[2] The species is popular with aquarium hobbyists where it is traded under a variety of common names including blackline penguinfish, blackline thayeria, hockey-stick tetra, penguin fish and penguin tetra.

[2][3][4] The fish is named in honor of James E. Böhlke (1930–1982) of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, because of his interest in and contributions to the knowledge of South American characids.

[5] Thayeria inhabits small streams and the margins of smaller rivers in the lowland Amazon basin, where it is part of the highly diverse Neotropical fish fauna.

[2] The species feeds on worms, small insects, flake food and crustaceans.

[2] In captivity, this normally schooling species forms pairs that scatter their many adhesive eggs amongst plants.