Is my ‘biggest’ Neon a female carrying eggs??

[Pisces68]

I have 1 Neon Tetra much bigger & bulgier than the others who are all trim looking. Does this mean it is a female & carrying eggs? If so what are the optimum conditions for them to be born & how often do tetras lay eggs. I’m new to this & know more about live bearers. If they’re born in the main tank will my guppies & Mollies eat them?

 

[Flyfisher]

Hi Pisces68
This does not look good I am afraid to say. That looks like more than a few eggs?
While it is possible to breed this species in a home aquarium it is quite a tricky thing to do . The link I add talks you through the process of lowering the PH below a level that bacteria can live hatching the eggs and raising the PH back up again. A very tricky job even if Mark makes it seem easy. He also mentions in one of the 4 part series on this species a warning on over feeding. This species is one of the few that exploded from over eating when young fry. You may be over feeding?

Mollies and guppies will eat all small fry they can catch , but are lazy and don’t really hunt down fry that hide in cover.
What is your GH ? / the general hardness. Neons are a soft water species and mollies and guppies need hard water.

A link to a home breeder.

https://youtu.be/v_SmmZ7i38I