7.5 and 23–27 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
Compatible invertebrates
General guidance based on water parameters, behaviour and known exceptions; always review the individual animals' and aquarium's specific needs.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–6.5 and 23–24 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–25 °C.
They share water: pH 7.5 and 24–28 °C. They only meet at the very edge, so the tank has to hold that value.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7.5 and 26–28 °C. They only meet at the very edge, so the tank has to hold that value.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.8–6.8 and 23–24 °C.
They share water: pH 5.8–6.8 and 23–24 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 23–27 °C.
They share water: pH 7.5 and 27–28 °C. They only meet at the very edge, so the tank has to hold that value.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7.5 and 27–28 °C. They only meet at the very edge, so the tank has to hold that value.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 23–26 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 5.5–6.5 and 23–24 °C.
Sources
- FishBaseFroese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2026. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication.
- Seriously FishSeriously Fish. Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis. Ficha de especie; consultada 2026-08.
Discrepancy: FishBase reaches pH 8 and 28 °C; Seriously Fish narrows to 5-7.5 and 20-28 °C. The profile uses 5.5-7.5, within both.
Plan your next aquarium
Is this fish right for you? Plan a suitable aquarium before setting it up.