Neon Tetra: A Complete Care Guide For Beginners

neon tetra

Neon Tetra (Paracheirodon innesi), dazzling crown jewels, are the most popular freshwater tropical fish. Neon Tetra fish is recognized as a peaceful community, fish that belongs to the Characidae family.

They are active, colorful, and non-aggressive fish that can coexist with other similar-sized non-aggressive fish. Neon tetras are easy to care for and ideal for beginners who want to step into fish-keeping hobbies.

Table of Contents

What Do Neon Tetra Look Like?

Neon Tetra has striking colors that draw people’s attention, whether it’s in the aquarium or the wild.

These beautiful fish have a turquoise blue line combined with sparkling silvery-white color that stretches from its eye down to the adipose fin that looks stunning when they move in a group. On the other hand, those bright stripes make them more visible in the black water.

In addition to the blue and white stripe, they got the red color past from the belly down to the tail. These three combinations of Blue, White, and Red shades are perfectly matched to the Neon Tetra and make them the most popular, recognizable aquarium fish globally.

When you see them at first glance, they will melt your heart with their delightful appearance.

 

Neon Tetras are often confused with Cardinal Tetras due to the red line running from the middle of their body to their tail. That’s why it is necessary to know the difference between Neon Tetra and Cardinal Tetra.

Cardinal Tetra Vs Neon Tetra

If you look closely, you will notice the red stripe runs from all the top (head) to the bottom (Tail) in Cardinal Tetra but not in Neon Tetra. In Neon tetra, it only extends from the middle of the belly to the tail.

Neon Tetra has a little bit of silver color at the top of the body, which runs from the head to the dorsal fin. The dorsal fin, Anal fin, and tail in neon tetra are transparent.

Neon Tetra Overview

Neon Tetra’s bright and vibrant color is one of the main reasons for its popularity among fish keepers. Its peaceful behavior and simple diet are the most noticeable factors for the fish keepers, making it an ideal beginner fish. It is found in blue, red, black and translucent colors.

Sometimes, you will get confused with the Cardinal tetra, Black Neon Tetra, Neon Gold Tetra, Yellow Neon Tetra, as they look similar.

Neon Tetra Origin

Neon Tetra was discovered by August Rabaut, a French traveler during his expedition around the Amazon Jungles. Europeans became a big fan of neon tetra when August Rabaut brought them to Europe for sale.

Where are Neon Tetras Found?

The Neon tetra is tropical freshwater fish that are primarily found in the Amazon basin of South America. It is mostly found in the western and northern parts of the Amazon basin in southeastern Colombia, Peru, and Brazil.

Neon Tetra’s Habitat In The Wild

Neon Tetra (Paracheirodon innesi) lives in the Blackwater stream and tributaries in the Western and Northern Amazon and Orinoco basin in Brazil, Columbia, and Peru.

These streams are full of driftwood and plants as if nature itself created the art of aquascape for the fish.

Neon tetra spends most of the time roaming around these plants and driftwoods, giving some sort of protection and hiding place from its predator.

In the wild, they live in the middle of the slow stream water, which feeds on insects, worms, and small creatures.

Neon Tetras are schooling fish, so they swing together in a tribe with energetic movement that creates a magnificent display of color. It has red, orange, gray colors in its body that makes it attractive and active fish in the tank.

Neon Tetra Distribution | How Are Neon Tetras Sold?

At the beginning of time, Neon Tetras were caught in the wild, brought in the market, and sold to the public.

With the increasing demand for the Neon Tetra in the globe, now, after much successful breeding, they are bred and brought up in captivity of Eastern Europe and the far east to fulfill the demand of aquarists worldwide.

Less than 5 percent of Neon Tetra you see in the market is wild-caught.

Due to its popularity, some countries like Hong Kong, Thailand, and Singapore have also started captive breeding trade.

More than 1.50 million Neon tetras are imported to the United States each month.

