South and Central American tetras and pencilfishes are popular aquarium species known for their bright colours, schooling or shoaling behaviour, and relatively easy care requirements. They are native to the slow-moving rivers and streams of the Amazon Basin, where they live in large schools to protect themselves from predators or to find food easier. Having 30 pairs of eyes and noses would give the school a better chance of survival in the wild. They would feel most at home in well-planted aquariums that mimic their natural habitats, providing them with plenty of cover and opportunities to display their natural schooling, shoaling or territorial behaviours.