Vampire tetra

Here’s a retail-ready fact sheet for the Vampire tetra (also called the Payara):

🧛 Vampire Tetra (Payara) – Quick Facts

• Scientific name: Hydrolycus armatus
• 🌎 Native to: The Orinoco River and Amazon Basin
• 📏 Size: 3–4 feet in the wild; 24–36 inches in captivity
• 🦷 Fangs: Two massive lower jaw fangs can reach 4–6 inches long
• ⚡ Behavior: Fast, powerful, open-water predator
• 🍽 Diet: Strict carnivore (live fish in wild; frozen/thawed fish, shrimp can be attempted in captivity. Expect only live feeding.)

🏠 Tank Requirements

• Minimum tank: 300+ gallons
• Extremely strong filtration & high oxygenation
• Powerful current preferred
• Tight-fitting lid (powerful jumpers)
• Dim lighting helps reduce stress

Temperament

• Highly predatory
• Not community safe
• Can be skittish when young
• Best with other very large, fast tankmates (if attempted at all)

⚠ Customer Fit

✔ Advanced aquarists

✔ Large custom aquarium owners

✔ Predator fish collectors

✖ Beginners

✖ Standard home aquariums

✖ Mixed community tanks

This is a showpiece apex predator — dramatic appearance, but requires serious tank size and filtration. Great for customers who already keep large catfish, datnoids.