how to breed neons - Aquarium Advice

hc8719 · 09-30-2006, 02:33 PM

i'd like to breed some of my neons, but the only info i can find is, "put a male and female in a breeding tank, slowly increase the amount of light"

has anyone here done this? any pointers?

toddnbecka · 10-04-2006, 02:15 AM

Here's a quick paraphrase from one of Axelrod's books:
Very soft (R/O or distilled would be best) water, pH 6.5, very clean tank (5 gallons is big enough) and fine-leaved plants (java moss is good), temp 75. Plants should be cleaned by dipping for 5 minutes in a solution of 1 Tbsp powdered alum dissolved in 1 quart of distilled water.
Condition the fish for spawning, live or frozen foods, until the female is very plump, and place a pair in the breeding tank. Don't feed them in the breeding tank. Remove them if they haven't spawned within 2 days, and feed some more. Keep trying until they spawn in the breeding tank.
After they spawn, remove them and cover the tank (complete darkness) for 24 hours. No direct light until the fry are free-swimming. Feed the fry bbs or microworms.
Good Luck

hc8719 · 10-17-2006, 09:03 PM

thanks todd (and becka?) didnt think anyone was going to answer this

any idea how to get water soft, use aquarium salt?

rich311k · 10-17-2006, 09:25 PM

Peat moss or RO/DI water would be your best bet. Salt with neons would be a very bad idea.

toddnbecka · 10-18-2006, 12:34 AM

You could buy distilled water if you don't R/O available, or collect rainwater.

zacusmaximus · 10-18-2006, 12:44 AM

Neons don't seem to mind a low salt concentration. Anyone ever try the cheap water softening pillows?

bs6749 · 10-18-2006, 11:33 AM

I tried the water softener pillow from kent Marine I think, in my 55 gallon tank. It was not rated for a tank that large but it did drop the hardness a little. After that I just got RO/DI water. It was only 30 cents/gallon at the LFS and the water softener pillows were 12 or so (rechargeable with solution that you have to buy). For the money I would say to go with RO/DI as that is what I would do now. I don't know how hard your water is or how big your main tank is, but I think they like pretty soft water. I would change maybe as much as half depending on the size of the tank to lower the hardness by half.

hc8719 · 10-19-2006, 12:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toddnbecka

You could buy distilled water if you don't R/O available, or collect rainwater.

i thought you werent suppose to use distilled water with fish? i remember my bio teacher saying that a fish cant get electrocuted in distilled water, but it wouldnt matter because it cant live in distilled water either

toddnbecka, (or anyone else) andy idea how long the male and female have to be together for before they're ready?

zacusmaximus · 10-19-2006, 01:11 AM

Even for soft-water fish, I'd say that distilled water is TOO pure to support an aquarium ecosystem. It's perfectly fine to use distilled water for aquariums, but I would suggest supplementing it in some way. Kent makes a number of R/O and distilled water supplements like their Freshwater Essentials: http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS...eressential8oz

09-30-2006, 02:33 PM	#1
hc8719 Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 1,932	how to breed neons i'd like to breed some of my neons, but the only info i can find is, "put a male and female in a breeding tank, slowly increase the amount of light" has anyone here done this? any pointers? __________________ "Atrocities are not less atrocities when they occur in laboratories and are called medical research." George Bernard Shaw

10-17-2006, 09:03 PM	#3
hc8719 Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 1,932	thanks todd (and becka?) didnt think anyone was going to answer this any idea how to get water soft, use aquarium salt? __________________ "Atrocities are not less atrocities when they occur in laboratories and are called medical research." George Bernard Shaw

10-18-2006, 11:33 AM	#7
bs6749 Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Lawton, MI Posts: 1,366	I tried the water softener pillow from kent Marine I think, in my 55 gallon tank. It was not rated for a tank that large but it did drop the hardness a little. After that I just got RO/DI water. It was only 30 cents/gallon at the LFS and the water softener pillows were 12 or so (rechargeable with solution that you have to buy). For the money I would say to go with RO/DI as that is what I would do now. I don't know how hard your water is or how big your main tank is, but I think they like pretty soft water. I would change maybe as much as half depending on the size of the tank to lower the hardness by half. __________________ 100G Discus Tank, 55G Planted RCS Tank, 29G Angelfish Tank w/Breeders, 29G Class N Endler Tank, 10G CRS/CBS (S+, SS) Tank, 10G Yellow Shrimp Tank, 10G Snowball Shrimp Tank, and a breeding experiment with ghost shrimp in my other 10G tank.

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10-04-2006, 02:15 AM	#2
toddnbecka Aquarium Advice FINatic Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Cumberland, MD Posts: 750	Here's a quick paraphrase from one of Axelrod's books: Very soft (R/O or distilled would be best) water, pH 6.5, very clean tank (5 gallons is big enough) and fine-leaved plants (java moss is good), temp 75. Plants should be cleaned by dipping for 5 minutes in a solution of 1 Tbsp powdered alum dissolved in 1 quart of distilled water. Condition the fish for spawning, live or frozen foods, until the female is very plump, and place a pair in the breeding tank. Don't feed them in the breeding tank. Remove them if they haven't spawned within 2 days, and feed some more. Keep trying until they spawn in the breeding tank. After they spawn, remove them and cover the tank (complete darkness) for 24 hours. No direct light until the fry are free-swimming. Feed the fry bbs or microworms. Good Luck

10-17-2006, 09:25 PM	#4
rich311k Aquarium Advice Addict Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 8,972 Images: 35	Peat moss or RO/DI water would be your best bet. Salt with neons would be a very bad idea.

10-18-2006, 12:34 AM	#5
toddnbecka Aquarium Advice FINatic Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Cumberland, MD Posts: 750	You could buy distilled water if you don't R/O available, or collect rainwater.

10-18-2006, 12:44 AM	#6
zacusmaximus Aquarium Advice Activist Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 196	Neons don't seem to mind a low salt concentration. Anyone ever try the cheap water softening pillows?

10-19-2006, 01:11 AM	#9
zacusmaximus Aquarium Advice Activist Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 196	Even for soft-water fish, I'd say that distilled water is TOO pure to support an aquarium ecosystem. It's perfectly fine to use distilled water for aquariums, but I would suggest supplementing it in some way. Kent makes a number of R/O and distilled water supplements like their Freshwater Essentials: http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS...eressential8oz