Breeding Neon Tetras?

[PRW1988]

How exactly do I go about breeding neon tetras? Also, how do you sex them?

 

[Lateral Line]

Female tetras in general are deeper in the body then males and noticeably wider when viewed from above. There are some that claim you can tell additionally by the kink in the blue line, however, the body form is so obvious why bother.

In clean water, Neons will scatter eggs like most tetras. The problem is being blackwater fish, these rarely hatch. The Calcium ions in the water react with the egg shell making it too tough for the fry to emerge. To breed successfully, you need to create an environment where the water is acidic, usually below pH6 and almost free of dissolved salts, particularly salts of Calcium and, to a lesser extent, Magnesium. Such water is unbuffered and very unstable, it can swing wildly in pH in a very short time, usually with lethal results.

You will need to really understand water chemistry, and have a very large supply of suitable water on hand.

If you can control your water, Neons breed as readily as any other tetras and with similar requirements for after care.

 

[PRW1988]

I was doing some research online and found a site that told me if I use peat pellets in the filter it should lower to PH to about 5.6-6, is that true? Also, how would I go about removing all the salts?! Would distilled water work? or does that still have salt in it too??

 

[Lateral Line]

Peat pellets tend to have a lowering effect on pH, how much and how quick depends on the buffering capacity of the water. We are not just talking about "salt" here but "saltS", the final s makes a lot of difference. In places like the Rio Negro where a lot of blackwater tetras are found, the water is, for all practical purposes, free of all salts. It contains a complex biochemical loading however, not just peat, but leaf, bark and fruit acids and their decay products. I measured the pH in a number of places and found it to be lower then I was capable of reading, (so it was well below pH5).

Fish in regular tapwater, placed in water like this would die quickly of osmotic shock. I say again, this is not something to be lightly entered into, you really need to understand this water. If you don't, you will not succeed. The questions yu are asking suggest that you don't yet have a full grasp of the issues, if you did, you wouldn't need to ask about distilled water!!!

 

[PRW1988]

Alright then, thank you very, very much for the information Lateral Line, it seems asthough I am in need of more knowledge on the subject before I am to attempt breeding neons. Once again thank you for the information.