Ember Tetra Tankmates: Best And Worst

When you are new to fish-keeping, you want to fill your tank with varieties of fish and species to make your tank look attractive and desirable. If you already have ember tetras and want to create schooling in the tank, you wonder what tankmates you can add with them. You might also like to add every colorful fish with your tetra that you see in the pet store. However, you cannot go picking all the fish from the pet store. So, it is important to ask yourself which fish are ideal ember tetra tankmates? Likewise, which fish you have to avoid keeping along with ember tetra?

The ideal tankmate for ember tetra are community fish such as harlequin Rasboras, neon tetras, guppies, glowlight tetras, and cardinal tetras since they are small and peaceful.

Likewise, this tetra can live happily with fish like rosy barbs, rainbowfish, danios, Pictus catfish, as well as some tetras like coffee bean tetra, diamond tetra, and emperor tetra.

However, you have to keep aggressive and predatory fish away from ember tetra. Some fish like angelfish, Bala shark, kissing gourami, Oscar are the worst tankmate for ember tetra.

Few factors like temperature, water parameters, fish origin, and behavior will help you decide to choose tankmates for ember tetra.

Before we go to the main topic of this article, let me give you an overview.

Classification

Here is the classification of ember tetra.

Family	Characidae
Scientific Name	Hyphessobrycon Amanda
Phylum	Chordata
Rank	Species

Does Ember Tetra Need Tankmates? If So, Why?

Yes, ember tetra needs tankmates as they can get stressed and feel bored if not placed with tankmates.

Pairing or adding other fish along with this tetra helps them to feel happy and in companionship.

Ember tetra is schooling fish undoubtedly, it needs tankmates around them. However, it does not mean that if this tetra needs tankmates and, you overload the tank with large groups of fishes and species.

It is because ember tetra does not like over host tank or does not like the company of tons of fish/invertebrates at once.

It is because this tetra is a quiet fish type and a bit shy because of this nature, it can make them a bit uncomfortable in the overcrowded tank.

Reasons Why Ember Tetra Enjoys Company Of Mates

Here is the reason why ember tetra enjoys the company of mates:

Living with tankmates simply makes ember tetra happy and safe.
So that they can become more social.
Presence of tankmates helps them to feel secure and close to their habitat.
The company of tankmates can help ember tetra to prevent boredom and reduce stress.

Things To Be Careful While Choosing Friend For Ember Tetra

All fish need a responsible and nurturing owner. If you are planning to make a home for ember tetras then, you have to place this tetra around other fish and species. But at the same time, you have to be careful while choosing tankmates for them.

Let me give you the list of things to be careful of while choosing a friend for this tetra:

Do not add fish with sharp fins since it can nip the muscle of ember tetra and make them bleed.
Avoid fish that is larger than ember tetras.
Buy tank according to the groups and number of fish. For instance, you can use the general aquarium thumb rule which says one inch of fish per one gallon.
Do not overload your tank with a large and heavy decorative items. Leave enough space for your tetra and its tankmates to swim.
If you want to create schooling, do not buy tanks less than 10 gallons. It is because while schooling when you will add varieties of the fish breed, they cannot adjust in the tank smaller than 10-gallons.
Select the tankmates who needs water parameters similar to ember tetras.
Bring fish breed that swims in the bottom range of the tank. It is because ember tetra swims in the middle range of the tank. This cannot allow any of them to get in each other’s way.
Try to keep the ember tetra in the community tank at its young age. Since it will make them adapt to the tank earlier.

10 Best Tankmates For Ember Tetras

Ember tetra cannot go with every fish type. Like other fish, they also have a choice and match regarding tankmates. So, they prefer their tankmate to be peaceful, friendly, and compatible.

For picking the ideal tankmate for ember tetra, before you choose or purchase fish from the market, you have to do some research about fish behavior and its nature. After this only you can add them with your tetra.

Here is the list of ideal tankmates for ember tetra that you can go through.

