Red devil - Hyphessobrycon piranga - DNZ

The particularly striking and beautifully colored Red Devil Hyphessobrycon piranga was only described as a separate species in 2018. Even before this date, however, the Red Devil was represented in aquaristics, albeit rarely. It is still a real rarity. This dwarf tetra comes from Brazil in South America, from the catchment area of the upper reaches of the Rio Tapajós. They live there in clear water streams with a good current.

The males stand out with beautiful red fins, while the females have yellowish fins. In addition, the red devils have a broad dark longitudinal stripe on the body, which is lined above by a sliver-white stripe. The fish only grow to about 3-4 cm in length.

Red Devils are very lively small schooling fish that like to interact. The very sociable Dwarf Tetras live in nature in streams with lots of plants, so a well planted aquarium with some swimming space in the middle with a size from 54 liters and a minimum group size of 7-10 fish are recommended.

The Red Devil also fits very well in the community aquarium with other small fish or also with catfish. Socialization with larger shrimp can work as well as keeping them with more peaceful dwarf crabs. Hyphessobrycon piranga needs some current in the aquarium and prefers soft to medium hard water with a pH value of 6.5 to 7. The water temperature in the aquarium should be approximately between 24 and 27 °C.

As a typical dwarf tetra, the strikingly colored Red Devil is an omnivore. A high-quality flake food or granulated food for omnivorous fish, supplemented with fine live food and small frozen food makes the small tetra happy.

Breeding Hyphessobrycon piranga can even work in a community aquarium from time to time, but the probability of getting the fry through is much greater in a separate breeding aquarium, as the Red Devil is a spawn predator. The breeding aquarium should run on soft water with a pH of about 6-7.5. The parent fish are fed high quality live and frozen foods and then spawn quickly. The Red Devil is a free spawner, good planting with fine-textured plants or moss or the use of a spawning grate can help to get as many fry as possible. After spawning, catch the adult tetras back out of the breeding aquarium. Feed the red devil larvae with infusoria and slipper lizards after they swim free, and when they are a little larger, switch them to artemia euplii.

Our food recommendation: The fragrant NatureHolic Nanofeed Mini Fish Food was tailor-made for the needs of mini fish and fish with very small mouths. It consists of a fine soft granulate with a grain size of 0.2 mm, which, thanks to its softness, resembles the consistency of tiny crustaceans and insect larvae and protects the delicate mouth from micro-injuries.

Our plant recommendation: Use for planting NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planarians and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free of algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend for fish keeping the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and keeping.