Description
Growing to about 6.5 cm (2.6 in) total length, the Colombian tetra is silver-grey in colour. It has a turquoise blue tinge of increasing intensity from the lateral line upwards, which becomes a prominent stripe across the anterior dorsal ridge. The fins are predominantly scarlet red but the colour will fade as the fish rests. The anal fin is usually edged with black, and both dorsal and caudal fins have whitish tips. It resembles Hyphessobrycon ecuadorensis from western Ecuador, and prior to the description of H. columbianus in 2002, the latter had generally been confused with the former.