Aquarium Fishes: Blue Neon

Blue neon (Paracheirodon innesi) - bright, bright, colorful aquarium fish, which boasts a family of kharatsinovyh. Also the fish is called neon ordinary and belongs to the group of tetras. In the wild, it can be found in the rivers of South America, where she joyfully rushes around surrounded by flocks of her own.

Blue neon is not the only representative of its kind, besides it there are also red, green and even black neons. Their colors correspond to the listed colors, and the name "neon" was received for the fact that the whole strip passes along the whole body and shines like a neon lamp.

These fish are very small - even adults do not exceed 4 cm. Alas, wishing to acquire only a couple, and preferably a boy girl, is disappointed. First, it is very difficult to distinguish a male from a female, the only relatively visible difference is a larger size and a rounded strip along the body line of the female. Well, and secondly, these creatures of schooling and even a couple in a large aquarium will experience some discomfort. And these small fish do not look a pair, it's much more interesting to observe their relationship in a flock of six or even ten or more individuals.

Blue neon - unpretentious and very adaptive aquarium fish, which can easily contain a beginner aquarist. It's a pity that these kids do not live too long, even under good conditions, a maximum of 5 years.

Maintenance and care

Conditions

So, wanting to get a small flock of blue neon, first you must acquire a suitable tank. Since these fish are very small, then for them (provided that there will not be neighbors), there will be enough volume up to 30 liters. Choose an oblong and low aquarium, the longer will be its length, the greater the space in which your pets can be worn. Ideally, the length of the aquarium should be between 30 and 50 cm. Of course, you can buy a couple of these crumbs and put them in a ten-liter jar, but that's how much it will look aesthetically - a question.

The second important indicator for neon in the aquarium is water. For them, a mild, moderately warm water with neutral pH reaction will be comfortable. If you want in numbers, then the stiffness is from 4 to 8 ° dH, the temperature is 20-24 ° C, the acidity is 7рН.

And a few more nuances:

1. Neons are quite capable of adapting and feeling comfortable in harder water up to 15 ° dH, but they will not be able to completely separate them in this case. However, about reproduction later.
2. As for temperature, the rule is typical for many small species - the more degrees on the thermometer column, the shorter the life expectancy of a fish. In this case, it is less possible (18-20 ° C they hardly notice, unless a sharp jump), but more than 24 ° C is already highly undesirable. Well, unless you decide to get rid of boring species in such a sophisticated way.

As for the substitution of water, then they are standardized once a week, only a large influx of new water can be harmful to neon, so the maximum volume to be replaced is 10%.

The presence of a filter is mandatory, the compressor - as needed. And no strong currents! First, neon is more comfortable in calm water, and secondly, they are small, and they will simply be constantly nailed to one of the walls.

What is the guide for selecting soil and plants? Fraction and composition of the soil does not matter (unless you think of using marble chips that increase stiffness), but the color is better dark, then the color of the fish will increase. Plants are also any, but better small-leaved thick thickets, so that it would be more convenient to hide them sometimes. Just leave a place free from everything, so that the fish can swim well there.

And more lighting, it must be muffled, scattered. Bright light scares, and the color of the neon then becomes less spectacular.

Feeding

When choosing fodder for blue neon, the main thing is diversity, but they will eat everything. Intermix dry and live food, then your fish will look and feel healthier. But! Do not overfeed these gluttons, and once a week, a day of relief will be useful to them.

Also note that neons are very small representatives of the underwater fauna, and some too large feed for them must be grinded beforehand.

Compatibility with other fish

When it comes to neon, the question of who gets along with, is almost not worth it. This is a peaceful aquarium fish, which can perfectly co-exist with other peaceful fish. It is necessary to exclude only too large species, for which neon can serve as food. It is clear that together with predators and too aggressive fish to keep them is not recommended.

Alternatively, in one aquarium with neon, you can plant a selection, cardinals, pecilions, guppies or barbs.

Reproduction

Want to breed blue neons at home? Get ready, it will be difficult.

However, the main problem is the difficulty of recreating sterile conditions for spawning. Yes, and the need for very, very soft water (3 ° dH and less) only adds to the hassle.

So, we take a well-crafted and very carefully crafted small spawning site. Ten-twenty-liter capacity will be enough. There is such a concept of "all-glass aquarium", if you can find such a one, you have a big plus, but it is better to disinfect it beforehand.

We apply to the spawner any version of the spawning substrate that you like (moss, separator net, small-leaved plants, pressed to the bottom), and do not forget to treat it well. Pour the softest water into it, which we can find (in the extreme case - we prepare ourselves) and raise its temperature to 24 ° C or slightly higher. Light is removed as far as possible, creating a very dense shadow. No sun, it is fatal for calves.

Next, choose future manufacturers. Can you confidently discern the female and the male? Feel free to plant them and keep them separately for about a week or two, while transferring to exclusively live and varied feeds (daphnia, bloodworm, cyclops, but no tubular). If not, then just use a large enough group of neons to ensure that there are likely to be representatives of both sexes.

In the evening, almost at night, we plant fish in a prepared spawning ground and wait. If everything goes as it should, the spawning will begin in the morning. The amount of calf laid by the female varies between 50-200 eggs.

Upon completion of spawning (the male will cease actively chasing the female), the fish should be discarded. At the same time, if you are planning a second stage of spawning (females can spawn again in ten days), it is better to males separately, so as not to confuse them with those that are just preparing for spawning.

On the maturation of eggs will need a day, all this time spawning should be well isolated from the light. The larvae in the diet do not need feeding, the fry will appear somewhere on the fourth-fifth day, and then a small fraction of the scattered light can be admitted into the spawning grounds. The fry is fed with "live dust", a little later with a cowboy.

As the young grows, in the growing aquarium, where it is in very small doses, add a little tougher water. Only in this way can the kids be taught to have increased rigidity.

Adult and, accordingly, mature blue neons begin to be counted after five months. By the way, for breeding it is better to use young, and not old fish.