Neon Tetra Availability

Neon Tetras are easily available in all the stores varying from online shopping to local stores around your comfort. You can easily get these fish in your nearby local fish store.

Neon Tetra Price

Most Neon Tetras today are captive-raised. This makes them progressively accessible, as they don’t need to be sourced out from the wild. Neon Tetras are well on the way to be sold at 2$-3$ per pair on the neon tetra fish. Due to this they are cheap and can be easily found in stores.

Neon Tetra Lifespan – How Long Do They Live For?

The lifespan of neon tetras varies according to the environment they are in. in the wild, you will find them living happily up to 10 years with nearly no issues whatsoever. However, this automatically shortens by 2 to 5 years when you bring neon tetras into the aquarium in captivity.

Neon Tetra Size – How Big Do They Get?

When you plan on petting a neon tetra, many questions arise related to size as well? How Big Do Neon Tetras Grow In Size?

The truth is adult Neon Tetras are not big fish. However, they are not extremely tiny fish either.

Neon Tetras have an elongated body. They grow to about 1.2 inches or 3 centimeters on average, but they can grow to a maximum length of 2.5 inches, with females shorter than males.

How To Differentiate Male And Female Neon Tetra

The most accurate way to differentiate male and female neon tetra is to look at its stomach.

In the spawning time, female neon tetra will have a rounded belly as they have to carry eggs, whereas males will have a thinner body.

The blue line in males appears to be straight, whereas due to the rounded body, it’s a bit curvy in the female’s body.

How Difficult Is It To Keep Neon tetra?

Due to the neon tetra disease, this fish can be a little harmed. Otherwise, it is one of the ideal beginner fish.

Types Of Neon Tetra

Apart from red, blue, and silver bodied neon tetras (the first fish that fascinated me), there are many more types of neon tetras. Did you know that? Some of the common Neon Tetras are:

  1. True Neon Tetras
  2. Long Fins Neon Tetras
  3. Gold Head Neon Tetras
  4. Diamond Neon Tetras
  5. Black Neon Tetra
  6. Red Neon Tetra
  7. Green Tetra

Neon Tetra Behavior And Tank Mates

Do you get excited to keep a pet fish for the first time?

Well, everyone is when it is their first time trying something new.

Some people, especially beginners, buy their fish and can’t wait to put them in the aquarium with other fish. But things will not go as they plan. You need to be extremely careful when it comes to choosing tank mates.

Neon Tetras are well known for community fish. So, talking about their behavior, they are peaceful aquarium fish. However, they do sometimes act aggressively.

As neon tetras are schooling fish, they do well in the presence of their own kind. But that doesn’t mean you cannot keep them with other fish.

Best Tank Mates For Neon Tetras

Neon Tetra is generally a peaceful and attractive tropical fish that suits perfectly for an aquarium. They love to be in the community of other non-aggressive fish or their own species.

Like humans, fish also gets attracted to bright colors, so as for neon tetra, it is essential to choose non-aggressive tankmates.

Likewise, because of Neon Tetra’s little body, they should not be kept with any fish that can fit them in their mouth; You need to avoid predatory fish strictly.

Choosing tankmates for neon tetra is a tricky part; if you keep them with the wrong fish, your neon tetra will definitely get killed.

The best tank mate for Neon tetra is neon tetra itself. These neon tetras are schooling fish and will do well in the presence of their own kind.

However, you need to know the school size of neon tetra and research it carefully to know what is best for them.

If you want to see their schooling behavior, you should keep at least 15-20 of them. This will make them much more comfortable in the tank.

Neon tetra will be safe if you put them with small fish such as rasboras, dwarf gourami, small catfish, and other small tetras like Cardinal tetra.

Cardinal tetra and neon tetra are ideal tank mates and sometimes even form a school together.

You can also keep African Dwarf Frog as tankmates for Neon Tetras. This might sound a little odd, but it actually works well.

