Genus · Tetras

Rachoviscus

Rachoviscus is a genus with 2 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Tetras section, recorded from Brazil. 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 · 1 threatened
Recorded from
Brazil

About the genus

Rachoviscus is a small genus of characins native to coastal river drainages in Brazil. The genus's 2 species in the atlas are small, 1.5–2 in, with the slim body and forked tail typical of tetra-like characins, and both carry descriptive common names reflecting head and fin shape - the cherryfin tetra (Rachoviscus crassiceps) and the slender-headed tetra (R. graciliceps). The genus has had a somewhat unsettled taxonomic history, having at times been treated as a distinct lineage within the characins rather than grouped with more familiar tetra genera.

Both species are part of the atlas's CARES priority list, the conservation-breeding program aimed at range-restricted or threatened fish that depend on hobbyist populations as a hedge against wild decline, reflecting real concern for the genus's status - one species has not yet been formally evaluated by IUCN and the other is assessed Endangered. Little detailed husbandry information circulates in the mainstream hobby literature, and specimens are seen mainly among dedicated South American characin keepers rather than in general trade.

IUCN Red List: Endangered · 1 Not Evaluated · 1CARES 2 on the priority list

The 2 species

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

Myers, 1926

Cherryfin Tetra, Gold Tetra

1.5 in SL · NE CARES

Weitzman & Cruz, 1981

Slender-headed Tetra

2 in SL · EN CARES

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How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Rachoviscus. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/rachoviscus/

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