Neon tetras and laying eggs

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

robbyno22

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jan 8, 2014
Messages
117
Location
San Diego, Ca
So, this might be a dumb question, but I'm new to all of this! I understand that neons are really hard to breed, and I'm not set up for that anyway. My question is will neons lay eggs even if there aren't any males in the tank? I have 5 neons, and 4 of them are for sure female as the blue line is really curved. My smallest one is questionable, but as it's getting bigger, the line seems to be curving. Last night, I noticed that the belly on the biggest fish is really round and full. The second biggest one has a little bit of a belly, but nothing like the other one. Could this be eggs?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Aquarium Advice mobile app
 
Did they eat a lot? Could just be full. I have kept neons forever and never seen them mate.
 
I thought that too, but I just looked, and the bellies are still round! I'll keep an eye on them ;)

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Aquarium Advice mobile app
 
Neons will still produce eggs even if a male is not present. Mine have spawned several times. If you can get a look at the female with a light behind her then you should be able to see the eggs. Their bellies are somewhat translucent. The eggs are light sensitive and die if the light is bright. If you have a male he will herd a female into a clump of plants and dance around her until she drops her eggs. You may not notice the eggs because they are really tiny.
 
A female will produce eggs regardless of if there is a male around to fertilize them or not. While a male can help stimulate the female into producing them, a male is really only needed for one thing. :)
 
She is definitely still rotund, and it's been 16 hrs since they ate :)

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Aquarium Advice mobile app
 
Back
Top Bottom