The perfect Tank Mates for Neon Tetra would be any peaceful species of the same size. Some of which are:

  1. Harlequin Rasboras
  2. Guppies
  3. Mollies
  4. Corydoras Catfish
  5. Dwarf Gourami
  6. Giant Danios
  7. Loaches

Worst Tank Mates For Neon Tetras

You might be thinking about what types of fish should be avoiding in the aquarium with Neon Tetra.

Well, it’s simple.

Just do not put them with species such as Goldfish, bettas, Angelfish, and Cichlids, and other big or aggressive fish.

Learn more about Neon Tetras With Betta In The Same Tank.

Goldfish and Neon Tetras as tankmates is a big No due to their different water preference and temperaments.

Neon Tetra Care

Neon Tetra is such a wonderful striking fish and the first pet fish for a lot of people. Anyone can fall in love with neon tetra at first glance.

You will require an intermediate fish-keeping skill to keep Neon Tetra. Although neon tetras are hardy fish, they still require some care.

There are few things Neon tetras need in their tank to survive and live healthily, and it’s your duty to give them that.

You will need a good-sized aquarium, lightings, filtration system, substrate to make them feel at home in your aquarium.

As it is necessary to know how to take care of neon tetra in a tank, here are some things you need to know to keep them happy.

Neon Tetra Diet – What Should you Feed Them?

Food is an essential factor in surviving, whether it’s for humans or animals.

Maintaining a proper diet in day-to-day life can be difficult, especially when you don’t have enough time for your fish.

Just like the human body needs a certain diet to function, this tetra also needs a proper diet if you don’t want to see them suffer and die.

Although Neon tetras can go without food for a week, you need to make sure not to push their limit or experiment with no food.

Maintaining a Neon tetra diet is not a difficult task as Neon tetras are omnivorous, which means they will eat both meat and vegetables.

They accept any form of food that you provide them. All you need to do is to take care of the nutrients.

Their primary diet relies on small insects, algae, and other minuscule invertebrates in their natural habitat.

But in your aquarium, you need to provide them good food. Feed them with fine flakes food, tiny granules, pellets, Brine Shrimp, blood worms, and other forms of fish food like live worms, daphnia, and tubifex once in a while. This will give enough nutrients to the fish to be healthy.

The tetras would love these, and they are supplemented evenly to help them attain their vibrant colors.

They are comparatively little to swallow and ingest the food, so you should feed them small pellets.

What Are The Best Food For Neon Tetra?

  1. TetraColor Tropical Flakes with Natural Color Enhancer
  2. TetraMin Plus Tropical Flakes
  3. Tetra TetraPRO Tropical Color Crisps With Biotin for Fish
  4. TetraMin Nutritionally Balanced Tropical Flake Food for Tropical Fish

How Often Should You Feed Neon Tetras?

You can feed neon tetras two to four times a day. Moreover, only feed them the amount of food that they can eat in 2 minutes. Any exceeding amount of food will cause your aquarium water to become cloudy and is harmful to your tetra fish.

Water Parameter For Neon Tetra

Just like we humans need fresh air, fish also need fresh and clean water to survive.

Neon tetras are sensitive to the environment they live in. So, you need extra care while keeping these tetras. Do not add your neon tetra into the tank you just set up the day before or on the same day. Let the water in the tank mature so that it will be suitable for your fish. You can find chemicals and good bacteria in your pet store to speed up the maturing process that takes place as the Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle.

Best Water Ph For Neon Tetra

Likewise, the water pH level change can affect your Neon tetras bringing various health issues and diseases. You need to keep a pH level below 7.0 and above 6.0.

Best Water Hardness For Neon Tetra

Also, always maintain soft water or slightly acidic water (<10 dGH) in your aquarium. Simple things can make a huge impact on these small fish even though they are hardy.

Neon Tetra fish can deal with the hardest water for maximum ranges of time. However, the introduction of the fish to hard water could have a negative effect on their life expectancy. It is recommended to use soft water.

