Neon Tetra is a highly sought-after freshwater fish that embodies perfection and natural beauty. They are the face of the freshwater Tetras, quite amazing with their eye-catching torpedo-like bodies yet so easy to care for.
It is not just their peaceful temperament that will blow you away if you keep them at home. Also, they are an active fish species that will create an attention-grabbing pattern with their endless, darting movements inside the tank.
For novice aquarists, perhaps there’s nothing more important than knowing your aquarium fish in detail. And that’s what this guide is all about.
It will break down the fundamentals of Neon Tetra care. In the forthcoming paragraphs, you will learn what these fish eat in captivity, their best companions at home, ideal tank water conditions, their typical behavior, breeding, and more.
Species Overview
The stunning Neon Tetras are among the most popular Tetra species that can instantly transform your aquarium.
Even though captive-bred species are widespread in the local markets these days, the Neon Tetras are original inhabitants of the South American continent. You can find them in the Amazon River basin, specifically in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador.
Scientifically, they are called Paracheirodon innesi, a peaceful schooling fish with a long-standing history in the fishkeeping community. The first-ever classification dates back to the 1930s, where they were grouped as part of the Characidae family under the order Characiformes.
But it wasn’t long before they became every aquarist’s favorite pet in the fishkeeping community. Even as a novice hobbyist, you will love Neon Tetras for their beauty and ease of care. Not to mention the peaceful temperament that has made them a pleasant species in the pet industry.
| Category | Rating |
| Family | Characidae |
| Color | Blue, red, translucent |
| Lifespan | Up to 5 Years |
| Care Level | Easy |
| Behavior & Temperament | Peaceful |
| Compatibility | Peaceful community fish, many tank mates |
| Food and Diet | Omnivores |
| Size | Up to 1.5 Inches |
| Tank Setup | Freshwater with plants |
| Tank Size (Minimum) | 10 Gallons |
Lifespan
The average lifespan of neat-looking Neon Tetras can be anything from 5 to 10 years, depending on the existing environmental conditions.
If you provide stable living conditions, you can bet on them to light up your aquarium for the longest time. Conversely, don’t expect much from Neon Tetras if you keep them in a boring environment or constantly expose them to harsh living conditions.
Appearance
Have you seen Neon Tetras before? If you haven’t, their beautiful, sparkly coloration will blow you away at first glance. You will notice beautiful red, blue, and white splashes all over the fish’s body.
The adipose fin is neatly connected to the tip of the fish’s head by a dazzling blue stripe. Usually, this strip has a luster appearance to reflect bright light from the surrounding.
Just beneath the blue stripe, another red streak connects Neon Tetra’s middle body part to the tail. This strip sometimes makes it more challenging to discern standard Neon Tetras from the Cardinal varieties. But unlike in the Cardinal Tetras, the red strip only covers about half of the Neon Tetra’s body length.
What’s more, they have a standard white base coloration, perfectly complimenting the visible translucent shades on the rest of the body. Often, this is a camouflaging pattern that enables the lovely Tetras to hide from their biggest predators.
As far as the general body profile goes, Neon Tetras have a torpedo-shaped configuration, with two large eyes perfectly balancing their faces.
Size
How big do Neon Tetras get? You may ask.
Typically, they emulate many Tetra species in terms of body size and shape. They are one of the smallest freshwater fish, only growing to lengths of up to 1.5 inches in captivity. As expected, they can get slightly larger in the wild, measuring up to 2.5 inches in full length.
As we’ve emphasized before, the average growth rate is tied to the living conditions inside the fish’s territory and diet. So, you can intensify the body coloration and the maximum size by giving them the pristine water conditions they so badly need for survival.
Neon Tetra Care
Thankfully, their small body sizes don’t impede their growth and development in captivity. Giving them quality care in captivity is surprisingly easier than you could imagine and all you have to do is follow the basics, starting with the tank water conditions.
These species won’t demand much attention from the aquarist as long as you can guarantee stable conditions throughout their lives, as you will learn in the following paragraphs;
Tank Size
Neon Tetras are ideal candidates for Nano tanks. However, being a schooling species that thrive in small groups, you must set them free from the shackles of a cramped environment.
And that means you must avoid anything below 10 gallons when setting up the tank. We recommend at least a 20-gallon capacity if you plan to keep just a few species.
Going with an even larger tank size would make perfect sense if you have multiple species at home or enough resources to keep your Neon Tetras in perfect shape.
