How to understand that neon is pregnant. Neon fish: the whole truth about reproduction. Latin name: Paracheirodon

In the evening, when it’s chilly and chilly outside, I wrap myself in a warm blanket, pour some coffee and admire the neon lights in my aquarium!

Neons are one of the most popular aquarium fish. These shiny little fish have long won the hearts of aquarists and have taken their rightful place among such mini-fish as guppies, swordtails and tetras.
Neons received such recognition due to their unpretentiousness, compactness and, of course, due to neon body coloring.

Latin name: Paracheirodon

Squad, family: cypriniformes, characins
(in Latin Characidae).
Comfortable water temperature: 18-24°C
(for manufacturers up to 22° C)
"Acidity" Ph: 5.5 - 8°.
(for future producers pH up to 6.8°)
Hardness dH: 5-20°.
(for future manufacturers - dH up to 10°)
Aggressiveness: not aggressive 0%.
Content complexity: light.

Neon Compatibility: non-aggressive, peaceful fish (neons, tetras, swordtails, platies, ornatus, pulchers, lanterns).
Incompatible: Neons should not be kept with large, aggressive fish: cichlis, barbs, large catfish, goldfish, labeo, gourami.
How long do they live: The lifespan of neons directly depends on the temperature of the aquarium water in which they are kept: 18° C - 4 years, 22° C - 3 years, 27° C - 1.5 years. As can be seen, with increasing temperature, the biorhythm of neon life also increases. That is why, unlike many other aquarium fish, they can and even need to be kept in “cool” water. You can find out how long other fish live IN THIS ARTICLE!
Minimum aquarium for keeping neons: from 10 liters, you can plant 4 neon in such an aquarium. Neons are schooling fish and therefore it is recommended to keep them in larger aquariums. See how long neon can be kept in X aquarium (at the bottom of the article there are links to aquariums of all sizes).

Requirements for care and maintenance conditions of neon

- Neons definitely need aeration and filtration, weekly water changes up to 1/3 of the volume of aquarium water.
- It is not necessary to cover the aquarium; although the fish are mobile, they do not jump out of the reservoir.
- lighting should be moderate. The aquarium is equipped with shading areas, which is achieved with the help of thickets of living plants, as well as with the help of floating plants.
- design of the aquarium, according to your taste and color: stones, grottoes, driftwood and other shelters. The aquarium must have an open space for swimming.

Feeding and diet of neons: In principle, fish are omnivorous and unpretentious when it comes to food. They eat dry, live food and substitutes with pleasure. But, like many aquarium fish, neons love live food: bloodworms, brine shrimp, bark, cyclops, daphnia. Neons take food from the surface of the water or in its thickness. The food that has fallen to the bottom may remain untouched. Therefore, the fish should be fed in portions so that the food does not have time to fall to the bottom.

Feeding any aquarium fish should be correct: balanced, varied. This fundamental rule is the key to the successful keeping of any fish, be it guppies or astronotuses. The article talks about this in detail, it outlines the basic principles of the diet and feeding regime for fish.

In this article, we note the most important thing - feeding fish should not be monotonous; the diet should include both dry food and live food. In addition, you need to take into account the gastronomic preferences of a particular fish and, depending on this, include in its diet food either with the highest protein content or, conversely, with plant ingredients.

Popular and popular food for fish, of course, is dry food. For example, you can find food from the Tetra company, the leader of the Russian market, on aquarium shelves all the time and everywhere; in fact, the range of food from this company is amazing. Tetra’s “gastronomic arsenal” includes individual food for a specific type of fish: goldfish, cichlids, loricariids, guppies, labyrinths, arowanas, discus, etc. Tetra has also developed specialized foods, for example, to enhance color, fortified, or for feeding fry. Detailed information You can find out about all Tetra feeds on the company’s official website -

It should be noted that when purchasing any dry food, you should pay attention to the date of its manufacture and shelf life, try not to buy food in bulk, and also store the food in a closed state - this will help avoid the development of pathogenic flora in it.

