#Neon tetra eggs how to#

Stock the breeding tank with one or two pairs of male and female neons, then leave them for a couple of weeks.įeed them live, protein-rich foods – live is far better but use frozen if you must. I recently used this to create a black background in my community tank and it looks great as well as being practical for breeding and raising Neon Tetra fry.įish tanks with black backgrounds look great and let in less light. Neon Tetra fry are super sensitive to light during those first days, so having a nice shady area will give you the best chance of success.Ī top tip is to attach blackout window film to the sides of the tank to limit the amount of light getting in. They’re hiding from two things – firstly from being eaten as eggs or as fry, and secondly from the light.

You’ll need plenty of places for the new fry to hide – a covering of plants is ideal.

Slightly acidic pH – between 5 and 6 is perfectĪ basic starter tank like this one is fine as a breeding tank – don’t do things the lazy way and put a breeding box in your existing tank as you’ll need very specific conditions, such as lighting (see below).

Low water hardness – ideally less than 3 dGH.That’s if you can get them to breed in the first place – as I say, I’ve had tetras for a while now and never seen any signs of the females being gravid.įirst, you’ll need a breeding tank with just the right water parameters: Firstly, neons eat their eggs, so you need to be fast. So really this article should be titled ‘How can you tell if a Neon Tetra is gravid’ (but nobody really asks that question). Unlike other species such as Platys, Neon Tetras don’t give birth to live fry, which is where the distinction in terminology mentioned above becomes more important.Ī female carrying eggs is ‘gravid’ whereas only live-birthing fish can really be said to be pregnant. If you’re interested in reading more about this fascinating mating ritual, have written up an excellent guide. He’s essentially dancing, to impress his potential mate, who crucially is carrying eggs. If the male swims erratically, pausing and then resuming and especially swimming in square patterns, this is basically a neon’s way of impressing the female. The rapid, odd patterns in their swimming looks like they may be unhappy with the water quality – but look closer.

One key indicator of ‘pregnancy’ in neons is behavior, not only in the female concerned, but also the prospective father.Ĭourting patterns in Neon Tetras can be alarming at first. Once I realised females were a little more rounded naturally, I realised I was just looking at normal, healthy Neon Tetra ladies.

#Neon tetra eggs how to#

Once you’ve identified the females in the tank, you’ll be able to compare them side by side (good luck getting them to keep still long enough!) and if one has an enlarged belly, you may have yourself a pregnant neon.īefore I did my research, I wondered whether I had pregnant/gravid tetras, but that’s just because I didn’t know how to identify the sex of my neons. My Cardinals and Neons are a little camera shy…