Breeding Neon Tetra (Paracheirodon Innesi) In The Aquarium

Location

This freshwater fish lives in a forest creeks and tributaries of the Upper Amazon River.

Body description

Body of the fish is elongated. Colour of the body is olive-silvery. There is a horizontal red stripe from half of the body to base of the caudal fin. There is also horizontal, lustrous, blue stripe like the neon from the eye to the base of the fat fin. This neon stripe is very important for this species in nature because these fish lives in "black water" reservoirs (water has this colour because of the tannin from pieces of the tee trees). This luminescent stripe helps to see each other and feed together. Male is thinner than female. This species is very similar to cardinal tetra.

Temperament and behaviour

This is quiet, peaceful and shoal species. It prefers to swim at all water levels.

Aquarium decoration

You can keep these fish in a general tank or biotope aquarium. They prefer to live in clean water, without accumulation of nitrate. The aquarium should include dimmed light, dark substrate and space to swim. A partial water changes should be systematically done. You shouldn’t keep this species with large fish, e.g. angelfish, which can eat neon tetras.

Breeding

This is an oviparous species. Breeding these fish isn’t easy task. Water in the aquarium should be very soft, acidic (pH=6,5) and have temperature of 24°C. The fish spawn in groups. Female lays up to 200 eggs in the evening. The eggs hatch after 1 day. The fry starts to swim and feed 5 days later. The parents don’t take care of the offspring – you should remove them because they can eat the eggs and fry. The eggs and larvae are sensitive to light – the aquarium should be covered.