HISTORY OF NEONS

Motherland and natural habitat neon habitats are streams and rivers South America: Peru, Colombia, Brazil. Rivers - top of the river Amazons from a certain Sao Paulo de Olivenza to Iquitos live heavily in the river. Putumayo and R. Purus do Boca do Tapaua. As you can see, the natural habitat of neons is very distant and mysterious. That is why the chronicle of these fish in the aquarium world is quite young. The starting point of neons as aquarium fish can be considered 1935, when a French citizen A. Rabo discovered these neon fish in the waters of the Putumayo River (Eastern Peru).

Discoverer Auguste Rabeau was delighted and surprised by the beauty of the discovered red-blue fish, which prompted him to bring several individuals to the United States of America and Old Europe. A year later - 1936. This type of unusual fish was studied and described by the American ichthyologist S. Myers.

Germany is considered the second birthplace of neon. This is due to the fact that it was the Germans who were the first to manage to breed neons under artificial conditions. At that time, it was a sensation, since neither in the United States of America nor in France did fish reproduce under artificial conditions. The German breakthrough in neon breeding was due not so much to the merits of man as to the presence in Germany of very soft water, which neon fish love so much.

Description: Neon is a small, nimble fish. IN aquarium conditions males reach sizes up to 3 cm, and females are slightly larger - up to 3.5 cm in length.
Neon color: Exist different kinds neon and the color of each is different. In general, all neons have one thing in common - a neon strip running along the entire body, which actually gives the shine unique to these fish.

Behavioral features: Neons are peaceful, schooling, nimble fish. The fish feel great in an aquarium in a large group. Their agility requires the aquarium to have space, which is so necessary for maneuvers. Corydoras (speckled catfish) are considered the friends and helpers of neons; they monitor the cleanliness of the aquarium soil without interfering with the neons.

Reproduction and breeding of neons

Initially, I would like to say that the reproduction of neons is not very difficult. At least special ones difficult conditions or hormonal injections are not required.

Sexual differences: Neon males fewer females, about half a centimeter, they are much slimmer than the “girls”, and their neon side stripe has a clear, even shape, without wrinkles. In turn, females are larger than males, they are fuller, “potbellied”, the neon stripe bends in the middle of the body.

Preparation of producers for spawning: Neons reach sexual maturity at 6-9 months. For successful breeding, “neon parents” are initially kept in comfortable conditions, which include the presence of a wide aquarium house, varied feeding and comfortable water parameters. Before spawning, males and females are kept separately and fed abundantly with live food for half a month. When living separately, the water temperature is lowered to 19 °C.
It is believed that the best producers are fish aged 10-12 months.

Arrangement of a spawning aquarium: an aquarium from 40 centimeters in length, the bottom should be without soil, a separator mesh is installed on the bottom, the back and side of the aquarium are darkened, the substrate should be dark. Water parameters in the spawning tank: level 15 cm, temperature 20-22° C, hardness dH up to 2°, KH 0°, pH 5.5-6.5°, natural lighting only. It is recommended to disinfect spawning water with ultraviolet radiation or ozone.

Neon Spawning: Having prepared the aquarium for spawning, males and females are planted in the afternoon towards evening in a ratio of 1:1 or 3 males to 1 female. Usually the fish spawn by the next morning at dawn. However, this process may take up to 3 days. During the spawning period, neons are not fed anything.
Females lay non-stick eggs from 50 to 200 eggs at a time.
Immediately after spawning, I remove the parents and darken the nest (remember, light is detrimental to the eggs!!!). It is imperative to remove the spawners, as they eat the fry.
Within four hours after spawning, you need to monitor the eggs and, if whitened eggs appear, remove them immediately.
The incubation period for neon eggs is approximately 22 hours.

Caring for neon fry

Neon juveniles begin to swim already on the 4-5th day, until this moment the larvae hardly move and hang in the spawning aquarium.

