While these fish are beautiful and fun to watch, beware. They need ample space and numbers to show their best colors and not attack the fins of other fish. They can be extremely aggressive otherwise. So far they have killed one scissor tail rasbora, and nipped the fins of five more of the remaining eight. When they were with my gouramis they nipped them as well.
These fish are very tough yet peaceful. They need a place to hide though, for they are very scared. I have had two of them in my 40 L tank for over 3 years. They are always the first to find the food.
I've had a school of 9 Redeyes in a 245 L for over a year now. So far they haven't shown any aggressive tendencies, not even towards the neons or fancy guppies in the tank. In fact they're the most timid fish in the tank, despite being the largest. They usually hide deep in the plants until feeding time.
I have four, and they still are nipping at other fish, and sometimes each other. This suggests that these fish are better kept in groups of 5 or more. Well planted tanks help, as the plants protect the other fish while giving them a place to occupy themselves.
I currently have four red eye tetras in my 125 L tank. Mine really don't live up to their supposed reputation as fin nippers, and are very peaceful. They always come up to the top when it's feeding time and happily eat flake food out my hand. Great little fish and I am soon to add 2 more to make a better sized shoal.
I got four red eye tetras as starter fish because I was told by the pet store that they would be good community fish. They were some of the most aggressive fish I've had. They nipped at anything with a longer fin. They outlived all of my other tetras. I even put african cichlids in the same tank with them and they more than held their own.
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