Muzels Are a Cherry of a Tetra

Muzel Red Cherry Tetra belong to the Hyphessobrycon genus (at least for now). These Tetras all feature a deeper body shape and get a bit bigger than the more common (and well known) Neon Tetras. These are a “newer” Tetra in regard to their availability in North America, giving them a rarity panache that many more common Tetras don't have. Originally, the wild specimens were native to Brazil but most of the fish available to hobbyists now are aquacultured. They have a passing resemblance to a few other, more common Hyphessobrycons like Flame and Ember Tetras, but will have deeper overall colors as adults as well as orange to red fins (the same color as the body shape).

Like most Tetras, Muzel Red Cherrys are excellent aquarium fish, they are very peaceful and hardy and do well in a variety of aquarium set ups, including planted displays. Even though they get a bit bigger than the Neons, they still stay pretty small. You'll commonly see them at your local fish store in the half to three quarter inch size, and at adulthood they might get up to an inch and a half or so. Smaller specimens will be somewhat pale, but as they age and are well fed, they'll develop their trademark deep orange to red coloration.

If you've read any of our other Tetra articles, you'll remember that the key to keeping them is that they love being kept in groups. Schooling behavior is a defense system for them in the wild, and even the aquacultured specimens maintain this behavior. We suggest never keeping less than six and a better idea would be to keep as many as you can in the space you have. You can also mix and match Tetra species to tailor the look of your display any way you like. With this in mind, you should still keep at least six of every species you choose.

A group of this size will be just fine in a tank as small as 20 gallons. They are open water fish and will prefer space over cover, so keep this in mind when planning your display. They look great and do well in planted set ups, just make sure to leave them some open space to school. Filtration for a tank of Muzel Red Cherry Tetras should cycle the entire tank volume around two times an hour (20-gallon tank should have filters capable of 40gph). You want to balance the flow in the system to keep the water as clean as possible while not overwhelming the fish with current. Lighting should be planned around the needs of any plants in the tank but acclimate the Muzels to very bright light over time.

All Tetras will show their best colors when fed a high quality, varied diet. These fish are omnivores in the wild, eating just about anything they can fit in their tiny mouths. In your tank, they'll be just fine on high quality, nutrient dense pellets like Nutramar Complete, and/or a good flake food, but will look their most vibrant when you supplement this with other quality foods like thawed offerings from Gamma. Here they get a mix of these foods including Daphnia, a variety of Brine, and Cyclops. We feed them twice a day, and this is totally adequate for them in the home aquarium. You could even feed them once a day if you ensured that all the fish were getting enough food in that one feeding.

As aquacultured fish, they are somewhat less picky about water chemistry than their wild forebears. In an ideal set up, you'd keep Muzel Red Cherry Tetras in water that was in the 72–78-degree range, with water that was of average hardness and was slightly acidic (6.5-7.0). Water should be nice and clean, so maintain consistent water changes and keep nitrates under 20ppm. They can be displayed in stained water set ups, but this isn't necessary and doesn't always showcase the stunning colors of these fish the way you'd like to see.

Good tankmates for these Tetras include pretty much anything that won't eat them or harass them mightily; think about fish like Corydoras, Dwarf Gourami species, other Tetras (obviously), Pearl Danios, even Apistogramma Cichlids like A. caucatuoides, A. borelli and A. baenschi. Muzel's will be fine with pretty much any invertebrates except for the smallest decorative Shrimp and their offspring.

All of us here love a display with a large number of Tetras, whether or not they're all one species or a mixed group. Tetras bring color and activity like nothing else in freshwater fish keeping. Muzel Red Cherrys offer a stunning color that isn't seen in very many other aquarium fish. Their presence in numbers in any tank also has a dither effect, encouraging other timid fish to be bolder and in the open more often. If you're looking for the perfect schooling fish for peaceful community or planted setup, think about a group of Muzel Red Cherry Tetras and ask your Local Fish Store about getting you some from Aquatropic!