Fry require mandatory aeration, a water temperature of 20-22° C and a daily change of 1/10 of the water volume; the water in the aquarium should be at a level of up to 10 centimeters.
From the moment the fry begin to swim (4-5 days), they must be fed in portions often. As a starter feed, it is necessary to use special feed for juvenile fish. This food is sold in many pet stores, for example, TETRA MIN Baby and TETRA MIN Junior or sera MICROGRAN. You can also feed: ground boiled egg yolk, rotifers and ciliates.

When raising neon fry, you should be careful with the lighting of the spawning aquarium. Lighting is increased gradually, 100% - ordinary lighting can be done only after the juveniles “get on their feet”, and this happens by the 1st month of life. Otherwise, the fry will simply lose their orientation.

What do neons cause?

Fish can get sick from virtually all types of contagious and non-contagious diseases. Neons, being small and fragile fish, do not tolerate stress well (for example, if they are chased by “bad neighbors”), as well as uncomfortable water parameters and the lack of a school lifestyle - which, taken together and individually, can lead to diseases (for example, ichthyophthirosis - decoy) . They have neons and a disease inherent only to them - plystophorosis or also called “neon disease”. This infection manifests itself in the form of fading areas on the body of fish - in neon, blue and red stripes fade. The disease is virtually incurable!

USEFUL TIPS:

It is better to feed neons once a day and regularly fasting days(once a week), which in turn will help improve the health of the fish.
- when decorating an aquarium for neon lights, you should use dark tones of the ground and background.
- a sign of poor health or stress in neons is the paleness of their color; they can fade until they turn completely grey.
- you should carefully use aquarium preparations containing copper - neons cannot tolerate it.

All types of neon

Neon blue or common (Paracheirodon innesi).

Neon blue (Paracheirodonsimulans).
Neon red (Paracheirodonaxelrodi).
Neon green (Costelo).
Neon black (Hyphessobryconherbertaxelrodi).

Artificially obtained:
Neon gold (Paracheirodoninnesivar.)
Neondiamondordiamond(Paracheirodon innesi diamond), "albino" neon shape.

There are also rare, artificially bred neons:

Neon orange or orange.

Neon blue or common (Paracheirodon innesi)

Neon blue (Paracheirodon simulans)

Due to the similarity in name with blue neon, this type of neon is lost from view by aquarists. The progenitors of blue neon are blue and red neon. The fish is distinguished by a rather frail body, a neon stripe runs down the middle along the entire body. I reach sizes up to 4cm. More details here: Neon blue

Neon red (Paracheirodon axelrodi)

Habitat: Orinoco and Rio Negro rivers. These neons very similar to blue ones and only slightly different in color. Along the entire body there are two continuous stripes of blue and red neon colors. Can reach sizes up to 5.5 centimeters.

The back is painted dark green. There is a wide stripe of dark color running across the entire body, with a neon turquoise blue stripe in it. Can reach sizes up to 3.5 centimeters.
More details: Neon green or Costello

Neon black (Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi)

These neons have a long, slightly flattened body. There are two stripes running along the entire body, narrow silver at the top and wide black at the bottom. More details: Black neon

Neon golden (Paracheirodon innesi var.)

Neon diamond or diamond(Paracheirodon innesi diamond)

These fish do not have any neon stripes at all. The diamond type of neons has only a light color and a reddish tail. Reaches sizes up to 3 centimeters. More details: Neon diamond or diamond

A very rare and expensive type of neon, with a characteristic veil-shaped fins. Reach up to 4 cm in length. Content parameters are standard. Cost 5.4 US dollars. More details: Neon voile and neon orange

Neon orange or orange

Rare species! Neon resembles a transparent orange slice. It is the subject of hunting by gourmet gourmets of the aquarium world.

