Coffee Bean Tetra

About

The coffee bean tetra (Hyphessobrycon takasei) is a small, peaceful schooling fish native to the Araguari and Oyapock River basins of South America. The common name nods to the dark, oval blotch on the body that resembles a roasted coffee bean. Once you know what you're looking for, it's an easy fish to identify at a glance. This species was first introduced to the European hobby through Germany back in 1962, giving it a fairly long history in the aquarium trade even if it never quite reached the mainstream popularity of some of its tetra cousins. In the aquarium it's a calm, sociable fish that does best kept in a group, as you'd expect from any shoaling species. A school moving together through a planted tank looks natural and relaxed. It's listed as intermediate care, so while it isn't particularly demanding, it does appreciate water conditions on the softer and slightly acidic side to really thrive and show its best color. A well-planted setup with subdued lighting will suit it nicely and bring out the contrast of that signature body marking. Lifespan runs around three to five years with good husbandry.