A Brazilian fish from the Amazon Basin is the kind of fish that everyone wishes to have in their fish tank as an aquarium enthusiast. Even though it looks the same as rosy tetra, Bentosi white fin tetra attracts people to its beauty like nothing else!
Bentosi white fin tetra is a fish belonging to the Characidae family. You can find it in the market with several names like White Tip Tetra, White Fin Ornate, Bentos Tetra, or even Ornate Tetra. These fish are semi-hardy fish with an omnivorous appetite. These fish are originally from the Amazon River of South America. Hence, they love plants in their aquarium.
Let us dive in to know more about the peaceful fish!
Habitat: Distribution / Background
Bentosi white fin tetras are the wanderers of the Amazon River of South America. You can find these fish in the slow-moving creeks of this area.
The Bentosi white fin tetra is also known as Ornate Tetra Hyphessobrycon bentosi, as described by Durbin in 1908. These fish are widespread and stable in population. Hence, Bentosi white fin tetra faces no threats due to which they are on the Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.
Besides, you can also call a Bentosi White Fin Tetra as Ornate Tetra, White Fin Ornate Tetra, Bentos Tetra, White Tip Tetra, and False Rosy Tetra.
Know more about Rosy tetra from our other article ‘Rosy Tetra (Hyphessobrycon rosaceus): Everything You Need To Know About.’
These fish are the habitants of shaded areas of the canopy forest in the densely vegetated tributaries of the Amazon River.
Similarly, Ornate tetras are fond of small invertebrates as food, which are commonly found in their natural vegetation.
| Aquarist Experience Level | Intermediate |
| Size of fish – inches | 3.0 inches (7.49 cm) in natural habitat 2 inches (5 cm) in an aquarium |
| Temperament | Peaceful |
| Aquarium Hardiness | Moderately hardy |
| Scientific Name | Hyphessobrycon bentosi |
| Social Grouping | Groups/ Schooling Fish |
| IUCN Red List | LC – Least Concern |
| Lifespan | 3 to 5 years |
About Bentosi White Fin Tetra
If you are looking for larger tetras with a deep-bodied shape like the Bleeding Heart Tetras, then Bentosi White Fin Tetras are exactly what you are looking for.
Learn more about Bleeding Heart Tetra Hyphessobrycon erythrostigma here.
Talking about its size, these tetras grow up to 2 inches (5 cm) in the home aquarium. However, in its natural habitat, it can reach up to 3 inches (7.5cm) long.
Likewise, you can enjoy the fish in the aquarium from 3 to 5 years, depending on how you take care of them.
Bentosi White Fin Tetras are often confused with the Rosy Tetra as they are very similar to each other in coloration and appearance. In their natural habitat, these two fish are close relatives.
Fish Keeping Difficulty
Bentosi White Fin Tetra is a moderately hardy fish. Any fish keeper with minimum experience can keep the fish. So, if you are at an intermediate level, you can undeniably go for this species without thinking twice.
In contrast, these tetras do not do well with the changes in water parameters. Hence, they need more pristine water. Although, some specimens which are captive bred are more tolerant and strong.
Hence, these tetras are moderately hardy and require an intermediate aquarist experience level.
I have written more about it in ‘ Are Tetras Hardy Fish? – Different Parameter Levels’
Foods and Feeding
The Ornate Tetras are omnivorous fish with a varied appetite. Since it requires high vitamin levels, flake foods are one of the major parts of their diet. Besides, you can feed them flake foods from 60 to 80 percent in their diet.
As these tetras are omnivorous, they prefer to go after live foods. This can even include live plants or algae. Get to know more about it from ‘Do Tetra Fish Eat Algae? – Should You Add Algae To Their Diet?’
You can feed them several times a day, but you have to be careful of how much you feed them. I suggest you offer the food that they can have in 3 minutes or less when you feed them.
