The Neon Tetra

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General information

Paracheirodon innesi of the characin family, also called ‚the neon tetra‘ is probably the most known freshwater fish kept at home aquariums. This peaceful and schooling species does well in groups of 10 or more. You could find recommendations like 5+ tetras, 7+ tetras or whatever. However, my personal experiences say that more neon tetras equal happy fish. Therefore, it’s recommended to buy a species tank with 50-100 neons. In my experience, it looks terrific. Moreover, large shoals will attract your eyes more than any TV program. Well organized tank for neon tetras means plenty of plants, a bit acidic and soft water.

Generally, neon tetras are very shy, what is noticeable if you keep only 2 or 3 of them. They come from South America’s moderate sized rivers, southeast Colombia and eastern parts of Peru, where the water is usually dark-yellow or dark-brown. It makes the sense, since such rivers are full of woden pieces, plants (dead or alive). Such elements help the water to be acidic. I’ve seen many neon tetras in the crystal water in the shops, but they look terrific if kept in dark coloured waters. It’s because their colours visualise much more.

The neon tetra is a small fish, which grows up to 4 cm (1.57 inches), looks for slowly moving waters and likes stable chemistry. There is no rule about height of the tank, so you can keep them in the shallow waters as well as deep tanks.

Temperament

Unlike peaceful neons, some larger fish may harass on smal neons. Species like Angel fish or Gouramis may consider them as a kind of live food. It makes the sense, since the Angel fish usualy eat Neon tetras in the wild. Basically, if you keep them together, make sure they have been kept in one tank since they were small fish. It’s like cats and dogs; If you keep a baby dog with a baby cat, they will probably like each other.

Nutrition

Firstly, neon tetras are omnivores. They will eat brine shripm, flakes, granules, frozen food, or tubifex. Feeding should be provided at least two times a day.

Breeding

In my opinion, neon tetras should be kept in the species tanks of capacity 100 Litres (26.41 US Gallons and 21.99 UK Gallons) and more. It has the simple reason; Every fish need enough space and I strictly refuse to keep them in tanks of about 15 Litres (3.96 US Gallons and 3.29 UK Gallons). A severy fish, the neon tetras need swimming areas or hiding places. Only if they’re happy, they’ll breed successfully. If you want to do so, you’ll need a pair of them in a breeding tank. A good choice is to remove all light at first, since they usually breed during night or early day hours. Another way, how to help them to breed is to introduce some mosquito larvae into the tank. Generally, live food is the most recommended substance for any fish breeding. As soon as the eggs are laid, remove the male and the female, because they could eat the newborns. If the tank is of large size, it shouldn’t be any problem to leave them in the aquarium. The eggs will hatch within 25-35 hours and they wil be free-swimming in about 5 days. Fed the fry with infusoria or egg yolk. As the small fish grow switch to brine shrimp, or shaved cattle liver. It will take about 1 month until the fry change to adult size. Once the small neons are born, they may live about 5 years at all. If kept under proper conditions, it’s lifespan could be about 7 years. On the other hand, many aquarists don’t follow all guidelines and the fish die of age 2 years or less.

Some other notes to breeding: Females are more rounded than males and are usually bigger than males. Breeding in captivity is possible, however you should give them enough space instead of keeping 20 neon tetras in a small tank.

Colours and diseases

The neon tetra is of dark olive-green colour combinated with the silver-white and red. Usually, they lose the colours during the night hours, becaue the fish rest. When they become active, what is usually in the morning, the colours come back. If any fish is of poor or miserable colours, it’s the attribute of some disease. Please note, that any dramatic change to their environment could cause unpredictable behaviour or diseases.

Probably the most common disease is called ‚the neon tetra disease pleistophora‘. This disease roots in the microsporidian parasite which enters the fish after comsuming some infected material. The major symptoms are restlessness, losing the colours, swimming problems. The only ’treatment’ means removing the sick fish. Diatom filter may reduce the number of parasites in the tank.

Pictures

Provided by Mihail of Romania.



In this article, I used some information which are available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neon_tetra.

Another article about Neon Tetras outside of aqua-fish.net

• Neon Tetras and Bettas at nippyfish.net!

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The Neon Tetra

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