Black Phantom Tetra
Hyphessobrycon megalopterus
Min Tank Size
75L
Adult Size
4.5 cm
Lifespan
5 years
School Size
6+
About
Native to the upper Rio Paraguay basin in Brazil and Bolivia, Black Phantom Tetras come from shaded, slow-moving blackwater streams with dense leaf litter and tannin-stained water. That origin explains a lot about what they need in a home tank.
They're not demanding fish, but they show their best color and behavior in soft, slightly acidic water with subdued lighting and plenty of cover. The name sells itself: males develop a dramatic smoky charcoal coloration with a jet-black shoulder spot edged in iridescent silver, plus tall, flowing dorsal and anal fins that they love to flare at each other. Females are equally attractive in a different way, showing warm reddish-pink tones on the fins and flanks.
5 cm, which makes them genuinely suitable for tanks in the 60 to 80 liter range. 5. Diet is uncomplicated: quality flake or micro pellets as a base, supplemented with frozen or live daphnia, bloodworms, or brine shrimp. They're not picky and they eat eagerly.
A dark substrate, floating plants or tall stem plants filtering the light, and some driftwood really let their coloring pop. If you want to see real tank builds with these fish, browsing community journals from planted tank hobbyists is a great starting point.
Water Parameters
Temperature
°CpH
GH
dGHKH
dKHSwimming Level
Flow Preference
Keeping multiple Black Phantom Tetra together
Black Phantom Tetra are shoaling fish and need company of their own kind. Keep a group of at least 6. Smaller groups leave them stressed, washed-out in color, and prone to hiding.
Compatibility
Black Phantoms work well with a wide range of small to medium peaceful fish. Good pairings include other small tetras like rummies, embers, or neons, small rasboras, dwarf corydoras, otocinclus, and peaceful dwarf cichlids like apistogrammas or German blue rams. Avoid anything large enough to view them as food, and be cautious with long-finned tankmates like bettas or fancy guppies since the extended fins can occasionally attract unwanted attention from other fish in the tank. Dwarf shrimp like neocaridina or caridina are risky with a healthy school, adults are usually fine but juveniles and baby shrimp are sometimes picked off. Snails are ignored completely.
Commonly kept with
Species this one is most often paired withCommonly tried but avoid
Often paired, but shouldn't beCare Notes
The most common beginner mistake is keeping too few of them. A group of three or four produces anxious, washed-out fish that hide constantly. Six is the starting point for normal behavior, and eight to ten brings out the best fin displays and natural schooling movement. They also fade significantly in hard, alkaline tap water. If your tap is above pH 7.8 or GH above 15, some water softening or RO blending will make a noticeable difference in color. Subdued lighting and a dark substrate are not optional for getting their full coloration, bright white setups make them look dull and stressed.
Behavior & Aggression
The sparring between males looks alarming to newcomers but it's almost entirely theatrical. Two males will face each other, flare their fins to maximum size, and circle slowly, sometimes for extended periods. Actual contact is rare and fin damage from conspecific aggression is uncommon. The real concern is males pestering females relentlessly, especially in smaller tanks with limited line-of-sight breaks. Keeping at least two females per male, and providing dense planting, spreads this attention enough to keep everyone comfortable. They show no meaningful aggression toward other species.
Things to Know
- Males spar constantly but this is display behavior, rarely causes injury
- Keep ratio of 1 male to 2+ females to reduce male-on-female harassment
- Small enough to be eaten by larger cichlids and most predatory fish
- Colors are best with dim lighting and a dark substrate.
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