Best Water Temperature For Temperature

You need to maintain the water temperature for your Neon Tetras well. The best water temperature for Neon tetra is between 70°F and 81°F.

The room temperature cannot help you attain the tropical temperature these tetras ask for. That’s why Neon tetras need an aquarium heater for their survival in the tank environment.

Use a good-quality aquarium heater that has an automatic feature. These heaters will automatically adjust the water temperature in your aquarium.

Hitop Submersible Adjustable Aquarium Heater is highly recommended for your neon tetra tank. All you need to do is set the water temperature and plug the heater on.

How To Maintain Water Parameter For Neon Tetra?

As the aquarium is a closed system, the pollutants will stay in the aquarium unless you clean them. So, you will need to maintain the aquarium water quality. Using a good filter, maintaining the water temperature, and water change are the three key elements to maintain water parameters for your Neon Tetra tank.

What Kind Of Filtration Do Neon Tetra Need

Aquarium filters are a helping hand when it comes to maintaining your aquarium water.

Since neon tetras have a minimal load, any basic or JOR Neon Tetra Sponge Filter will be sufficient for the aquarium. You should always add Neon tetras to a properly cycled tank.

Best Heater For Neon Tetra Tank

A heater maintains the optimal temperature consistently in the tank, which helps increase Neon tetra’s lifespan in captivity.

Neon tetras are tropical fish; they undoubtedly need lukewarm water in the aquarium.

As we know, Neon Tetras react negatively to cold water, so it is always a wise decision to keep the water slightly too warm rather than slightly cold.

Since I have been using the Eheim Jager aquarium heater (on Amazon.com), which has a thermostat for all my tanks, I recommend buying this product. Heaters from Eheim are very reliable; they have never failed me.

Water Change

The best way to maintain your aquarium water is to use a good quality aquarium filter for Neon Tetras to survive. And do at least 10% water change every week.

You can find chemicals in your pet store that are sold as aquarium water cleaners or purifiers. I would not recommend using those chemicals in your tank. Let the tank be as organic as possible. If you can eliminate these chemicals and waste just by changing your water, why would you spend an extra buck on these useless chemicals?

Changing water will not only help to eliminate waste and chemicals but will also help to maintain pH and water hardness. You need an aquarium kit to check and maintain your pH between 6 – 7 and water hardness less than ten dGH.

Best Light For Neon tetra

Neon Tetras are found in the black water streams in the wild, where only some amount of light gets through the water. Therefore, too much light will stress the neon tetra, opening the door to various fish diseases.

Moderate lighting is enough for tNeon Tetra and will pop its body color in a darker environment with little lights on.

However, if you want to keep neon tetra in a tank with live plants, get the light that is suitable for your plants.

Since planted aquariums have a lot of hiding places, they can find spots to hide out if they are frightened or stressed.

Tetra Fish Tank Kit comes with LED lighting and décor to make your work easier while setting the tank.

Best Substrate For neon Tetra

Neon tetras can live on anything ranging from gravel to sand when it comes to the substrate. They are not bottom dwellers, so they won’t even mind having a bare bottom.

But as these tetras love having plants in their tank, you have to go for plant growing substrate. You need to go for substrates that provide proper grip and nutrients for the plants.

Also, a black-colored substrate can be used in the tank with neon tetras as it helps to darken the tetra tank mimicking their natural habitat.

Decorations For Neon tetra Tank

Fish in an aquarium with just water looks so unattractive and unnatural. You should provide some plants in the aquarium as decoration where fishcan play or hide.

Live plants will help in keeping the aquarium water parameter stable. Plants use nitrogen as a fertilizer that is harmful to fish and provides oxygen for them to breathe.

Go with the plants such as Ludwigia repens, Brazilian pennywort, Vallisneria, Cabomba, or Cryptocoryne wendtii.

