The Dawn Tetra is a hardy and undemanding, very active fish and remarkably aggressive towards fish that are slower moving, similar in size or smaller; therefore, they are not suitable for the community tank. However, the more significant the group, the less aggressive they become
The Dawn Tetra has a torpedo-shaped silver body with opalescent pale green reflecting from the scales behind the gill plates along the central, lateral area to the root of the caudal fin.
This fish is unique as it has a moderately full, black line running along the line of the spine from the back of the gills to its caudal fin and then continuing along the lower caudal fin to its tip.
Most of the fins are transparent. The anal fin has a strong, black band closest to the body before becoming transparent. The caudal peduncle is black and extends into the caudal fin about one-third of the way to the back of the tail. Below and above this black section of the caudal fin have white patches which extend, again, about one third the length of the caudal fin. The rest of the caudal fin is transparent.