Interesting facts about neons

"Neons: A Bloody History"

As it was already said earlier, a certain French citizen, Auguste Rabaud, was the first person who became interested in neons. Well, since he was a dashing businessman and was looking for gold in the tropical forests of the Amazon River, and at the same time he was catching exotic butterflies and collecting orchids, again not for idle curiosity, but for further sale - the reflection of the neon fish was greedily reflected by a gold coin in his insatiable eyes .
Everyone knows that greed and greed do not lead to good because these acts are included in the list of deadly sins. Rabo also paid for this. And it all happened like this:
Auguste Rabot wandered around tropical forests Amazon and caught the infection - tropical fever. Fortunately, it was pumped out by the local aborigines - the Peruvian Indians. Having recovered, Rabo, in one of the Indian huts, first saw neons floating in a makeshift bowl. It was then that Rabo came up with a business idea on how to profit from these shiny fish.
He organized the transportation of fish to the continent, and the poor little neons were stuffed into wooden boxes, coating the cracks with resin, and in addition, the fish were not fed anything during transportation. However, the neons turned out to be resilient and arrived safely in the United States of America.
Most Rabo sent the surviving neons to Germany, and gave the rest to the fanatic and expert on tropical fish - William Innesi. Remembering the nature of O. Rabo, it should be said that this was done not out of the kindness of his heart, but for the purpose of advertising - after all, Innes was the publisher of an aquarium magazine and Rabo was hoping for the publication of an article about his mega find, with all the ensuing profit-making consequences...
The article was published, in addition, Inessi handed over the fish to ichthyologist D. Myers, who in 1936. published scientific work with a description of a new species of fish and named them in honor of Inessi - Paracheirodon innesi.

Reference:
William Thornton Innes (1874 -1969)- Born in Philadelphia, USA, where he graduated from school. Upon completion of his studies, he began working for his father in the publishing house. In 1917 he published his first book, “About Goldfish.” In 1932 founded his famous magazine"Aquarium", which existed for 35 years. In addition, since 1920, Innes regularly organized aquarium exhibitions. Also in 1932 published the book “Exotic Aquarium Fishes”, which was regularly reprinted.
George Myers (1938-1970)- US citizen: ichthyologist, zoologist and herpetologist, was a professor at Stanford University from 1942 to 1994. - Professor at the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro.

Thus began the neon boom! Employees of the largest aquarium companies made Auguste Rabaud rich by generously and regularly paying him decent sums for the supply of neons. Aquarium businessmen hoped to reproduce them and thereby return the funds spent on Rabo. But that was not the case, all the swept neon eggs died for unknown reasons.
In turn, Rabo, realizing the benefits of his monopoly position, strictly kept the secret of the neon habitat and secretly went to the Amazon for a new batch of fish. This situation lasted three years until spies from aquarium companies tracked Rabo down to the Ucayali River, where he was killed. A year later, the supply of neon fish was established without the participation of the deceased.

Neons, what else?!

Neons are called the initiators of aquarium chemistry. This is due to the fact that in order to breed them and obtain the “necessary soft, spawning water,” aquarists had to carefully study the hydrochemistry of water, which is why the aquarium business rose to a higher level.
- Eggs and juveniles of neons are catastrophically afraid of lighting, from which they inevitably die. The neon genetic program plays such a cruel joke on them, which allows the fish to develop only in twilight, as happens in the tropical natural environment Amazon River.
- Neons have scales, but under it there is skin, which consists of special pigment cells - chromatophores. Actually, they produce the neon-metallic color of the fish from the blood.
- Fish do not emit light, it is only reflection and refraction of incident rays of light.
- Not only neons can glow neon, but also many other inhabitants of the aquarium world. For example, the neon goby oceanops (Elacatinus oceanops), the size of which is comparable to neons and is 5 cm.

in the photo there is a neon goby oceanops

Many fans of the aquarium world wonder why neons need such an attention-grabbing color, because it is very dangerous? Until now, there is no scientific explanation for this color of fish. There is only an assumption that they need it to attract a partner during the mating season, as well as in order to confuse the attacking predator, disorienting it when the flock of neons scatters.

