killrsheep
Aquarium Advice Regular
Submitted by Killrsheep
Scientific Name: (Paracheirodon Innesi)
Common name: Neon Tetra
Category: Characidae
Genus: Paracheirodon
Origin: Neon tetras are native to south american blackwater rivers, such as the Solimoes river in southeastern Colombia, eastern Peru and western Brazil.
Main ecosystem: They are found in Blackwater streams that are surrounded by forested areas where the stream current becomes weaker, ph levels for this ecosystem are slightly acidic due to organic decay from the forest, light is also a factor i believe both for behaviour and breeding since the forest canopy allows only for low light conditions.
(confirmation needed)
All of these factors make for the bright colors of Neon Tetras, since social behaviour is such an important survival skill for this kind of fish, they are shoaling fish and use color to comunicate with each other in such low visibility enviroments, hence it is said they will lose their bright colors if kept in clearwater conditions.
(/confirmation needed)
Salinity: Freshwater
Temperment: Extremely peaceful
Diet: Omnivore, although in the wild this species feed on very small invertebrates, in the aquarium they will eat dried flakes along with small died and frozen foods
Care: These fish should never be used to cycle a tank, these are delicate fish and require an established tank to survive, it is also advisable to add driftwood to the tank as it will help lower the ph and darken the water a bit
pH: there is contradictory data on the web and LFS advice regarding this subject, i will not claim to know the absolute truth but with the information i have id say from (5.0 - 7.8), brighter colors are kept with an acidic enviroment but bear in mind that this species has been commerically bred for a long time and they will not die under neutral water conditions. also remeber, it is most critical not to shock your fish with sudden water parameter changes than it is to keep them on the edge of the acceptable parameter range
Hardness: these fish require rather soft water parameters (4-15°H)
Temperature: i ran into the same contradictions as i did with pH, id say (21°C - 28°C) which is (70°F-84°F), now before you tell me that im crazy because that range allows for rather hot temperatures hear me out: this time of year temperatures where i live are in the range of 27°-32° throughout the day and most importantly they dont drop too much at night, i DO understand that in northern countries temperature drops too much at night and that may be the reason why its impractical to keep them at lower temps, however chillers are quite a bit more expensive than heaters, i have asked around the forrums regarding this topic and positive comments that can help us all are very.. very welcome
Potential Size: around 1.5 inch (3.8cm)
Water region: Middle & Bottom for the most part
Activity: Diurnal
Lifespan: 5-8 years, ive read info claiming as much as 10 years but i'd like confirmation on that
Color: ah yes! color!
this specie has great colors, the neon tetra has an iridescent blue horizontal-ish stripe across each side, starting from the eye going slightly towards the dorsal fin and then onto the tail fin, thay also have a red stripe on the bottom that goes from the mid-section onto the rear ("fake neon tetras" are in fact cardinal tetras wich have the red stripe along the bottom of the entire body), the belly is silver
Mouth: normal
Sexing: it is difficult to sex young Neons but the female should be rounder and thus the blue line should curve a bit more.
Acclimation: i did 15min temperature acclimation (float the bag on the tank), and then 3 sets of 5 minute water chemistry acclimation (add 1/3 of what you have on the bag from your tank and wait 5 minutes), then grab them carefully with your net and place them on your tank, finally discard the bag water.
Breeding: pending, if anyone wants to help with this one that would be awesome, ive found some weird info on the web that id rather not post since i dont know much about it, i can tell you that it will need a dedicated tank for breeding
Comments: These fish are generally sold as "starter fish", however they are quite a delicate species and in general will not survive in a tank that has not been properly "established", popular belief is that the water parameter acceptable range is rather narrow but these fish can "survive" (please note the quotes) on slightly different parameters, just make sure you have stable parameters, however their colors will fade, behaviour might change etc....
It is very common to find neon tetras with corydoras as companions, as they are both quite peaceful and other listed tankmates are:
- guppies
- other tetras
- rasboras
- Mollies
- Platies
Neon tetras can survive in rather small tanks, a group of at least 6 is often recommended for them to feel confortable, the one inch per gallon rule kind of applies to neon tetras, but please dont go stuffing 16 Neons on a 16g tank
i am no expert, and all comments are welcome, i am aware there is another profile but its not on this "template" and also it would be nice to collaborate and make a full profile with all the info on neons since they are quite "common"
About NTD (neon tetra disease): this disease is named after neon tetras since it was first diagnosed on this species however it can spread to other species, first signs of the disease is "not shoaling" with the other fish, there is no known cure for this disease which is caused by a parasite which enters the body of the fish through the mouth and burrows itself in the walls of the gut of the fish before attacking its muscles producing cysts, (this is the stage where you first notice white patches, the only thing you can actually do is to remove the fish from the tank.
