🐟 Black Morpho Tetra (Poecilocharax weitzmani)
A Dark, Striking Body With Elongated, Colourful Fins in Males • A Naming Note: Not a True Tetra, and Doesn't School Like One • A Specialist Species for the Experienced Keeper
 
A note on naming: the Black Morpho Tetra, also sold as the Black Darter Tetra or Weitzman Tetra, is actually a South American darter rather than a true tetra, belonging to the family Crenuchidae rather than Characidae. Unlike almost every other small characin, it does not form schools at all, males are territorial toward one another rather than shoaling together.
📋 The Black Morpho Tetra has a dark, striking body, with males developing notably longer, more colourful dorsal and anal fins than females, a clear visual difference between the sexes.
It comes from a wide distribution across the upper Solimões, upper Negro, and upper Orinoco river basins in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela, inhabiting soft, acidic, tannin-stained forest streams. Every Black Morpho Tetra we ship is feeding well.
This is a specialist species best suited to an experienced keeper, most successfully kept as a single male with several females, or in a dedicated species-only setup, rather than in groups that include multiple males. Males are genuinely attentive parents, guarding their young after spawning. It does best in a mature, spacious tank furnished with dark sandy substrate, driftwood, and small caves for shelter and breeding. It reaches up to 4cm, so a 60L tank suits it well.
 
💡 Highlights
⚫ Dark, Striking Body: With long, colourful fins in mature males
🔍 A Naming Note Worth Knowing: A darter, not a true tetra, and doesn't school
👑 Territorial Males: Best as one male with several females, not multiple males together
🐣 Attentive Fathers: Males actively guard their young after spawning
🎓 A Specialist Species: Best suited to an experienced keeper