Moreover, you can also feed them tablets or pellets which you can find in the market. The tetras will also prefer live foods from fish, shrimps to worms but make sure it covers only some of their diet.
Moreover, you can provide ornate tetra vegetable food that you have at home by cutting them into small pieces. Similarly, meaty food is also something that you can give to your Ornate tetra in a limited amount.
Here is a list of food that you can give to the Bentosi White Fin Tetras with the best ones that I would suggest-
- Tablet / Pellet: Hikari Tropical Micro Pellets (1.58 (2 Pack))
- Shrimps: Ocean Nutrition Instant Baby Brine Shrimp 0.7-Ounces (20 Grams) JarBrine shrimp
- Worms: Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm 500 Count Red Wiggler Live Composting Worms
- Vegetable Food
- Meaty Food
- Flakes: Tetra TetraFin Goldfish Flakes 4.52 Pound Bucket, Balanced Diet
- Bloodworms: SAN FRANCISCO BAY Brand Freeze Dried Bloodworms 1.75oz
- Micro worm: 9 OZ Matured Micro worm Mega Culture – Ready to Harvest – Live Fish Food
Aquarium Care For Bentosi White Fin Tetra
Aquarium care for the Bentosi White Fin Tetra is not that hard. Since these tetras like clean and stable water, they are not difficult to care for if this part is taken care of.
You have to maintain your aquarium and keep it clean regardless of its size or closed systems. Besides, evaporation in an aquarium leads to decomposing organic matter, nitrates, water hardness, and phosphate.
For maintaining your fish tank, you have to replace or change 25 percent to 50 percent of the water regularly. This does not mean it should be changed daily, though. Do not change your tank water daily!
A Bentosi White Fin Tetra’s tank will need a partial water replacement every other week. You should clean the tank, especially if it is densely populated!
Aquarium Setup For Bentosi White Fin Tetra
The aquarium must be set up in such a way that a fish is comfortable. Likewise, the main focus here is to make the aquarium as close to the real natural habitat as possible.
Tank Size
For a Bentosi White Fin Tetra, a 15 to 20-gallon aquarium is best. The minimum requirement is a 15-gallon tank. However, you can increase the size if you get more of the tetras. They are schooling fish. So, a school of 6 is best for the suggested aquarium size.
The best aquarium you can get at an affordable price is Tetra Aquarium 20-Gallon Fish Tank Kit, Includes LED Lighting and Decor.
Filters
To set up the aquarium, you have to keep in mind to keep the filters at a certain angle to avoid disturbance. It is because these tetras do not do so well with fast-moving currents.
Lighting And Decoration
These tetras prefer dim aquariums as they live in the dense forest canopy in their natural habitat. Thus, I prefer Tetra Hidden LED Stick Light for Aquariums, Brilliant White.
Moreover, if you want to keep your Bentosi White Fin Tetra happy, you might want to plant around the sides and back of the aquarium. Make sure you leave proper open water for swimming in the front.
Know more about it from Best Aquarium Plants For Tetra Fish.
Substrate
A river sand substrate is best for these tetras. To make your Ornate Tetra comfortable in their natural habitat, you can add some dry leaves on top. Besides, few hiding places will be best for your White Fin tetra. Caribsea Super Naturals Aquarium Sand, 20-Pound, Crystal River is the best in this case.
Water Conditions
Water conditions are an essential part of any fish tank to thrive. You should maintain a water hardness of 3 to 12 dGH. Similarly, a pH range of 6.6 to 7.2 should be maintained if you have caught the fish in the wild. If not, the 6.6 to 7.8 range will do. However, there should be no brackish water.
A better overview of such conditions is given in Water Parameters for Tetra Fish: Stable Water Condition.
Temperature
You should maintain a temperature of 73.0 to 82.0° F (22.8 to 27.8° C) for the normal Bentosi White Fin Tetra to be comfortable. On the other hand, you might want to increase the temperature to 75 to 78.8° F (24 to 26° C) for breeding.