Water Parameters
Regarding the tank water conditions, never forget Neon Tetra’s original habitat in South America. Here, they are accustomed to living in a murky environment with warm conditions and plenty of vegetation.
No matter how beautiful the aquarium is, your Neon Tetras will never thrive if you deprive them of suitable tank water conditions. Below, we outline what you should target when designing their habitat;
- Water Temperature: 70°F-81°F
- Water Hardness: Up to 10 dGH
- pH Levels: Below 7.0
Keep in mind the water parameters won’t be constant throughout the fish’s lives in captivity. So, you should purchase a suitable test kit to keep everything in check through frequent testing.
What to Put in Their Tank?
Neon Tetras originate from a region dominated by slow-moving murky waters, implying they won’t appreciate bright light in captivity. So, ensure you maintain low light levels if you keep them at home.
What’s more, they will benefit from having compact vegetation and enough driftwood inside the tank. Typically, a combination of natural wood and floating plants is enough to mimic the actual conditions in the wild.
While they are not natural bottom-dwelling species, Neon Tetras will spend a lot of time towards the middle of the tank and may sometimes explore the bottom section if they have to.
So, a typical sand or gravel substrate that’s finely sized should be efficient enough to imitate the natural environment. Ideally, the substrate choice depends on the actual live plants you introduce to the tank.
We can’t forget the significance of proper filtration when designing a Neon Tetra’s new territory. Thankfully, they are a small-sized species that don’t need much effort to impress in captivity.
Besides, they won’t sour the tank water with enormous waste production like most freshwater fish do. So, a standard sponge filter is enough to maintain proper filtration inside the tank.
Even then, proper water cycling, either biweekly or at a one-week interval will be important to maintain the best possible living conditions. While doing so, you should target at least a quarter or 25% of the total tank water.
A significantly overlooked aspect of Neon Tetra care is acclimatization. While they are a naturally hardy species, the Neon Tetras will always need some time to adapt to a new environment.
So, it would be suicidal to introduce them to a recently cycled tank without first understanding its actual status.
Common Diseases
Neon Tetras will impress you with their resilience in the wild that readily continues in captivity. However, a few health concerns will arise from time to time to threaten a healthy Tetra community.
For instance, they are vulnerable to Neon Tetra disease, a potentially lethal condition that may strike when least expected.
Usually, Neon Tetra disease is transmitted from dead tank mates or low-quality live food and is thought to have a parasitic origin. Sometimes, it comes from previously healthy species that may not have shown any disease symptoms before.
If you keep Neon Tetras at home, you must stay alert for the earliest indications of the Neon Tetra disease like restlessness, cysts, difficulty swimming, and faded coloration.
Removing the diseased fish from the aquarium could be the safest approach to take with Neon Tetra disease. But even then, you can never be certain that the disease will not have spread to the healthy community.
As shocking as this may sound, some aquarists have opted for euthanasia to eliminate the infected fish species and start from scratch. It is the safest way to save your Neon Tetra community from the shackles of the deadly disease.
The next infection you will want to keep away from a healthy Neon Tetra population is False Neon Tetra disease. It presents the same way as the above-mentioned Neon Tetra disease, but the high rate of misdiagnosis makes it all the more imperative to understand its symptoms from the start.
Unlike the parasitic Neon Tetra disease, False Neon Tetra is a bacterial infection. The bad news is, it will also have a fatal outcome once it affects a Neon Tetra community.
So, is keeping Neon Tetras at home even worth it at this point? You might be wondering. Well, we believe it’s worth it and would gladly recommend these species if you want an instant decorator to a boring aquarium.
Even with the seemingly deadly infections, the onus of keeping a thriving Neon Tetra community is placed on the aquarist’s shoulders.
You don’t have to panic about the potentially lethal Neon Tetra or False Neon Tetra diseases when you can make the much-needed difference by maintaining the best possible living conditions in captivity.
Keeping healthy Neon Tetras in a home aquarium is all about checking the tank water conditions frequently and adjusting everything to meet the recommended standards.
Also, if you have to introduce a newcomer to the same aquarium, pay attention to the general body appearance to spot any visible signs of ailment.
Sometimes, it’s crucial to quarantine the new fish to help you monitor their health over the first few days before mixing them with your healthy Neon Tetras.
What Do Neon Tetras Eat?
The nice-looking Neon Tetras are natural omnivores and will eat any suitable food item they can find in captivity. They feed on lots of organic matter, such as small insect larvae, crustaceans, and vegetation in the wild, and you should expect a similar trend in captivity.