But fear not... there is still a chance that your fish might have "fake" NTD which is caused by a bacteria therefore it can be treated with antibacterial products, do remeber that you still have to "quarantine" your fish while it is on treatment
Sources:
Wikipedia:
Aqua-fish.net
Seriouslyfish.com
Fishlore
Scientific Name: (Paracheirodon Innesi)
Common name: Neon Tetra
Category: Characidae
Genus: Paracheirodon
Origin: Neon tetras are native to south american blackwater rivers, such as the Solimoes river in southeastern Colombia, eastern Peru and western Brazil.
Main ecosystem: They are found in Blackwater streams that are surrounded by forested areas where the stream current becomes weaker, ph levels for this ecosystem are slightly acidic due to organic decay from the forest, light is also a factor i believe both for behaviour and breeding since the forest canopy allows only for low light conditions.
(confirmation needed)
All of these factors make for the bright colors of Neon Tetras, since social behaviour is such an important survival skill for this kind of fish, they are shoaling fish and use color to comunicate with each other in such low visibility enviroments, hence it is said they will lose their bright colors if kept in clearwater conditions.
(/confirmation needed)
Salinity: Freshwater
Temperment: Extremely peaceful
Diet: Omnivore, although in the wild this species feed on very small invertebrates, in the aquarium they will eat dried flakes along with small died and frozen foods
Care: These fish should never be used to cycle a tank, these are delicate fish and require an established tank to survive, it is also advisable to add driftwood to the tank as it will help lower the ph and darken the water a bit
pH: there is contradictory data on the web and LFS advice regarding this subject, i will not claim to know the absolute truth but with the information i have id say from (5.0 - 7.8), brighter colors are kept with an acidic enviroment but bear in mind that this species has been commerically bred for a long time and they will not die under neutral water conditions. also remeber, it is most critical not to shock your fish with sudden water parameter changes than it is to keep them on the edge of the acceptable parameter range
Hardness: these fish require rather soft water parameters (4-15°H)
Temperature: i ran into the same contradictions as i did with pH, id say (21°C - 28°C) which is (70°F-84°F), now before you tell me that im crazy because that range allows for rather hot temperatures hear me out: this time of year temperatures where i live are in the range of 27°-32° throughout the day and most importantly they dont drop too much at night, i DO understand that in northern countries temperature drops too much at night and that may be the reason why its impractical to keep them at lower temps, however chillers are quite a bit more expensive than heaters, i have asked around the forrums regarding this topic and positive comments that can help us all are very.. very welcome
Potential Size: around 1.5 inch (3.8cm)
Water region: Middle & Bottom for the most part
Activity: Diurnal
Lifespan: 5-8 years, ive read info claiming as much as 10 years but i'd like confirmation on that
Color: ah yes! color!
this specie has great colors, the neon tetra has an iridescent blue horizontal-ish stripe across each side, starting from the eye going slightly towards the dorsal fin and then onto the tail fin, thay also have a red stripe on the bottom that goes from the mid-section onto the rear ("fake neon tetras" are in fact cardinal tetras wich have the red stripe along the bottom of the entire body), the belly is silverMouth: normal
Sexing: it is difficult to sex young Neons but the female should be rounder and thus the blue line should curve a bit more.
Acclimation: i did 15min temperature acclimation (float the bag on the tank), and then 3 sets of 5 minute water chemistry acclimation (add 1/3 of what you have on the bag from your tank and wait 5 minutes), then grab them carefully with your net and place them on your tank, finally discard the bag water.
Breeding: pending, if anyone wants to help with this one that would be awesome, ive found some weird info on the web that id rather not post since i dont know much about it, i can tell you that it will need a dedicated tank for breeding
Comments: These fish are generally sold as "starter fish", however they are quite a delicate species and in general will not survive in a tank that has not been properly "established", popular belief is that the water parameter acceptable range is rather narrow but these fish can "survive" (please note the quotes) on slightly different parameters, just make sure you have stable parameters, however their colors will fade, behaviour might change etc....
It is very common to find neon tetras with corydoras as companions, as they are both quite peaceful and other listed tankmates are:
- guppies
- other tetras
- rasboras
- Mollies
- Platies
Neon tetras can survive in rather small tanks, a group of at least 6 is often recommended for them to feel confortable, the one inch per gallon rule kind of applies to neon tetras, but please dont go stuffing 16 Neons on a 16g tank
i am no expert, and all comments are welcome, i am aware there is another profile but its not on this "template" and also it would be nice to collaborate and make a full profile with all the info on neons since they are quite "common"
About NTD (neon tetra disease): this disease is named after neon tetras since it was first diagnosed on this species however it can spread to other species, first signs of the disease is "not shoaling" with the other fish, there is no known cure for this disease which is caused by a parasite which enters the body of the fish through the mouth and burrows itself in the walls of the gut of the fish before attacking its muscles producing cysts, (this is the stage where you first notice white patches, the only thing you can actually do is to remove the fish from the tank.
But fear not... there is still a chance that your fish might have "fake" NTD which is caused by a bacteria therefore it can be treated with antibacterial products, do remeber that you still have to "quarantine" your fish while it is on treatment
Sources:
Wikipedia:
Aqua-fish.net
Seriouslyfish.com
Fishlore