AQQA Mini Submersible Aquarium Heater is the best affordable heater for your aquarium.
| Minimum Tank Size | 15 gal (57 L) |
| Schooling fish | Yes, a group of six in a 15 to 20-gallon aquarium |
| Suitable for Nano Tank | Yes |
| Substrate | Any (River Sand more preferable) |
| Lighting | Subdued low lights |
| Temperature | Normal- 73.0 to 82.0° F (22.8 to 27.8° C)
Breeding- 75 to 78.8° F (24 to 26° C) |
| pH Range | 6.6 to 7.8 |
| Hardness Range | 3 – 12 dGH |
| Brackish Water | No |
| Water Movements | Weak/ Low |
Social Behaviors
In their natural habitat, you will find Bentosi White Fin Tetra in 50 plus numbers in a school. So, you can keep a minimum of 6 in the aquarium to avoid behavior issues.
Since these tetras are omnivorous, you should avoid any neighbors that push them to be aggressive. Hence, you should keep them with peaceful and non-fin nipping fish.
Are Tetras Fin Nippers? Are They Aggressive? Find out here.
These fish are not good with excessive movement or sounds outside the tank. So, locate the tank in a peaceful place too! Keeping plants in the tank is also the best thing to do.
Tankmates for Bentosi White Fin Tetra
Ornate tetras are peaceful fish who love to live in a school. So, you can have a small idea about what their tank mates should be like. They love peaceful fish and will school with their own species or species that are closely related to them.
Your Bentosi White Fin tetra will school with the following fishes with ease:
- Rosy Tetra
- Bentosi White Fin Tetras itself
- Black Widow Tetra
- White Skirt Tetra
- Snails
- Crabs
- Bleeding Heart Tetra, etc.
Avoiding Tankmates
Do not keep bentosi white finned tetras with boisterous and larger fish. When they have an aggressive tankmate, these tetras struggle to thrive in the aquarium. Water changes and excessive movement can also cause the fish to get sick.
Especially, you have to take care of the tetras as larger fish tend to fight with the Bentosi White Fin tetras. Since these fish are peaceful creatures, they will not be able to tolerate such aggression in their tank.
Know more about Are Tetras Aggressive and the List Of Aggressive Tetra Fish.
Sex: Sexual differences
Any fish enthusiast knows the basic difference between male and female fish despite the species. The female Bentosi White Fin tetra has a shorter and plumper body as most female fish do. Similarly, males have longer fins compared to female ornate tetra.
Breeding / Reproduction
The breeding process of a fish is the best part for a fish lover. Although it can be a little difficult, you can find it equally rewarding!
You will vision no care as a parent from these tetras. Your Bentosi White Fin Tetras will just scatter the eggs while spawning. Besides, such spawning will occur in a community tank with compatible breeding pairs in the right conditions.
Tank Size And Water Conditions
Like neon tetras, these tetras will also eat their eggs and fries. So, you will have to make a separate fry tank of about 10-gallons. Then, you can set up a temperature of 75 to 78.8° F (24 to 26° C).
Similarly, the water conditions include a pH of 6.5 to 7 and hardness of 4° dGH or less. Hence, it means that you can set the water slightly acidic but soft in nature.
Set Up A Breeding Tank
Next, to set up a breeding tank, you should add up plants with fine leaves. It would be best if you keep the lights dim and have a gentle current of water flowing in the tank.
This is to make the tetras feel at home and trigger their spawning. Moreover, you have to understand that the spawned eggs are also light sensitive.
For equipment, you will want an air-powered sponge filter. A small one will help you filter, oxygenate, and keep the water in a gentle flow.
Related article: Tetra Fry Tank Set-Up: Fish Tank Requirement For The Fry
Breeding Process of Bentosi White Fin Tetra
For breeding, separate the male and female Ornate tetras from conditioning them. You can feed plenty of live foods such that the breeding is optimized. Then, put the breeding pair into a breeding tank in the evening.
