The Neon Tetra By Jonathan Lowrie The Neon Tetra is synonymous with freshwater fish-keeping. One can walk into most any pet store in America and see a tank full of these silver, red, and blue fish swimming by. In the natural world, this fish is found in moderate sized rivers and tributaries in Eastern Peru and South America. This is an excellent community fish and does very well in large groups. In fact, this fish should only be kept in shoals, or groups of 5 or more fish. As a schooling fish, it seeks security from others of its kind. Neons are a very peaceful fish, and seldom nip at any other fish. You can watch in amazement with all the darting to and fro within the aquarium. Neons can live for many years with proper care. It's been reported that a longevity of 10 years is not to be unexpected. In addition, they are a relatively easy to breed aquarium fish. Once the females lays the eggs, they will hatch within 24 hours, and the fry will be free-swimming in 4 to 5 days. It's best to feed a diet of infurosia or baby brine shrimp.
The ideal tank for the Neon would include many live plants, a pH of 7.0 and subdued lighting. They should not be kept with larger fish, as they will often become lunch rather than a tank companion. Common Name: Neon Tetra. Copyright 2003 by Jonathan Lowrie. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Other Resources AquariumHobbyist.com has a full line of species forums where you can discuss fish species with other owners, and hobbyists. |
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Because of its popularity, the Neon Tetra has arguably been named the "most" popular aquarium fish. In terms of sheer numbers sold, they may have that distinction. Fortunately, the majority of these fish offered for sale are captive bred in fish farms. Most of these farms are located in the Southern United States, and many are in Asia. The last I heard, many of the US Neons were still arriving from Hong Kong farms.