Genus · Tetras

Boehlkea

Boehlkea is a genus with 2 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Tetras section, recorded from Brazil and Peru. Adult sizes run from 1.5 in to 2 in. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas
2
Adult sizes
1.5–2 in
IUCN assessed
2 of 2
Recorded from
2 countries

About the genus

Boehlkea is a small genus of characins from the upper Amazon basin, known from Brazil and Peru, and named for the American ichthyologist James Boehlke. Its two species - Boehlkea fredcochui and Boehlkea weitzmani - are slim-bodied schooling tetras in the 1.5–2 in range, sharing the compressed, torpedo-shaped build typical of open-water Amazonian characins and an iridescent blue sheen along the flank that is the genus's most distinctive trait.

Boehlkea fredcochui, sold in the trade as Cochu's blue tetra, is the genus's aquarium face - a classic small schooling characin prized for its electric-blue body color under the right lighting, kept in community and blackwater-style setups much like other small blue Amazonian tetras. It does best in soft, acidic water that echoes its native tributaries, and shows its color most strongly in a shoal of a dozen or more. Boehlkea weitzmani is far less established in the hobby by comparison. fredcochui is assessed Least Concern; weitzmani has not yet been evaluated, leaving its conservation picture unclear.

IUCN Red List: Least Concern · 1 Not Evaluated · 1

The 2 species

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

Géry, 1966

Cochu's Blue Tetra, Blue Tetra

2 in TL · LC

Soares, Bertaco, Ito & Zuanon, 2017

1.5 in SL · NE

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How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Boehlkea. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/boehlkea/

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