Neon Tetra: Everything You Need to Know
The neon tetra belongs to the family of the characins and is one of the most popular ornamental fish along with goldfish and guppies.
The neon tetra owes its great popularity above all to its bright colouring.
Origin of the neon tetra
The neon tetra is a freshwater fish that originally comes from the upper Amazon basin, where it still occurs in nature today. However, the commercially available neon tetras are usually offsprings from East Asia.
Characteristics of the neon tetra
The neon tetra reaches a length of about 3.5 to 4 centimetres. It has a slender physique, with females having a slightly rounded belly compared to males. The fins of the neon tetra, as the neon fish is also called, are transparent.
However, the most characteristic feature of the neon tetra is its colour. It has a bright, turquoise blue stripe that extends from its eyes over a large part of its body. Underneath this is a red bar from the caudal fin to about the middle of the body.
Therefore neon fish "glow".
Due to the strong reflection of the strip, the impression is created that neon fish are glowing, which is of course not the case. Nevertheless, the colourfulness of the neon tetra does not really serve the visual appearance of the animals.
At least in the wild, the bright colours have a practical purpose. This is because the small fish usually live in a shoal, which makes the reflections of the individual animals particularly strong and helps to keep potential predators from attacking.
Other species of the neon tetra
Besides the neon tetra (Paracheirodon innesi) described here, there are two other known species of neon fish, the blue and the red neon.
The blue neon (Paracheirodon simulans) reaches a length of about three centimetres. In contrast to the neon tetra, the red coloration under the blue stripe is completely missing in the blue neon.
The red neon (Paracheirodon axelrodi) grows up to five centimetres and differs from its two relatives mainly in that the red bar below the blue stripe extends over the entire length of the animal.
Although the different neon fishes are visually only slightly different from each other, they are independent species and different criteria must be taken into account when keeping them.
How old do neon tetras become?
The life expectancy of free-living neon fish is significantly lower than that of their conspecifics kept in aquaria. While neon tetras in the wild usually only live for one to two years, the fish in an aquarium can reach an age of six to ten years.
Keeping neon tetras
The neon tetra is a schooling fish that is considered relatively easy to keep. The aquarium should have a volume of at least 60 litres and the length or width should not be less than 60 centimetres.
A swarm of neon tetras should consist of at least 10 to 12 animals, whereby a larger aquarium naturally also makes it possible to keep a larger number of the colourful small fish.
A keeping with other small ornamental fish from South America is normally possible without problems. However, it is then important to make sure that the roommates can cope with the water temperatures between 20 and 24 degrees Celsius, which are preferred by the neon tetra.
Installation of an aquarium for neon tetras
The planting of the aquarium may be dense for the Neonsalmler here and there. However, it is important to make sure that the fish still have enough room to swim, which is why plants should ideally be placed in the back of the aquarium.
Since male neon tetras like to mark their territory, the aquarium should also be stocked with roots and stones. These serve the fish as territory and hiding places.
The bottom of the aquarium should be as dark as possible. On the one hand, this corresponds to the natural habitat of the neon tetra and, on the other hand, ensures that the colourfulness of the fish is shown to its best advantage.
Furthermore, it should be noted that neon tetras prefer subdued light. This can be achieved either with dimmable lighting or suitable floating plants, such as South American frog bite.
Breeding neon tetras
While the red neon is very difficult to breed in captivity and therefore the fish in aquariums are mostly wild-caught, breeding attempts with the neon tetra prove to be much more successful. Nevertheless, a certain amount of experience is required to breed the small neon fish.
First, a male and a female must be selected and transferred to a separate aquarium. This should be filled with particularly soft water and equipped with suitable aquatic plants where the female can lay her eggs.
Since neon tetras mate at night in the wild, the aquarium must also be darkened for reproduction. After the eggs have been fertilised by the male, the parent animals can be put back into the tank.
Neonfish diseases
With the neon tetra there is an increased susceptibility to contracting the so-called neon disease. Its symptoms include in particular dark or even light discoloration of the body. In addition, it can lead to a curvature of the spine and balance problems.
A successful treatment of the neon disease is normally not possible and the course usually ends with the death of the diseased fish.
To prevent the disease from spreading to the rest of the population, infected neon tetras must be removed from the aquarium immediately and transferred to a quarantine tank.
Neon tetra nutrition
Neon tetras prefer to feed on small crabs, water fleas or mosquito larvae, which can be provided to them both as live food and as frozen food.
It’s also possible to use high quality ornamental fish food in the form of flakes or tablets to feed the neon tetras. This is easier to handle and also contains all nutrients that are important for the health and vitality of the neon tetras.
Aquaris ornamental fish food for neon tetras
Our fish food from Aquaris gives your fish all the nutrients they need. The high-quality food consists of selected ingredients and is particularly easy to digest.
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