Help: Neon Tetras for Breeding

[mm416]

Hi, I really need someone's help with this issue as soon as possible.

I'm doing a high school biology experiment that I have set up to require breeding fish.

It is meant to include four breeding pairs of neon tetras, however I'm having difficulties finding neon tetras from a pet store that are large enough to be being age.

Does anyone know of an online store where I can buy neon tetras?

If not, then is there another fish I could more easily find of being age that spawns from similar conditions?

Please let me know, I was meant to begin this experiment weeks ago bit could not find the fish.

Thanks!!!

 

[fish wrangler]

Live bearers like guppies, mollies, or platies?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[gemach7]

If it's a large enough tank a pair of convicts. But warning they won't stop breeding if left in the same tank. So will need an exit strategy.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[icydeath]

I doubt most highschoolers have the room for four convict pairs haha

What you could do would be to get live bearers. It is in your best interest to get 1 male to every 2-3 females.

I have a question, does this involve you selectively breeding in anyway or can they just breed among themselves? I wonder because it would defeat the purpose to have 4 breeding groups in one tank because they would just commingle and in the end the value of having a larger sample size vs a smaller one (4vs1 group) ends up just being semantics. If that is the case, you could just get one breeding pair as the sample size becomes unimportant when commingling.

This of course only applies to fish who don't have "life partners" or only mate in two's.

The initial requirement for the fish to be neon tetras seems to imply that you will have them in one tank, take a male and female, breed them in another tank and continue? How do you plan on keeping tabs of these?

Something that will make your life easier, regardless of the type of fish you get, would be to have one tank for males, one for females (or a tank that is divided), then one for breeding. Put one male in and one female (or whatever this project requires) and do your thing.

So a question I have would be: Do the fish have to mate in pairs or can they mate in group settings (where you can have 4 different groups in a divided tank or in 2 divided tanks; or all in one which raises the above concern)?

Sorry for the wall of text, got into it.. haha Hope this helped!

 

[mm416]

Well the experiment isn't necessarily about the breeding, so no selective breeding will be involved. The point is to take a fish that is difficult to breeding and to conduct stimuli to induce it to breed.

 

[coralbandit]

White clouds are easy to obtain and keep.
But the average hobbiest doesn't breed them.
I believe they are egg scatters also?
I had long finned wc that were gorgeous and bred in bare bottom tanks as long as they were in schools large enough.

 

[Mebbid]

How about using cardinal tetras rarher than neons? They are a bit more difficult to breed. Either that or kuhli loaches which have an interesting trigger for breeding.

 

[mm416]

Are cardinals any easier to sex?

 

[Mebbid]

Are cardinals any easier to sex?

Not really.

 

[gemach7]

Would say betas. But if not done correctly is a dead female not a failed breeding.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[lilme]

corycats

 

[gemach7]

corycats

+1 in the wild triggered by the rainy season so equal number males to females and do a 50% wc of cooler water.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[icydeath]

Cory cats would be good. Not hard to breed, but gotta put a little work in. It would be interesting and you would love the buggers.

 

[mm416]

Okay I'm scrapping the neon tetra idea, but now I need another fish that has a short recuperation time and is somewhat difficult to induce to spawn. Any ideas?

 

[icydeath]

Are cories too easy? haha

 

[Mebbid]

Lets start at the beginning. What exactly are you trying to test or prove?