In general, they will be happy with high-quality flakes and pellets at home. The juvenile fish are fine with a twice-a-day feeding plan, provided they get all the nutritional elements they need to glow.
On the other hand, the adult fish will thrive with once a day meal plan with occasional treats to provide additional nutrients.
What’s more, Neon Tetras love frozen and live foods such as brine shrimp, bloodworms, and daphnia, but when feeding them, try to provide the smallest food particles to fit their mouths.
Behavior & Temperament
You might have heard that most Tetra species are peaceful fish that never look for unnecessary trouble inside the aquarium. And that’s true for Neon Tetras.
If you crave a peaceful freshwater fish that’s committed to minding its own business in captivity, you should keep them. They are a gentle, schooling community fish that enjoy their own company.
They will want to stay in small groups and feel comfortable inside the aquarium to explore any part of the tank without worrying about intruders. Their dashing movements in captivity are quite fun to watch, even when you keep just a handful of them at home.
Some will accuse them of slight aggression during mating, but this is only seen in males and is a momentary reaction that ends immediately after breeding.
Neon Tetra Tank Mates
The perfect tank mates for the social Neon Tetras are small, non-aggressive fish that mind their own business inside the aquarium. So, there will be no place for the African Cichlids in the same habitat.
Sometimes, a seemingly peaceful fish yet larger in size can end up stressing your Neon Tetras at home. So, when choosing the suitable tank mates for your neat-looking Tetras, don’t focus on behavior alone.
You could start with any of the following species to build a dream aquarium;
- Barbs
- Dwarf Gourami
- Small Rasboras
- Cardinal Tetra
- Harlequin Rasbora
- Zebrafish
- Loaches
- Kuhli Loach
- Swordtails
- Rummy Nose Tetra
- Platy
- Guppies
While we’ve always advocated for peaceful species as the ideal tank mates for Neon Tetras, it’s just as important to consider the newcomer’s activity levels and preferred tank position. Because they love to stay towards the middle and bottom of the tank, it’s vital to avoid fellow bottom dwellers.
Also, there’s no harm in keeping Neon Tetras alone if you can’t find suitable tank mates. They thrive in larger groups of up to 15 species and will save you from the hassles of finding suitable companions.
Breeding
Breeding Neon Tetras at home is possible but requires specific conditions. If you have the patience and commitment, you might pull it off at the first time of asking.
Usually, the first step in breeding this Tetra species is to determine the gender, sometimes called sexing. Typically, you can discern the male from the female species by looking at the general appearance.
Male Neon Tetras have slim bodies compared to plump females. As the breeding season approaches, feed your Neon Tetras on plenty of proteins and other live food to help them get the essential nutrients they crave for successful spawning.
At the same time, you will want to set up a separate breeding tank to keep the adult fish during this period. The designated breeding tank should mirror the befitting spawning conditions starting with a suitable pH of 5.0 to 6.0.
You can lower the temperature slightly as breeding begins before raising it steadily until it reaches around 72°F-75°F.
And by the way, Neon Tetras don’t appreciate much light during breeding. So, if you can’t turn it off altogether, it will be wise to reduce it to the dimmest possible level.
At this critical period, don’t overlook the safety of your Neon Tetras because the spawning season also presents them with the perfect opportunity to escape from the tank. Whether it’s well calculated or purely accidental, you must secure the top of the tank to prevent such escapes.
Neon Tetras are sometimes described as scatter breeders given their inability to lay all eggs in one place. For that reason, you should add the right breeding elements to the tank like the spawning mops, small rocks, and plants.
Obviously, the males will be responsible for fertilizing the eggs. Then, you should allow them to hatch by removing the adult fish from the tank as soon as possible.
Don’t be surprised if only a percentage of the eggs hatch because that’s how it happens with Neon Tetras. Usually, only a small fraction of the eggs will successfully hatch during spawning.
After that, the baby fish will eat egg sacs for the first few days of their lives before switching to infusoria and other fish food. But it won’t be long before the juvenile fish turn to brine shrimp as the standard meal, so you better get ready for their rapidly changing dietary needs.
Final Thoughts
Neon Tetras are a great addition to any aquarium, with their ease of care, peaceful temperament, and timeless beauty. After reading this guide, you will understand that keeping these fish in captivity, even as a first-timer, is not as challenging as some sources might have alluded to.
All it takes is effective planning with the fish’s dietary needs, behavior, and suitable tank mates in mind. If these species appeal to you, we would be glad to help you raise the best possible versions of Neon Tetras at home. So, are you ready for the thrilling adventure?