Recommended reading about neon:
1. Kochetov S. “Neons and small characinids”
2. Kochetov S. “Characinids in the aquarium: from neons to piranhas”
The author of the books talks about many types of tropical fish, including neon fish and other small characins. From the books you will learn how to prepare an aquarium for neons, their conditions of maintenance, feeding and reproduction.

All of the above is just the fruit of observing this type of aquarium fish and collecting various information from owners and breeders. We would like to share with visitors not only information, but also with live emotions, allowing you to penetrate the world of aquariums more fully and subtly. Register on, participate in discussions on the forum, create profile topics where you will talk about your pets in the first person and first-hand, describe their habits, behavior and content, share with us your successes and joys, share and learn from experience others. We are interested in every bit of your experience, every second of your joy, every awareness of a mistake, which makes it possible for your comrades to avoid the same mistake. The more of us there are, the more pure and transparent drops of goodness there are in the life and everyday life of our seven billion society.

Reproduction of aquarium neons is a painstaking task that requires patience, attention and experience. To ensure this process is successful and your aquarium is replenished with new specimens, read the rules for breeding them.

Preparing breeder neon for spawning

Neon aquarium fish reach sexual maturity at 8 months and when kept in optimal conditions retain the ability to spawn for up to 4-5 years. However, males and females are selected for spawning at the age of 10-12 months, because It is believed that this age is optimal for successful reproduction of neons.

It is easy to distinguish males and females: Males are half a centimeter smaller than females and much “slimmer”; their lateral stripe is smooth, without convolutions. In turn, females are noticeably larger and plumper than males, and their neon stripe has a bend in the middle.

Neon fish selected for breeding should be placed in separate aquariums several weeks before spawning and provided with comfortable conditions. The water temperature in each aquarium should be between 19-22°. The fish are fed variedly and plentifully, including live food in the diet.

Setting up a spawning tank

To propagate neons, take a glass container with a volume of 15-20 liters, preferably elongated. Wash it thoroughly and disinfect it, fill it with cationized or distilled water, previously settled and disinfected with ultraviolet light.

Next add 200-250 ml. water from a common aquarium with neons. At the bottom of the container, place a small bunch of Java moss (make sure there are no snails on it first) or a fine mesh (artificial sponge).

The second stage is water preparation. Neons can lay eggs in any water, but fertilization is possible only in soft water, so the optimal hardness should be about 1°. Neons spawn in a slightly acidic environment (pH 5.5-6). You can acidify the water with special preparations or, for example, peat decoction. The water level in the spawning aquarium should not be higher than 20 cm.

Next we set up aeration. The blowing in the spawning tank should not be very strong.

Then we raise the water temperature to 25-26? and launch producers. It is advisable to do this in the afternoon.

The breeding aquarium for neon fish should be shaded, leaving one side dimly lit to allow the spawning results to be seen. The process should be completed by morning. The bulk of the game can be seen on or under the substrate.

After spawning

Correct actions after spawning guarantee the appearance of offspring and their viability. For this:

1. We put producers back in community aquarium.
2. Carefully shake the eggs from the substrate to the bottom.
3. Next, reduce the water level in the spawning tank to 7-10 cm.
4. Add a special antifungal drug (such as methylene blue, General Tonic, etc.).

5. We monitor the development of eggs, promptly removing the whitened eggs with a pipette, and wait for the appearance of the fry, maintaining them in the spawning tank constant temperature at 25-26°. The eggs take approximately 36-48 hours to develop.

Appearance of fry

Neon fry first hang on the glass, and after a little time they begin to swim. Babies have developed an instinctive orientation towards light - phototaxis. We use this feature for feeding. In a darkened aquarium, leave a beam of light and place ciliates? healthy and nutritious food for neon fry. Ciliates will accumulate in a lighted place, and the fry will also rush there. Gradually, neon fry are transferred to feeding on artemia, nauplii and rotifers, and then they are given cyclops.