Guppies

Guppies enjoy schooling and you can add them with other fish as tankmates. These fish are usually good neighbors to their tankmates who never provoke fights and aggressive behavior toward their tankmates. However, guppies can nip at long-finned fish like Angelfish, clown loach, and Bala sharks.

Classification Of Guppies

Life span	around 2 years
Care level	Easy
Behavior	Non-aggressive
Diet	Omnivore

Feeding guppies is also a piece of cake, as they can eat anything you give to them. So, you can feed them food items including plants, and meats or you can simply feed them the same food you give to ember tetra. Guppies feel comfortable while they are in the company of their own kinds such as ember tetra. Both of them are shy, friendly, and peaceful in nature.

Dwarf Gourami

Dwarf gourami fish is known as” dwarf” since they are small and tiny comparing to other gouramis or other fish types.

This gourami is in green, blue, red, and orange colors. Dwarf gourami needs intermediate care. So, you don’t have to worry about caring for dwarf gourami.

Classification Of Dwarf Gourami

Life span	3-4 years
Care level	Intermediate
Behavior	Peaceful and playful
Diet	Omnivorous

Dwarf gourami can be awesome tankmates to ember tetra, as both of them share the same diets like algae, green veggies worms, and shrimps.

This fish breed is one of the ideal tankmates for your tetra because they are as quiet and active.

Similarly, dwarf gourami provides good company to the ember tetra. In the same vein, this fish is playful, and it helps to entertain other fish in the tank and make them feel safe and happy.

Barbs

Barbs is usually a playful and colorful fish that’s why many fishkeepers like keeping barbs with other fish in the tank. These fish are friendly in nature, and they give pretty good company to their tankmates.

Classification Of Barbs

Life span	6 to 7 years
Care level	Easy
Behavior	Hardy and peaceful
Diet	Omnivorous

Likewise, barbs such as gold barbs are also very easy to care for and maintain. (if you are adding gold barbs).

These fish help other fish to be playful and also to be active like them. Similarly, the tank setup of the barbs and ember tetra is almost the same, with floating plants creating darkness inside the tank.

Barbs also share the same river habitat as ember tetra who like slow-moving water. You can add some peaceful and small barbs such as checkerboard, gold barbs, and cherry barbs with your tetra.

Rasboras

Rasboras fish is a very active and noiseless fish comparing to other fish. Many fish owners and aquarists love petting Rasboras fish.

These fish are small in size with a length of (2.75inches) which is almost the same size as ember tetra.

Feeding Rasboras is also an easy task as they are not picky eaters, they can simply eat food like frozen peas, veggies, oats, carrots, broccolis salmon, and flakes, etc.

Classification Of Rasboras Fish

Life span	5 to 8 years
Care level	Easy
Behavior	Peaceful and supportive
Diet	Micro predators and Omnivorous

Rasboras is so tempting fish that anyone can love them who can also be divine tankmate for your ember tetra because they are so easy to care for and are very supportive fish.

The Rasboras are schooling fish. So, they want to be around 5 to 6 groups of fish while housing.

Rasboras fish and ember tetra both likes dry leaves scraps at the bottom of the tank which mimics their habitat of south America’s forest. Similarly, Rasboras fish is very good at providing company to other tankmates.

Pygmy Corydoras

Pygmy Corydoras fish is attractive small fish. These fish have smallmouth and even as omnivores, they do not eat small fish. It is because they prefer a diet of algae wafers than live fish.

Classification Of Pygmy Corydoras

Life span	Up to 3 years
Care level	Easy
Behavior	Soft and quiet
Diet	Omnivore

Pygmy Corydoras fish is nonaggressive fish. They play with their tankmates and help them become more joyful and secure.

Also, pygmy is easy to take care of and their character, water parameters, and temperature also match with the ember tetra fish. So, pygmy is also the ideal tankmate for your tetra.