Tetra fish will go into plants when they feel threatened. They will swim around in the plants when they try to avoid any threat.

It’s always nice when you add some plants to the tank. They add a touch of beauty to the tank and also provide proper filtration.

Fake plants also can be used as an option. Black sand would be the substrate to go for as it brings out neon tetra’s bright colors to the fullest.

In case you don’t have those plants, use some dead leaves, rocks, woods, and fake plants. Tetra Fish Tank Kit comes with décor to make your work easier while setting the tank.

Best Tank Size To Get For Neon Tetras

Most beginner aquarists make a mistake while choosing an aquarium. No matter what fish you choose, you will always need a bigger tank than the fish requirement. This gives enough room for you to play with, like adding decorations and all.

You need to be extra careful with neon tetras and know the best tank size for Neon tetras. You also have to know how many neon tetras to keep per gallon of water in the tank.

Neon Tetras are schooling fish, so you need to remember this while choosing an ideal tank. For Neon Tetras, if you are planning to keep five or six of them in a school, a 20-gallon tank is enough. However, if it’s a community tank, you need to go for a bigger tank, at least 40-Gallon.

Let me give you an example: one inch of fish requires 2 gallons of water to survive; if you have five fish that are 2 inches long, then you need to have at least a 20-gallon aquarium to house them.

Neon Tetras are schooling fish; they move in a group and require a bigger area to swim freely. So, bigger is always better.

How Many Neon Tetra Per Gallon?

The general rule of thumb is that 1 gallon of water is required by 1 inch of fish. Neon tetras can grow up to 2 inches. Thus, one neon tetra requires tentatively 2 gallons of aquarium water.

Let us suppose you bought a 10-Gallon Tank for your neon tetra. Considering your tank has some decorations, which takes up some space. So, let us say 3 gallons of water are covered. Hence, you will be able to keep around four neon tetras in the case of a 10-gallon tank (10/3=3.33 or 4). You can increase the number to five or six, depending on the quality of your tank environment.

Setting Up Neon Tetra Tank

The most crucial part of keeping Neon Tetra is setting up the tank the right way. The following steps are a brief explanation of how you can set up the neon tetra tank.

Step 1: Choosing Aquarium and Stand For Your Neon Tetra

Neon Tetras grows up to 1.75 inches. Therefore, one neon tetra requires 2-Gallon of water to live happily. So, if you are planning to keep 5 Neon Tetras, you will need a 10-Gallon aquarium.

Tanks are heavy, so you will need a strong stand to place your aquarium on. You can buy a ready-made stand from Amazon or any other online marketplace.

Step 2: Adding Substrate, Plants, and Decorations

For Neon tetras, I prefer to keep them in a planted tank. If the planted tank is out of your budget, you can buy plastic plants, creating a lot of hiding places.

For the substrate, buy darker substrate. This will pop up your tetras color more.

Step 3: Adding Heater, Filter, Lights, and Other Required Equipment

Heater, filter, lights are the most important piece of equipment in any fish tank. If you buy a tank kit, equipment comes with the package.

Step 4: Cycling Your Aquarium

Aquarium Cycling is also known as the nitrogen cycle. It is the process of growing beneficial bacteria into your fish tank that will help break down toxins from your aquarium water like ammonia and nitrites produced by fish waste and decaying plants and fish food.

The nitrogen cycle will not happen overnight; it will take more than one week up to two months to complete. So, you have to be patient. Skipping the cycle can kill all your neon tetras, so please give your tank enough time to mature before introducing your fish.

Step 5: Adding Neon tetras

Once your tank is cycled, it’s safe to add your Neon Tetras to your tank. Now that your tank is cycled, it’s time to add fish. However, don’t overcrowd your tank. Always use the golden ratio, one inch of fish per gallon.

Step 6: Maintaining Water Parameter

To keep your Neon Tetra healthy, it’s crucial to maintain your tank regularly. Changing tank water every week to cleaning the filter media once a month is all it takes to maintain water parameters.

