Neon Tetra

[TallTree01]

Okay, I've read a lot of neon tetra profiles on the net but I'd like to know for certain:
How big do they get?-I've read 6cm 4 cm 2 cm and even 0.75 cm
What ph do they prefer? - my current ph is 6.5
Do they need black water or peat filtration? - don't know much about either of these
What is ' neon tetra disease ' all about? Heard about but dunno much about it
How common is ntd?
Are they nippy? - heard horror stories about some blokes half moon betta getting torn to shreds by neons.
That's all. Thanks in advance. Have 9 atm

 

[Lateral Line]

Neons typically grow to 2.5 - 3cm. They naturally occur in soft acidic waters, but are mostly farm bred. Before I knew better, I kept them in hard alkaline tapwater without noticing any issues. Your 6.5 pH will be fine, they don't need blackwater or peat. NTD is infestation with pleistophora parasites and not really a disease at all, I've never seen it. They are quite harmless, I find stories of fish being "torn to shreds" by Neons hard to believe.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I'm not the most experienced but I have had neons since October and really love them!


How big do they get? Mine are about 3 cm
What ph do they prefer? 6.5 is good, my pH is 6.8 and they are happy
Do they need black water or peat filtration? Not an expert on any of that, but I have the regular HOB filter and all is well, neons don't have an enormous bioload.
What is ' neon tetra disease ' all about? It is an incurable disease that affects neons (and other tetra as well), I've had 17 neons and 4 of them got NTD... according to what I read it could wipe of the whole tank of neons so I started euthanizing them immediately when they were suspect and it has stopped. http/www.aquaticcommunity .com/disease/neon.php (broken link in case they aren't allowed)
How common is ntd? From what I gather, the more inbreed your source of neons is the more common it is.
Are they nippy? Mine certainly aren't, they are as gentle and curious as can be. Mine have lived with guppy fry and platy fry and not even so much as chased one. They will do weird gathering and have a look at new things.

 

[Paradise3]

How big do they get? - 3cm.
What ph do they prefer? - They're fine in just about anything unless they are wild caught. Then they practically need their natural environment replicating.
Do they need black water or peat filtration? - No.
What is ' neon tetra disease ' all about? Heard about but dunno much about it - Neon Tetra Disease(NTD) is caused by Pleistophora Hyphessobryconis. A single celled organism that is ingested by accident by the fish. The parasite spreads throughout the fishes body, finally settling in the skeletal muscles where it matures and kills the fish. When other fish pick at the dead fish the spores from the mature parasites are ingested and the cycle begins again. There is no effective treatment and the only real "cure" is to euthanize affected fish.
How common is ntd? - Not very common unless you buy live food or new fish that are carrying the parasite. Though as stated, there is no real cure for the parasite.
Are they nippy? - Depends on the fish. Some Neon Tetra's take no interest in long fins whereas some will shred long fins in an instant. My mums group in particular were kept with a male VT Homebred Betta and they were forever taking chunks out of his fins. They were separated and sold on to resolve the problem.
 
Hope this helps

 

[TallTree01]

Thanks guys, this helps a lot. Unfortunately my group of 9 has had a loss. I think, well I've been watching the for the past 1/2 hour and have only counted 8. The water levels were all good, he/she has always been the reject of the group though. RIP

Wait... Never mind just recounted 9. As soon as I posted that he died he swam out to say g'day, just to make me look like an idiot!

 

[EpicET]

How big do they get? - 3cm.
What ph do they prefer? - They're fine in just about anything unless they are wild caught. Then they practically need their natural environment replicating.
Do they need black water or peat filtration? - No.
What is ' neon tetra disease ' all about? Heard about but dunno much about it - Neon Tetra Disease(NTD) is caused by Pleistophora Hyphessobryconis. A single celled organism that is ingested by accident by the fish. The parasite spreads throughout the fishes body, finally settling in the skeletal muscles where it matures and kills the fish. When other fish pick at the dead fish the spores from the mature parasites are ingested and the cycle begins again. There is no effective treatment and the only real "cure" is to euthanize affected fish.
How common is ntd? - Not very common unless you buy live food or new fish that are carrying the parasite. Though as stated, there is no real cure for the parasite.
Are they nippy? - Depends on the fish. Some Neon Tetra's take no interest in long fins whereas some will shred long fins in an instant. My mums group in particular were kept with a male VT Homebred Betta and they were forever taking chunks out of his fins. They were separated and sold on to resolve the problem.
 
Hope this helps

 
Are you sure that they only grow to 3 cm? Because I have 5 neon tetras and at the moment one of them seems to be about 3.5 cm - 4cm.