Over time, it is necessary to increase the water hardness in the spawning aquarium with fry, adding water from the general aquarium daily.

Reproduction of neons is not an easy, but very exciting activity. If you are new to this business, we also advise you to watch the video of the process of breeding neon aquarium fish.

The most beautiful among the popular and unpretentious species are neon fish, the reproduction of which is more difficult than that of viviparous fish or angelfish.

For beginners, achieving offspring from them is considered a difficult task.

But every breeder has to master such subtleties, because fish breeding is one of the most interesting aspects of maintaining an aquarium farm.

Requirements for living conditions during breeding

Like many tropical species decorative ichthyofauna, the breeding season of neons coincided with the beginning of the rainy season in their places natural habitat. In practice, this means the supply of a large amount of soft, almost distilled water during heavy and frequent rainfalls. In an aquarium, you can imitate the natural climate and provoke spawning in neons.

When breeding neon fish at home, you need to follow natural rhythms, trying not to exhaust your pets with too frequent spawning. IN natural environment habitats, fish spawn 2 times a year, and the duration of these periods is 6-8 weeks. Between spawning seasons there must be periods of rest lasting about 4 months.

In order to arouse the neon instinct for procreation and force them to reproduce, it is enough to change the water in the aquarium more often than usual (this can also lead to the reproduction of guppies, angelfish, mollies and other neighbors).

It should be soft and have a sour reaction. These indicators can be determined using tests that are easily purchased at a pet store. There, if necessary, you can also buy tools for changing inappropriate parameters. Ideally, the water in the aquarium should meet the following requirements:

• hardness - 2-40;
• acidity (pH) - no more than 7;
• temperature - 25ºС.

Before adding water to change the aquarium, it must be kept in an open container for 24-48 hours. You need to replace up to 10% of the water daily or do it every other day, adding 20%.

Change one tenth of the water in the vessel daily

Particular attention should be paid to feeding. For neon breeding to be successful, they need to be provided with the most balanced nutrition possible. High-quality concentrates can be used as the basis. Be sure to supplement the diet with live food containing a large number of squirrel: bloodworms, coretra, tubifex, etc.

How to choose manufacturers?

At the beginning of the spawning season, differences between males and females become noticeable. During the resting period, neon fish are practically indistinguishable from each other, and only an experienced breeder can correctly determine the sex. But before spawning, the differences become quite noticeable.

There are several signs by which you can determine the gender of a fish and select a female and a male to breed neons in an aquarium:

• females look more rounded, their abdomen is noticeably enlarged;
• in males, the swim bladder moves towards the anus, it becomes visible to the light;
• the blue stripe on the neon's body remains straight in the male and slightly curved in the center in the female.

Having selected the best producers, they need to be placed in different containers for 1-2 weeks: females separately from males.

Before the final transfer of the spawners to the spawning tank, you need to try to combine them several times in a separate container in order to choose the one that is ready for fertilization.

When selecting, you need to take into account that for each female you will need 2-3 handsome men. When choosing future parents, you need to pay attention to their appearance, activity, color brightness. The age of the fish at the time of the first spawning should be at least 8-9 months.

What is a spawning aquarium?

Reproduction of neons in a community aquarium is almost impossible: even with low water hardness, the eggs will not be fertilized. To make this process successful, separate small spawning tanks are used. It is easier to provide and maintain the conditions necessary for fertilization, incubation of eggs, hatching and growth of juveniles. In addition, in a community aquarium, eggs will quickly become tasty and nutritious food for snails and bottom fish. Learn more about the spawning aquarium in this useful video:

To ensure that aquarium neon fish reproduce and the eggs are not damaged, experienced breeders take cast tanks measuring 25x15x15 cm for 1 family. To stimulate spawning activity, it is necessary to place small-leaved plants on the bottom: Java moss, pinnate, myriophyllum or the like. Vegetation must be pressed down with a pebble so that it does not float up.

