Named in memory of a Colonel Bentos, who was a volunteer on the Thayer Expedition to Brazil (1865–1866), during which the type specimen was collected.

It is silvery pink, and has a dark spot around the gills, which distinguishes it from the rosy tetra.

Males have longer dorsal and anal fins and appear slightly larger than females.

[4] The ornate tetra lives in sluggish tributaries of the Amazon River, associated flood plain lakes.

Most individuals in the aquarium trade are bred commercially over collecting them in the wild.