Never do complete water change because it will kill all your beneficial bacteria, resulting in a more toxic environment for your fish. A 30-40% water change a week is enough for a smaller aquarium—the bigger the tank, the less water change per week.

Read the complete guide to setting up a neon tetra tank.

Breeding Neon Tetra

Not all people breed their fish, especially beginners.

In the case of breeding, there are lots of things you should know about the Neon tetra as they can be challenging fish to breed.

Neon tetras can be challenging to breed because of the requirement for specific water conditions. To breed them, we must set up a different tank.

Learn more about How To Breed Neon Tetras

Water hardness in the specific breeding tank should be just 1 to 2dGH, and pH should be monitored and be kept between 5.0 to 6.0.

Use a gentle filter, and provide them with live plants. They tend to jump during their breeding rituals, so you should properly cover the tank with no gaps.

Covering the tank’s side panels with a cover to decrease the light in the tank is also great. It would be best to keep the water temperature somewhere in the range of 72 and 75 °F (24 °C).

So, let’s get into the process while breeding the Neon tetra and what are the neon tetras growth stages.

How To Setup Breeding Tank For Neon Tetra

During the time of breeding, set up a separate breeding tank for the fish as they will get disturbed by other species on a community tank.

The Breeding Tank

To breed neon tetras, one should place the breeding pair in a breeding tank with no light. It’s better to cover your aquarium with a newspaper so that the fish won’t get disturbed by people moving around the aquarium.

Remember to use tank cover as swapping fish often jump during the breeding time. Pace the swapping mops on the bottom of the tank and put the aged sponge filter in as well, with just a tickle of air running.

Read Full Article On How To Set Up Breeding Tank For Tetras?

Water Condition of breeding neon tetra

Neon tetra breeds best in soft acidic water, so you can either collect rainwater or use reverse osmosis water.

You also need to maintain the water hardness in the breeding tank, which should be only 1 to 2 dGH, and pH 5.0 to 6.0.

After that, set the heater to 72 to 75 °F to maintain the water temperature to help the Neon tetra feel like its natural environment.

Don’t let the water of the aquarium stay for too long. Change 25%-50% of tank water every week to maintain the quality of water. Make sure to check the water condition and quality once a week to ensure everything is ok.

Tank Décor for The breeding tank

For successful breeding, keep more hiding places in the tank with some plants, driftwoods, and pots. Neon Tetras are egg scatters.

The female lays the egg first that sticks to plants, which the male then fertilizes. It is better to use plants like moss in the breeding tank.

Breeding Process Of Neon tetra

After the breeding, the tank is set correctly, and the breeding pair is chosen. They tend to breed as soon as they acclimate to their new environment.

The breeding process usually lasts for 10-14 hours. You need to closely monitor when neon tetra is going to lay eggs as neon tetra can die after laying eggs.

Once the egg is fertilized, you need to remove the young fish from the tank. Neon tetra does not care for their eggs or the fry. They will eat them all without any hesitation.

Maintaining Diet During Breeding Period

People will get confused about whether to feed them during the breeding time or not. It’s ok to feed them.

Good nutrition food such as blood worms, brine shrimp is a must for a healthy fry. Feed Neon tetra twice a day, which will promote them to breed.

Caring For Neon Tetra Fry

The egg of Neon tetra will hatch within 24 hours, and you will able to see little fry inside your aquarium.

They will be able to swim freely in the next 2 to 3 days. You should not feed the newly hatched neon tetra fry.

Adding food to their tank will only degrade the tank water risking their life. Once they are able to swim freely, you can decrease the level of water to 7-8 centimeters height and make sure there isn’t any slime on the surface of the water since these tiny neon tetra needs to fill up their air bladder with fresh air.

Once they start to swim, you need to feed them a minimal amount of food. Foods such as egg yolk, infusoria, and commercially prepared fry food are the best.