When transferring plants from a common pond, be sure to carefully select all snails. If you are not sure that there are no mollusks in the grass, then it is best to use artificial protection for the eggs: tangled fishing line, nylon mesh or plastic washcloths. No soil is needed in a spawning aquarium.

Very soft water (about 10) is required for successful fertilization. Typically, distilled water is used for this purpose, setting the acidity (pH) at 5.5-6. You can acidify the environment with a decoction of alder cones or peat, adding it to the spawning tank and constantly checking the pH level. The easiest way is to use store-bought medications and test strips for this purpose.

During the spawning period, use distilled water

When the required water parameters are achieved, it needs to be heated to 26ºC, turn on the aerator at low power and in the evening introduce the female and the selected male into the container. For complete success you need to darken the container, leaving diffuse lighting not directed into the reservoir. When observing fish, you can see how neons reproduce. This will happen early in the morning, so you need to be patient.

Sacrament of marriage

The readiness of females to spawn eggs during the spawning period occurs every 7-8 days. For males, this period is extended, and they show a willingness to reproduce only once every 14-15 days. For this it is necessary to select large quantity male individuals. The one who is ready to fertilize the eggs begins to care for the female.

It is this pair that needs to be transferred to a spawning tank with prepared water. You cannot feed fish in the spawning area.

For some time, the mating pair floats above the plants or their substitute. The male stays behind, but at some point the fish begin to turn and rush towards each other. They rub their sides and bend their torsos. The mating dance lasts about 3-4 hours. At this time, the fish may even jump out of the water, so be sure to cover the spawning area with a piece of glass.

Finally, the male presses his fin to the female’s back, and she begins to lay eggs, which are immediately watered with milk and sink to the bottom. The couple loses interest in each other, but can show it in the caviar by eating it.

To prevent this from happening, immediately after spawning the parents are removed from the spawning tank.

The water level in the spawning tank should be lowered to 7-10 cm, a disinfectant (trypaflavin, methylene blue, etc.) should be added to the water and the temperature should be increased to 28ºC. The power of the aerator should not be very large in order to pump oxygen into the water, but not create too strong a flow of liquid. Under these conditions, the larvae hatch in 1-1.5 days.

How to care for fry?

For 3-5 days after hatching, neon larvae do not need feeding. The yolk sac can be seen with the naked eye as orange spot in the abdominal area. When it almost disappears, the fry begin to swim and feed on their own.

The starting food for juvenile fish is zooplankton, consisting of ciliates, rotifers and other small aquatic inhabitants. You can buy “live dust” from breeders or pet stores. In the initial period of life, you can feed the fry with the crushed yolk of a hard-boiled chicken egg.

The container with young animals should be shaded, leaving a small illuminated area. This is necessary to make it convenient to feed the fish: they instinctively swim to illuminated areas. By placing a small amount of zooplankton or yolk in the light, you can avoid the need to clean the entire aquarium of food debris.

At the age of 14-15 days, the fry can be accustomed to normal lighting, gradually increasing the unshaded area. At this age, you can feed with live brine shrimp, small cyclops, daphnia, or special concentrates for fry (Micro-Min, etc.). When they reach 30 days of age, the fry should already be accustomed to natural light.

From this time, you can begin to prepare the fish for transfer to a common reservoir: by changing the water for 2-3 weeks, you need to equalize the hardness and acidity levels in the spawning tank and the aquarium. During the same period, gradually accustom the fish to food for adults.

Introduce babies to adult food gradually

The neon aquarium fish is unpretentious in keeping, but, like many spawning species, it needs to create special conditions for reproduction. Therefore, those who want to independently breed colorful pets must adhere to the above rules.