Discus

Discus fish is a beautiful and eye-catching fish. Due to their wonderful color-patterns and quiet behavior, many fish owners like them.

Not only fish owners but other fish also adores being around them. Discus fish can be found in yellow to blue color while some discus fish is in the color red.

Discus does not like being alone in the tank as it needs a company as ember tetra needs. So, it is pretty simple that both are good for each other in the tank.

Classification Of Discus.

Life span	10-11 years
Care level	Intermediate
Behavior	Peaceful
Diet	Cyanobacteria and meaty meals

Discus fish boost their tank mates to play inside the tank, making them feel happier and comfortable.

They love being at the lower part of the tank also they love to hide behind plants and play with their tankmates.

Discus and ember tetra loves tanks with varieties and loads of green vegetation. Also, both of these species love swimming in slow-moving water. These are the reason you can keep discus with your tetra.

Neon Tetras

Neon tetras are non-aggressive, peaceful, and gentle tetra. These tetras are beautiful and very wonderful to watch who are vibrant and playful.

Neon tetras are schooling fish that can go with small fish types like ember tetra, Rasboras, loaches, mollies, etc.

Classification Of Neon Tetras.

Life span	9-10 years
Care level	Easy
Behavior	Peaceful
Diet	Omnivorous

Neon tetras are excellent in the case of being tankmates, you will never see them creating any trouble in the schooling tank.

These tetras share the same swimming space in the middle of the tank with ember tetras. Both neon tetras and ember tetras like slow-moving and warm water.

It is because both of them came from amazon river basins in South America. In a similar vein, neon tetra can manage a broad range of temperature and eat a wide variety of food items without a fuss.

Kuhli Loach

Kuhli loach is freshwater fish who are shy scavengers and does best when placed with peaceful fish like ember tetra.

These fish prefer less acidic water with 5.5-6 ph. Both Kuhli loach and ember tetra prefer soft water.

Classification of Kuhli Loach.

Life span	10 years
Care level	Easy
Behavior	Peaceful
Diet	Omnivore

Kuhli loach can be compatible with ember tetra since they require similar habitat as ember tetra.

Diet for this fish is also easy since they eat the leftover food which has sunk on the sand. Similarly, this fish tends to get nervous from time to time and that’s why they spend most of their time hiding behind the artificial plants and rocks without disturbing ember tetra hence no territorial issue.

Shrimps

Adding shrimps as a tankmate for ember tetra and other community fish can be a pretty good idea.

Shrimps have elongated bodies type, and they are small in size. These invertebrates are quiet and are not dangerous at all.

Since most of the time, they do not move. Similarly, this invertebrate lives at the bottom of the tank while ember tetra swims in the middle range of water. So, both of them cannot get in their way.

Also, shrimps do not need special care or an advanced care schedule. Therefore, you can simply apply the same caring schedule as ember tetra.

This invertebrate makes your tetra feel like a native home as ember tetra also lives with many invertebrates in their habitat.

The most interesting thing about these shrimps is they can eat left-out food, decaying plant matter, fish poop, and algae from the tank. So, it is beneficial for the tank as well.

Here is the list of some ideal shrimps as a tankmate for ember tetra:

Blue Tiger Shrimps
Ghost Shrimps
Panda Shrimps
Crystal Red Shrimps
Red Cherry Shrimps
Bee Shrimp
Amano Shrimp
Red Rili Shrimp
Blue Bolt Shrimps
Blue Pearl Shrimps

African Dwarf Frog

African dwarf is a mellow, uncompetitive, non-aggressive, and peaceful frog who can easily go with community fish such as mollies, guppies, neon tetras, ember tetras, and danios.

This frog can only grow up to 2.5 inches in length who surely cannot occupy the tank’s territory.

The adaptable and peaceful nature of this African dwarf enhances many fish keepers to add as a tankmate for ember tetra or any other tropical fish.

To make your tank feel at home for ember tetra and African dwarf, make sure you add enough plants.

