The Ruby Tetra is a tiny species from Colombia. They grow to a maximum of 2cm, but what they lack in size, they certainly make up for in colour. The aquarium should be heavily planted with soft, acidic water to reflect their natural habitat. The addition of tannins would be welcome, but floating plants can also be sued to diffuse the light instead. This species really does benefit from being in a larger shoal of 10 or more individuals, which will help them feel more at ease and confident to be out in the open.
Ideal tank mates would be other nano species like ember tetra, cories, otocinclus and dwarf cichlids like Apistogrammas. If you don’t mind venturing out of the South American theme, smaller Rasboras and Grouramies like Sparkling will also work well.
Feed micro pellets, flakes