Black Neon Tetra's info

[paulioo]

My 10 gallon tank finished its fishless cycle 2 days ago

So i went to my LFS to buy some harlequin Rasbora's but they were sold out

However i noticed they had some black neon tetra which looked pretty nice.

Does anyone have any experience of these little fish. I was tempted to buy 5 of them but wasnt sure if i'd regret it later because i was originally going for harlequin rasbora's.

Are they as active and fun to watch as the rasbora?


Paul.

 

[nitro]

I have 6 black neons. yes they do look nice and are very peaceful and can be shy so i would definalty say 6 minimum.

However they arent that active and playful like some tetras.

However ive never owned harlys so i cant really compare the activeness of both fish.


But i would think harlys are more active...


This probably hasnt been much help.

 

[yhbae]

If black neons behave anything like regular neons, they will be shy compare to harlequins, and they won't school as tightly. In fact, I've yet to see a species that schools better than harlequins (but my experience in tetras is limited).

I purchased neons for their looks rather than for their behavior...

 

[paulioo]

That settles it then, i'll just need to wait for my LFS to get the Harlequins back in stock.

Thanks for the info

Paul.

 

[David]

Actually black neons are quite nice. I kept a school of them with some small cichlids like rams. They don't school as tightly as neons or harlys, but they are great nonetheless. I find them much more attractive than the regular neons with their luminescent white stripe and the little red spot near the eye. One of my favourite fish that I've kept.

 

[Crystal]

I have to agree with you David, my black neons are beautiful, and they are fun to watch when they start chasing each other around.

 

[yhbae]

paulioo, why don't you give yourself another visit to the LFS and look at the species very carefully again before making the final decision? Now you know their behaviors, so whats remaining is their looks...

 

[Gill]

I have kept Both.

Black Neons get much Larger than Regular Neons.

They will sometimes Shoal with Harly's.

The Contrast between the 2 colors is nice.

1 thing I noticed.

Harly's like to swim in the Outlet current from the filter, and Black neons just hang out in the Centre of the Tank.

I get Harlys and Neons As Feeders though. So they Dont stay for long.

Guppies are stupidly Expensive Here.

 

[Lateral Line]

The Black Neon is a quite under rated fish, I like them a lot.

 

[SarahBravo]

I have a school of 16 regular neon tetras, and I bought 8 harlequin's yesterday. The harlys definitely have more personality than the neons, the harlys are schooling with my dwarf barbs, playing in the filter outflow and generally being cheeky and active, I love 'em! They look really cool too, under my moonlights they flashed like the neons, very pretty!

Sarah