tetras pregnant?

[shuttlechamp]

I have 7 new neon tetras and i think 3 could be pregnant, they have strange shaped stomaches. i need to know the signs

 

[Hels]

Hi

normally pregnant neons are more rounded in the body, female neons dont have such a straight blue line like the males,

if you've only just got them though i'd maybe be a bit surprised... but then im not really sure how old they have to be to breed....???

are they swimming okay?

 

[Lateral Line]

Neons like all characins are egglayers, not livebearers, so they are not "pregnant" as such. It is the natural state of female egglayers to be deeper in the body and noticeably wider when viewed from the front or above.

In conditions to their liking, they will scatter a few eggs from time to time. Hatching them requires extremely soft acidic water and raising them, special foods - it is not likely to happen in ana average community tank.

 

[Hels]

yeah... sorry... would agree with that....

pregnant wasn't the word i should of used, what i meant was that female neons that are getting ready to lay eggs would be more rounded....

 

[shuttlechamp]

sorry about pregnant but what word do i use? what do i do now? do i get a side tank or "nursery" type thing or what?im a newby to fish breeding so i need taken through step by step

 

[Hels]

if you wanted to breed them you would have to get a special breeding tank for them... somebody else could probably give you a better idea of exactly what to do though???... a breeding trap or anything else like that wouldnt be suitable for tetras because the male and female (please correct me if im wrong) spawn over plants

what else have you got in your tank??

 

[Hels]

they might still spawn in your main tank if conditions are right but the eggs are most likely to be eaten, so if you want to successfully breed them you'll need the extra tank

 

[shuttlechamp]

do i separate the females then? i have six male guppies, 3 inidentified plec type fish, a cory and a siemease fighting fish.

 

[Lateral Line]

To breed Neons, you'll need very soft, like almost zero hardness, and acidic water, like pH 5.5. This water is very unstable and subject to wild pH fluctuations. In harder water, the eggs simply won't hatch.

You'll need to keep the males and females apart for a few weeks, and condition well with high quality foods. Put a pair in the breeding tank, female first the day before, male at lights out the day before spawning. They'll usually spawn at first light. As soon as they stop laying, both must be removed or they will eat the eggs. They scatter over feathery plant thickets or spawning mops.

I would never recommend Neons as a first egglayer species to breed. They are difficult to hatch and difficult to raise. Zebras or Rosy Barbs are so much easier.

 

[hello kitty]

have they lost colouring or anything, it may be ntd

 

[shuttlechamp]

they are the same but strange stomaches