Genus · Tetras

Bathyaethiops

Bathyaethiops is a genus with 6 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Tetras section, recorded from Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Adult sizes run from 1 in to 3 in. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas
6
Adult sizes
1–3 in
IUCN assessed
6 of 6
Recorded from
4 countries

About the genus

Bathyaethiops is a genus of small African tetras in the family Alestidae, restricted to the Congo basin — the atlas has records from Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The 6 species in the atlas are diminutive schooling fish, from about 1–3 in, native to the forest streams and blackwater-influenced tributaries that thread through the Congo basin's rainforest, alongside many other small characiform tetras in the region.

The common names recorded in the atlas — African Moon Tetra (Bathyaethiops caudomaculatus), Red-back moon tetra (B. flammeus), Green Moonfish Tetra (B. greeni), and Baka Tetra (B. baka) — point to a genus known to specialist African-tetra keepers rather than the general aquarium trade, where it remains an uncommon import compared with better-known Congo basin relatives such as Phenacogrammus. Conservation data are still catching up with the genus: four of the six species in the atlas have not yet been formally assessed, and the two that have both carry Least Concern ratings.

IUCN Red List: Least Concern · 2 Not Evaluated · 4

The 6 species

Every Bathyaethiops recorded in this atlas. Each card links to a full researched profile — distribution, water parameters, and aquarium care, cited to primary sources.

Mamonekene & Stiassny, 2012

1.5 in SL · NE

Moritz & Schliewen, 2016

Baka Tetra, Dwarf Moon Tetra

1 in SL · NE

(Poll, 1945)

2 in SL · NE

(Pellegrin, 1925)

African Moon Tetra

3 in TL · LC

Moritz & Schliewen, 2016

Red-back moon tetra

1.5 in SL · NE

(Fowler, 1949)

Green Moonfish Tetra, Green's Moonfish Tetra

2.5 in TL · LC

Explore further

How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Bathyaethiops. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/bathyaethiops/

← All Tetras