It is because both of them admire the presence of abundant plants to reduce stress. African dwarf prefers temperature between 75-80 F and a pH level of 6.6.

Also, both ember tetra and African dwarf prefer shallow water. Most of the time this frog stay submerged underwater and rarely comes up.

So, there is no chance that ember tetra and African dwarf can come in each other’s way.

Not to forget, just make sure to keep an eye on our frogs and don’t make them starve. So, they won’t devour or chase their tankmates.

Worst Community Fish Types To Avoid For Ember Tetras

As you know what tankmates to keep with ember tetra fish, now let me show you the worst fish which you must avoid.

Worst community fish does a lot of harm to their tankmates that can result in poor tank condition and cause a lot of sadness for any fish owner.

Likewise, picking inappropriate and worst fish can lead to a lot of problems for your ember tetras.

Some fish can give company to ember fish while some can be dangerous to get along. So, you have to wisely choose tankmates for your tetra.

Here are the three different categories of worst community fish :

Aggressive And Predatory Ones

Fish like angelfish, freshwater sharks, Kissing gourami, perch, and pufferfish are aggressive and predatory ones because they feast on small fish.

Moreover, they might look very tempting but keep your ember tetra away from them as they can raise the stress level by frequently chasing their tankmates.

Fin Nippers

Pictus catfish, sucking loach, Bala shark, blood parrot cichlids are also from the worst community group as they harm their tankmates in various ways.

For example, the muscle of ember tetra is soft and fragile, but the sharp and long fins of these worst community fish can nip and hurt your tetra.

Other fish like piranhas, widow tetras, tiger barbs also comes under the category of fin- nippers.

Large-sized

Fish like golden wonder killifish, pleco, Oscar, African leaf fish are large in size as they can grow up to 10 inches.

So, it might be a problem for their tankmates as they cover more than half-space of the tank.

What Number Of Tankmates Can I Keep With Ember Tetra?

You can add at least 7 species as a tankmate for ember tetra. These tetras love being around a group of nine to ten fish breeds.

Moreover, you can effortlessly put 10 groups of fish, if your tank is big enough ( at least 50 gallons). It is because a big tank can have enough space to thrive for the ember tetra and its tankmates.

Not to forget, an overcrowding tank with loads of species is not what your tetra asks for. So, I want you to wisely choose limited and correct tankmates according to your tank size and fish breed.

Can I Keep Ember Tetra Fish With Other Ember Tetra?

Yes, you can go for putting ember tetra fish with other ember tetras. The best tankmate for ember tetras is other ember tetras because they are schooling fish.

They thrive when they live in the school of 7 to 8 of their type. Keeping ember tetras together can help each of them to behave more confidently and shine their bright colors.

However, make sure you choose the ideal and limited number of ember tetra fish, not overloading your tank.

I would suggest you add about 6-7 ember tetra together if you have big gallons(20 to 50 gallons) tank.

In the same vein, you can add an enormous number of ember tetra in the large tank-like 70-gallon tank.

Nevertheless, if you have a small Nano-planted tank or 5-gallon tank, you can add only two to three ember tetra in there.

Final Thought

In a nutshell, ember tetra is great species for your tank as a beginner. They are small and do not fit in the whole tank themselves, that’s why you need to add tankmates with them. You can undoubtedly pick the tankmates such as neon tetra, loaches, guppies, and many more that I have mentioned above. Also, I would like you to be more careful and watchful about overloading the tank. It is because burdening tanks with heaps of fish and species can cause quarreling in the tank. In the same vein, ember tetra fish cannot get enough space to swim and thrive in crowded tanks as well. So, just try to pick a limited and right number of tankmates.

Not to forget make sure you also clean your tank as living in a clean environment can help community fish to be happier and healthier. Also, you are parents and you are the one giving those species native-surrounding. So, make sure you provide them favorable living conditions such as the right temperature, correct water parameters, and a healthy diet. Happy and healthy fish keeping!!!