 

[Paradise3]

How big do they get? - 3cm.
What ph do they prefer? - They're fine in just about anything unless they are wild caught. Then they practically need their natural environment replicating.
Do they need black water or peat filtration? - No.
What is ' neon tetra disease ' all about? Heard about but dunno much about it - Neon Tetra Disease(NTD) is caused by Pleistophora Hyphessobryconis. A single celled organism that is ingested by accident by the fish. The parasite spreads throughout the fishes body, finally settling in the skeletal muscles where it matures and kills the fish. When other fish pick at the dead fish the spores from the mature parasites are ingested and the cycle begins again. There is no effective treatment and the only real "cure" is to euthanize affected fish.
How common is ntd? - Not very common unless you buy live food or new fish that are carrying the parasite. Though as stated, there is no real cure for the parasite.
Are they nippy? - Depends on the fish. Some Neon Tetra's take no interest in long fins whereas some will shred long fins in an instant. My mums group in particular were kept with a male VT Homebred Betta and they were forever taking chunks out of his fins. They were separated and sold on to resolve the problem.
 
Hope this helps

 
Are you sure that they only grow to 3 cm? Because I have 5 neon tetras and at the moment one of them seems to be about 3.5 cm - 4cm.

 
As far as I'm aware Are you sure you have Neon Tetra's and not Cardinal Tetra's which get to 2"(5cm). Neons max out at 2-3cm, this includes the group of 24 we used to have in a 4ft community tank..

 

[PrairieSunflower]

LOL Talltree. I have to photograph my neons and count them in the picture to know how many I have!

 

[EpicET]

 

How big do they get? - 3cm.
What ph do they prefer? - They're fine in just about anything unless they are wild caught. Then they practically need their natural environment replicating.
Do they need black water or peat filtration? - No.
What is ' neon tetra disease ' all about? Heard about but dunno much about it - Neon Tetra Disease(NTD) is caused by Pleistophora Hyphessobryconis. A single celled organism that is ingested by accident by the fish. The parasite spreads throughout the fishes body, finally settling in the skeletal muscles where it matures and kills the fish. When other fish pick at the dead fish the spores from the mature parasites are ingested and the cycle begins again. There is no effective treatment and the only real "cure" is to euthanize affected fish.
How common is ntd? - Not very common unless you buy live food or new fish that are carrying the parasite. Though as stated, there is no real cure for the parasite.
Are they nippy? - Depends on the fish. Some Neon Tetra's take no interest in long fins whereas some will shred long fins in an instant. My mums group in particular were kept with a male VT Homebred Betta and they were forever taking chunks out of his fins. They were separated and sold on to resolve the problem.
 
Hope this helps

 
Are you sure that they only grow to 3 cm? Because I have 5 neon tetras and at the moment one of them seems to be about 3.5 cm - 4cm.

 
As far as I'm aware

Are you sure you have Neon Tetra's and not Cardinal Tetra's which get to 2"(5cm). Neons max out at 2-3cm, this includes the group of 24 we used to have in a 4ft community tank..

 
Yes I am very sure that they are Neon Tetras
Maybe mine are just big boned :\

 

[TallTree01]

Thanks guys. Really appreciate this. Been watching my tetras for the past 1 1/2 hours til I got bored. I saw a you tube clip on them they looked so cool. A guy got a 90 gallon tank and stocked it with loads of neons. EXTREMELY effective.

Figured you might want to see it:
http/m.youtube.com/watch?v=3x5FYKLhT84
Hope link works

He's pretty funny if you listen to him through out clip.

 

[Paradise3]

 

 

How big do they get? - 3cm.
What ph do they prefer? - They're fine in just about anything unless they are wild caught. Then they practically need their natural environment replicating.
Do they need black water or peat filtration? - No.
What is ' neon tetra disease ' all about? Heard about but dunno much about it - Neon Tetra Disease(NTD) is caused by Pleistophora Hyphessobryconis. A single celled organism that is ingested by accident by the fish. The parasite spreads throughout the fishes body, finally settling in the skeletal muscles where it matures and kills the fish. When other fish pick at the dead fish the spores from the mature parasites are ingested and the cycle begins again. There is no effective treatment and the only real "cure" is to euthanize affected fish.
How common is ntd? - Not very common unless you buy live food or new fish that are carrying the parasite. Though as stated, there is no real cure for the parasite.
Are they nippy? - Depends on the fish. Some Neon Tetra's take no interest in long fins whereas some will shred long fins in an instant. My mums group in particular were kept with a male VT Homebred Betta and they were forever taking chunks out of his fins. They were separated and sold on to resolve the problem.
 
Hope this helps

 
Are you sure that they only grow to 3 cm? Because I have 5 neon tetras and at the moment one of them seems to be about 3.5 cm - 4cm.

 
As far as I'm aware

Are you sure you have Neon Tetra's and not Cardinal Tetra's which get to 2"(5cm). Neons max out at 2-3cm, this includes the group of 24 we used to have in a 4ft community tank..

 
Yes I am very sure that they are Neon Tetras

Maybe mine are just big boned :\

 
Does the red on them continue onto their bellies or are their bellies silver?

 

[EpicET]

Bellies are silver, the red only goes about halfway, meaning that they are neon tetras