Neon Tetra is a tetra fish that lives in freshwater. The bodies of neon tetras are bright blue with dramatic red lines running from the belly to the tail.
Neon Tetras are small schooling fish. They are gregarious creatures who prefer to swim in groups of their own species. When the baby Tetras are kept in groups, they grow quickly.
Neon tetras are popular among newbie fish keepers due of their resilience and simple maintenance requirements.
The Neon Tetra is a placid and non-aggressive fish. It’s the ideal fish to keep in your aquarium because of its beautiful colors, vibrant blue line, and low feeding requirements.
Contents Overview
Neon Tetra Characteristics
- Common Names: Neon tetra, neon fish
- Scientific Name: Paracheirodon innesi
- Family: Characidae
- Social: Peaceful
- Tank Level: Mid-dweller
- Minimum Tank Size: 10 gallon
- Diet: Omnivore
- Breeding: Egg scatterer
- Care: Intermediate
- Hardness: Up to 10 dGH
- Temperature: 68 to 79 F (20 to 26 C)
- Adult Size: 1.5 inches (4 centimeters)
- Life Expectancy: 5 years
Origin of Neon Tetra
Neon tetras are native to the Orinoco and Amazon River basins in Brazil, Columbia, and Peru, where they can be found in clear and black water streams and tributaries. These are areas where black waters flow beneath dense forest canopy, allowing only a small amount of light to pass through.
Neon tetras can be found in Peru, Brazil, and Colombia’s northern and western Amazon basins. This region’s waters are acidic, with a pH as low as 0.4.
Black water and clear water streams are home to neon tetras. Neon tetras eat on worms and tiny crustaceans and reside in shoals primarily in the intermediate water levels.
Neon Fish Appearance
Neon tetras have a bright blue body with a thick red line running from belly to tail. In a tranquil community tank, neon tetras are calm, gentle fish that are rarely aggressive. Their bodies are covered in red, white, and blue splashes.
They have a vivid blue iridescent stripe that extends from their nose to their adipose fin on both sides of their bodies.
Neon tetras have vivid blue heads and backs, as well as a deep blue stripe running from the eye to the tail and an iridescent red stripe running down each side of their body.
The body of a neon tetra is slender and torpedo-shaped, with tiny, translucent, and pointed fins and tail.
Lifespan of Neon Tetra
Adult neon tetras only grow to be 1.5 inches long, making them one of the smallest aquarium fish. Male neon tetras are the same size as females, but males have longer dorsal and anal fins.
The lifespan of a Neon Tetra in the wild is roughly 5 years, but in an aquarium, it is usually just two to three years. When housed in an aquarium, though, they can live for two to three years. The Neon Tetra fish in the wild lives longer than the Tetra fish in aquariums.
Neon Tetra Colors and Markings
The neon tetra has a slender, torpedo-shaped body that is just about an inch and a half long. This fish makes up for its lack of size with color. The neon tetra has a brilliant neon blue stripe running from the tip of its nose to its adipose fin.
Neon tetras have vivid blue heads and backs, as well as a deep blue stripe running from the eye to the tail and an iridescent red stripe running down each side of their body. The body of neon is thin and torpedo-shaped, with small, and pointed fins and tail.
The neon tetra has a white-silver belly beneath the blue line. A vivid red stripe runs from the belly button to the tail. The neon tetra is one of the most popular aquarium fish due to its eye-catching red, white, and blue color scheme.
Neon Tetra Habitat and Care
Habitat
The Neon Tetras are native to the Amazon Basin in South America. It’s a freshwater species of fish. In southeastern Colombia, eastern Peru, and western Brazil, the neon tetra can be found in the western and northern Amazon basins.
Neon tetras reside in dark water with extensive vegetation and roots in their natural habitat. It thrives in waters with a pH of 4–7.5 and a temperature of 20–28 °C (68–82 °F). Although it prefers acidic black water streams, it can also be found in clear water streams.
Neon tetras thrive in the wild in tropical flowing rivers with extensive vegetation, including floating plants and roots. In the tank, you should provide low-light hiding areas for your neon tetra to mimic this environment.
Care
Neon tetras should not be kept in newly built up aquariums since they will not accept the changes that occur during the setup. Add neon tetras once your tank is fully matured and your water chemistry is steady.
For neon tetras, water should be soft and acidic, with a pH of no more than 7.0 and a hardness of no more than 10 dGH. To darken the water, maintain an acidic pH, and soften it, black water extracts or driftwood is frequently employed.
Tank Conditions
Neon Tetras are a hardy species; commercial breeding has softened them slightly, making them more delicate, thus we must take this into account when putting up a tank.
Although neon tetras adapt well to tank conditions, you shouldn’t put them in a starting tank because they can’t survive water chemistry changes. To ensure that neon tetras thrive in their surroundings, place them in a fully developed tank.
However, keep in mind that you’ll need a bunch of them. As a result, for a group of six, I don’t recommend putting them in anything smaller than a 10 gallon.
There’s also something else to think about. In a larger tank, neons look their finest. More space allows them to swim up and down the tank and school together.
Tank mates of Neon Tetra
Neon tetras should always be kept in groups of at least a half-dozen, as they are a shoaling species that requires the company of other neon tetras. In a community tank, neon tetras do well as long as the other species are neither huge nor aggressive.
Other little tetras are the ideal tetra fish tank mates for small tetras. Tetra species get along nicely with each other since they are rarely aggressive with other species of their own size and prefer comparable surroundings.
Rasboras, small tetras, dwarf gouramis, corys, and other small catfish make good companions. Larger tetras should be avoided since they will consume neon tetras at the first opportunity.
Neon Fish Diet and Feeding
Neon tetras are omnivores who will eat most flake foods provided they are small enough, but they need also have certain small foods to supplement their diets, such as brine shrimp, daphnia, freeze-dried bloodworms, tubifex, and micro pellet food.
This omnivorous fish can take flake meals as long as they are small enough to swallow and assimilate. A high-quality fish flake with at least 40% protein content is recommended.
Most brands of tropical sinking pellets include natural color enhancers, which bring out the color of neon tetras. Frozen meals, like as frozen blood worms, help to keep their diets interesting.
Neon Tetra Breeding
In home aquariums, breeding neon tetras is thought to be difficult. It is, however, growing more prevalent, with less than 5% of specimens currently sold in America being caught in the wild and more than 1.5 million specimens imported from fish farms each month.
Tetras are difficult to breed because they require particular water parameters to initiate mating. Beginners will have a harder time breeding these fish in a home aquarium than experienced aquarists.
Set up a breeding tank with soft, somewhat acidic water to start breeding neon tetras. Then, place the tank in a dark location and add several adult tetras. Tetras will reproduce in a few days, but if this does not happen, alter the pH and temperature of the water slightly.
Summary
Neon tetras are calm, resilient fish that are suitable for both novice and experienced aquarium keepers. If you have a freshwater aquarium with enough area for a school of at least six fish, you should acquire a neon tetra.
If your tank already has large or aggressive fish, avoid getting a neon tetra or set up a separate tank for them. Neon tetras flourish in home aquariums if they are kept in tranquil community tanks with the proper water conditions.
Neon Tetras are a lot of fun to keep in your tank and are quite easy to look after. There’s a reason they’re so well-liked! If you have any queries about this species, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
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