Likewise, you will know your Bentosi white fin is pregnant once she has the rounded belly. Make sure you choose colorful males. To make the process faster, you may keep 1 or 2 males with several females.
The plants with fine leaves are the place where your Bentosi White Fin Tetra will release eggs. Firstly, they will spawn in the morning. Since the parents will eat their eggs and fry, you have to immediately remove them from the tank.
The spawned eggs will hatch in 24 to 36 hours approximately. Likewise, your fry will be swimming freely after 5 days.
Besides, you should change the water frequently in the tank. However, make sure you do not remove any fry in this process.
Learn more from Breeding Tetra Fish – Step By Step Guide
Feeding Your Bentosi White Fin Tetra Fry
Fry food is quite different than full-grown adult fish food. You shall feed the fry infusoria-type foods until they are young. Gradually, you can start feeding them on a micro worm or brine shrimp nauplii as they grow. Get to know more about How To Feed Tetra Fish Fry Properly | Dos and Don’ts With Alternative Fry Food.
When the baby fish reach maturity and become large enough, you can keep them with their parents and other tankmates.
Fish Diseases
Bentosi White Fin Tetras are quite hardy if you maintain your tank well. However, you will face some problems if your tank has a high water current and aggressive fish.
Things you add to your aquarium can bring bacteria with them. Along with other fish, plants, substrate, as well as other decor items can cause your tetra to become sick. Hence, take care and clean anything you introduce to your tank.
You will be happy to know that your Bentosi White Fin tetra will not cause an outbreak in the tank if you deal with it in the early stages. It is majorly because they are resilient. However, it is hard to find out the infection in the first stages.
Hence, you have to take care of the tetras before the disease breaks out. For this, you have to provide a properly balanced diet and a good environment for your Bentos. Besides, a good environment here means the one which is close to their natural habitat.
In this way, you can decrease the stress of the fish and keep them happy as well as healthy. The major cause of diseases is stress, which is uprooted by a good environment in the tank.
Like other tetras, your Bentosi White Fin is also vulnerable to skin flukes, a bacterial disease, parasitic infestations (protozoa, worms, etc.), bacterial infections (general), and ichthyobodo infection.
Keeping a check on such diseases by prior information will help you to rule out further difficulties! Thus, check out our other article about Tetra Fish Diseases and Treatments.
Availability
Bentosi White Fin Tetra is commonly found with the Rosy Tetra as they look pretty similar to each other. Besides, you might find these tetras in fish stores as special offers. However, the sad news is it is difficult to find it online!
Frequently Asked Question
What Are The Similarities And Differences Between The Bentosi White Fin Tetra and Rosy Tetra?
Similarities include a pink to deep salmon body color with dark red markings on their fin. The way Bentosi White Fin is unique is because of its transparent body! The second best thing is the faint grayish shoulder patch on these fish.
A fish enthusiast can undeniably differentiate between the two without any difficulty with the features I mentioned above.
Additionally, the fin coloration is slightly different between the two. As the name suggests, you can part the Bentosi White Fin tetra by the white markings on its fins. Likewise, the fins on dorsal and pelvic areas are such a color which gives them the infamous name ‘white tip.’
On the other hand, Rosy Tetra has an opposite black marking on its dorsal fins. Besides, the two might also have white fins and white fins in exceptional cases.
Last Words
Hence, Bentosi White Fin Tetra is a fish that increases the beauty of your aquarium and challenges you as an aquarist. They are fairly hardy, but you have to keep great care of the fish tank.
If you are able to clean and maintain the tanks, Bentosi White Fin tetras will be more than happy in their school. Happy fishkeeping!
Related articles:
False Penguin Tetra (Thayeria Boehlkei) – Care Sheet
Top 10 Easy to Care Tetra Fish – Perfect For Beginners
The Lifespan of Tetra Fish | Keeping you Tetras Healthy and Happy
