Neon Tetra Fish in Aquarium Planted Tank
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Neon Tetra Aquarium Fish in planted Tank
Minimum Tank Size: 5 Gallons (10 Recommended)
Care Level: Easy
Water Conditions: PH 5.5-7.5 and Soft to Medium
Temperature; 68-78F (20-25C)
Maximum Size: 1.5 inches (4 centimeters)
Neon Tetra (Paracheirodon innesi) is a freshwater fish of the characin family of order Characiformes. The type species of its genus, it is native to blackwater or clearwater streams in southeastern Colombia, eastern Peru, and western Brazil, including the tributaries of the Solimões where the water is between 20 and 26°C (68 and 79°F).
Neon Tetra Care : Tetra fish are sensitive to pH and temperature. As they come from warmer climates, it will be necessary to maintain an average water temperature of 75-78 degrees Fahrenheit. So a thermometer and heater are both necessities.
These fish prefer softer water and tend to lose their color in hard water. The optimum pH for the aquarium is 6.8 or slightly acidic. Tetra fish are more prone to disease if kept at higher pH’s.
Since Tetra fish come from places such as the Amazon river, these fish become stressed when subjected to bright lights. So, the aquarium should have floating vegetation to provide a shadowed environment. A good plant for this purpose is the Amazon Frogbit. The aquarium should also be decorated with bog branches, drift wood and live plants, giving the Tetra fish plenty of hiding places to prevent stress.
A darker and shadowy environment will give the added benefit of better displaying the bright colors of these animals.
Neon tetra lifespan of up to ten years, or normally about five in an aquarium.
Neon tetra feeding : flake foods, brine shrimp, daphnia, freeze-dried bloodworms, tubifex, micropellet food, tropical sinking pellet, frozen blood worms.
Neon Tetras Breeding can be difficult, and requires very soft water. To begin with, you need to sex the fish to ensure that you place both a male and a female in the breeding tank. The easiest way to sex them is to observe their bellies – the female’s is rounder and will have a slightly bent line on it. The females will also look slightly plumper from above, but this can be a difficult method to accurately sex the fish.
In order to trigger spawning, the fish should be placed in an aquarium with a very short light cycle. While some people claim that they should be kept in darkness, I have found that a short light cycle which is slowly increased also works very well. Another trigger that often works is performing a very large water change (50% or so) which simulates the seasonal rainfall in their natural habitat.
Once the neon tetras have spawned, the adults should be removed from the aquarium, as they will happily eat all of the eggs they have just laid. The eggs will hatch in about 24 hours, and due to their tiny size should be feed infusoria for the first few days. After this, they can be feed baby brine shrimp, or any of the commercial fry products.