Rarely seen, these beautiful tetras belong among the staples of the aquarium hobby. They can be incredibly active, and shoal together, often occupying the top third of the tank, as well. Though they get a fair bit larger than most other tetras, their size is not unmanageable, and they'll do quite well in even a moderately sized aquarium. Mature individuals have a row of bright red spots along their sides.
As their streamlined body shape may suggest, these fish are jumpers and should be kept in a tightly covered aquarium. Their larger adult size also means that they should not be kept with very small fish, and they may pose a threat to the fry of some fish. However, they are otherwise quite peaceful. Interestingly, they're one of the easiest tetras to spawn, and will breed in shallow depressions dug out under rocks and in other caves. We often find fry in our shop tanks, and many of our customers have sold juveniles back to us!
These fish can be mixed well with any other active, shoaling fishes, as well as some of the larger sized cichlids. Avoid keeping them with fish you wish to spawn, as they may prey on fry.