Excess food and uneaten food can spike the ammonia level in the water, killing all tiny neon tetras. You will need to remove any uneaten food from the tank.

You could also use an aquarium filter best suited for tetra fish fry like the sponge filter to maintain water quality in the tank.

Note: Do not expect more fry from eggs as the hatch rate is not that high.

Fact: “A small school of Neon tetra can produce hundreds of eggs a week.”

List Of Diseases Neon Tetra Can Suffer From

There are infinitely many diseases that an aquatic animal can catch. Some of these diseases are discussed below.

  1. Neon Tetra Disease
  2. Fin And Tail Rot
  3. Columnaris
  4. Dropsy
  5. Pop-Eye
  6. Cloudy Eyes
  7. Mouth Fungus
  8. Fungal Infection
  9. White Spot Disease or ICH
  10. Swim Bladder Disorder
  11. Ammonia Poisoning

Neon Tetra Disease

Fish do get sick and sometimes die without any trace.

This is something that every fish keeper needs to know that will help them to take adequate measures.

Unluckily, Neon Tetra suffers from one deadly disease that is caused by the Microsporidian parasite. The disease is called Neon Tetra Disease, as this disease was first discovered in Neon Tetras. Once the fish is infected with the parasite, it will literally eat the fish inside out.

The diseases can also spread quickly and attack other tetras, as well as fish from other breeds.

Symptoms Of Neon Tetra Disease

  • The fish body’s colors slowly fade away, which is often seen on one part of the body.
  • Fish infected with Neon Tetra Disease will have trouble swimming and can turn into a bottom dweller.
  • Neon Tetra Disease causes a curved spine and a shrunken stomach.
  • Swollen and rotten fins.
  • Develop cysts on the stomach area as the body begins to have lumps.

Prevention Of The Disease

There is no cure for the Neon Tetra disease to date. If your fish catches this disease, then it will spread all over the tank and kill other fish. So, it’s better to separate the fish infected with NTD.

“Prevention is better than cure.”

  • Whenever you buy a new fish, quarantine them first. Look for any strange behavior before adding them to your display aquarium.
  • Avoid purchasing sick fish from the store.
  • Always maintain your water quality properly.
  • Always buy fish from trustworthy suppliers. However, if you are buying fish online, then make sure to check the reviews.
  • Maintain your fish diet regularly.

Neon tetra Characteristics

Scientific name: Paracheirodon innesi
Common Names: Neon tetra, neon fish
Origin: Southern Colombia, Western Brazil, Eastern Peru
Family: Characidae
Adult Size: 1-1.5 inches
Behavior: Peaceful and Schooling
Lifespan: 4-5 years in captivity and 8 years in their natural habitat
Tank Size: at least 10-Gallons
Diet: Food Pallets, Food Flakes, Brine Shrimps, Larva (Omnivore)
Breeding: Egg Scatter
Ease of breeding: Easy
Substrate Type: Dark Preferable, Any
Lightings: Low to Medium (Need of complete Darkness for reproduction)
pH: 5.5-7.5
Water Hardness: 2dGH to 10 dGH
Water Movement: Moderate
Temperature: 74-82 °F
Breeding Temperature: 82 °F
Care: Easy

Conclusion

Amon all the tetra species, Neon Tetra, is one of the most popular fish worldwide. Its demand is also relatively high than any other tetra species. The United States alone imports more than two million Neon Tetra every month.

Neon Tetra is a hardy fish that accepts a wide range of water parameters but requires minimal care. These fish are an ideal fish for beginner fish keeper who has little knowledge about their requirements.

I have covered almost all the topics regarding neon tetra in this article. If you have any queries regarding this fish, please comment on the comment section. I will be happy to reply to them all.

If you plan on buying other tetras and still don’t know about them or want to learn about different beautiful species tetras in detail, you can always find them on Tetra Fish Care.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top