Neon tetra
The neon tetra is a freshwater fish found in Amazon streams in southeastern Colombia, eastern Peru and western Brazil. It is also successfully farmed in southeast Asia. It is imported in vast numbers into the USA, but this is largely from farms.
Tropical fish enthusiasts are attracted to the neon tetra’s outstanding coloration and people all over the world keep it in regulated tanks in their home. In the wild, it can live in water with a pH of 4.0 to 4.8, but when they are kept in aquariums, they can tolerate a pH of 6.0 to 8.0.
The male tends to be slender with a straight blue line while the female is rounder and tends to have a bent blue line. Some can live up to 10 years in the wild, but only 2 to 3 years in an aquarium. They a shoaling fish and are relatively easy to keep in dim lighting with a lot of tannins in the water.
The neon tetra is an omnivore so, it is important to provide it with nutrients like brine shrimps, daphnia, freeze-dried bloodworms and micro-pellet food.
This species of fish is easily farmed and can breed after only 12 weeks – but this is more difficult in home aquariums. Diseases like “neon tetra disease “hamper the successful keeping of this fish and diseased fish must be immediately removed to contain the problem.
There are of course many varieties of tropical fish on the market, but many people appreciate the splendour and colour that the neon tetra brings to a home.
* Ref. Wikipedia
