Is It True?

[ajbettle]

is it true that if u bought 50 neons u wud probabaly end up with about 5 left after a month, are they really that delicate...

iv heard there hardy once they have adapted but others say there a waste of time...

im worried now coz i wanted to get some....

 

[diademhill]

Yes if you put 50 neons in a new 6 gallon tank!

They are not particularly delicate but are often shipped when very small and do need good water in mature tanks to thrive. I would recomend watching a batch in store for a week before purchasing any.

I only have one neon - she's at least six years old & the last of her shoal, she may be older because I haven't purchased any for six years - she could be ten! (She hangs around with a few other tailenders in a 160 litre tank)
I've had other small tetras that old.

Neons are hardier than zebra ottos.

 

[Nevergone815]

Yes if you put 50 neons in a new 6 gallon tank!

They are not particularly delicate but are often shipped when very small and do need good water in mature tanks to thrive. I would recomend watching a batch in store for a week before purchasing any.

I only have one neon - she's at least six years old & the last of her shoal, she may be older because I haven't purchased any for six years - she could be ten! (She hangs around with a few other tailenders in a 160 litre tank)
I've had other small tetras that old.

Neons are hardier than zebra ottos.

well it really depends. i hate them personally. i love the colors and actually want to get some later on. but when i introduced them into one of my tanks before it was fully stocked, i added 5 in the tank. sure they were less than an inch long but skyrocketed my (before the add- normal/good) levels to outrageuos perportions. my tank wasn't close to being 6 months old, but my levels were good until the add. afterwards one of them died from no apparent reason. i quickly got rid of the rest of them by giving them to one of my girlfriend's friends who had a tank and loved them.

they can get what is called neon tetra disease or false neon tetra disease. other tetras may get this (as far as i am aware) but it mostly affects neons. this can wipe out a school of neons in a heartbeat, so this is probably where the notion that if you start with 50 you will end up with 5. just monitor the fish and don't put yourself in a situation to get that far in debt. get 5 at a time and always quarentine all fish before introducing them

i would not put ANY neons in a 6 gal as they need to be in schools of at least 5 and they are pretty active fish. also like said above, make sure the tank is fully cycled. at least 6 months old or pretty close to it. the neons should be fine then.

 

[ajbettle]

any other rwally small tetras, i was thinking h n t lights

 

[walker001]

I've always found them to be a extremely easy fish to keep. Never had any problems with them over the years. My current stock is 10 in a 30 gallon community tank and they have been in there over a year. Just a big blue and red cloud that drifts back and forth across the tank till they park for awhile in the patch of moneywort growning in a corner for a break.

I am not so sure about how so many fish get sick. There has to be a vector for the illness. So, if your fish have been healthy and a bunch die off, there has been something introduced to the tank that killed them. Maybe something hitchhiked in on some plants you added or some frozen foods, but realistically you should never have mass die offs unless you made a major mistake.

Try them out. They are truely a wonder when you have a decent sized shoal. (try to get as many as you can support comfortably) They can mesmerize you as they shoal back and forth across the tank.

Don't be afraid. All it takes is some care and attention. Also try to remember, most fish prefer to be grouped in the largest group you can support. And usually end up better looking in the tank than a mish-mosh of 5 or 6 species in cramped quarters.

Good luck!

Walker

 

[Barracuda518]

Ive had a school of 6 Neon's going on 6 months now. So, Im thinking if the water conditions are right and you can get some healthy ones, they should be ok.

 

[TammyLiz]

My take on neons is that they prefer soft, acidic, water, and most of the world doesn't have that. People are picky about providing blackwater for some blackwater species, but don't usually worry about it for neons. Being thrown into water that isn't what they prefer is probably what makes them seem delicate when newly purchased. If you take care of your tank like you should and do regular water changes, and are careful when introducing them into your (most likely less than ideal) tank conditions, they are not difficult fish to keep. Keeping anything in conditions that are far from their preferred environment and allowing the parameters to fly all over the place is going to cause problems, and neons just happen to get thrown into this situation quite often. I like them, too, and have recently been staring longlingly at them in the LFS . Then again, I stare longingly at half the fish there.

Tammy