The neon fish is a nimble little fish with transparent fins and a bright blue stripe along its body. It comes in several types: black, diamond, blue, green, voile - the list goes on. Neon is often recommended for “practice” for beginning aquarists, since the fish does not cause any trouble at all. She gets along well with her neighbors in a common aquarium, is not fussy with food and looks very photogenic against the backdrop of an artificial environment. It's just a glitch natural regime, which usually occurs in aquariums, adversely affects the reproduction of neon fish.

Without careful supervision of the owner and compliance with a number of requirements, one can not even dream of offspring. And the point is not only that the laid eggs will be in danger among dozens of predatory mouths. In unsuitable water, spawning may not occur at all.

Rules of mating dances

In the wild, neons spawn during the rainy season (October, November, December) once a year. After graduation mating season the fish rest quietly, not paying attention to each other. Neon pet fish are forced to change their “habits” to adapt to an unfamiliar environment. They are ready to reproduce at any time, as they often replace the water in the aquarium during the rainy season.. A varied and healthy diet stimulates individuals to have offspring.

Determining where the male is and where the female is is not always easy; below we will describe the main differences.

But breeding neons requires strength and endurance from the owner. Beginners are often not even able to distinguish neon females from males, so they make the mistaken decision to leave everyone in a common aquarium and see what happens next. But months and years pass, and the number of fish in the aquarium does not increase. Although flocks periodically try to organize mating races: sometimes they split into pairs and chase each other through the water, sometimes they rub barrels or chase other people’s tails. At the same time, the fish’s mouths are constantly slightly open, it feels like they are “out of breath” and lack oxygen.

If professionals successfully breed neons, it means that ordinary amateurs can create the necessary conditions for the fish. What rules must be followed to breed neon offspring?

Adults and fry in a common aquarium - this is real

Before entrusting your pets with independent reproduction in a community aquarium, you need to make sure whether these fish are viviparous or not. Namely: does the fish lay eggs or carry them inside until it “gives birth” to live fry?

Concerning viviparous fish, they are very easy to keep and breed. They are not afraid of temperature fluctuations, pressure and water hardness. They feel great even in cramped and brightly lit aquariums. The same cannot be said about neons. These underwater favorites are spawn-bearing, which means that without certain conditions, offspring from these fish will not be seen.

Reproduction of neons in a general aquarium will require taking into account the following rules:

• Soft water (preferably distilled) up to 4° hardness and with a pH of no more than 5.0.
• High water temperature (up to 26 degrees).
• Proper nutrition (live food).
• Special shading for an aquarium.
• Plants for securing eggs (for example, 3 branches of myriophyllum).

It is practically impossible to achieve fruitful reproduction of neons in a community aquarium.

Neon spawning is a chaotic mating dance. At first, the fish swim fussily over the leaves of the plants. Then the female begins to spawn. The male restlessly pursues the female from behind all the time, overtakes her, touches her closely, and turns with her. His dorsal fin tries to lie on the female. At a certain moment, they simultaneously bend, and the egg falls out synchronously with the male’s sperm. The sticky egg stays on the sheet for about 3 hours, then loses its stickiness and falls to the bottom at the slightest fluctuation in the water. And then - if the owner does not catch all the offspring from the aquarium, they will simply feast on the eggs. It is with this dessert that the fish finish their mating dance in a common aquarium.

Breeding neon fish in a community aquarium is 99% futile. Eggs need a special atmosphere: soft water, lack of light and complete safety. This is the only way to wait for the fry to emerge. Therefore, there is no need to waste time and take risks. It is better to listen to the advice of experts and prepare a separate spawning tank in advance. It is also very important to choose the most “worthy” producers from the entire fish family.

Who will reproduce

Professionals advise: 12-14 days before spawning, you need to visually assess the qualities of the future “parents” and isolate them from other fish. The main task is to distinguish females and males so that the owner does not populate the spawning area with same-sex individuals and hopes for success.

A pregnant female neon has a more rounded shape than a male.

Females are not too different from males. But the young ladies are a little larger, and their bellies are rounder and fuller. If you look closely, it will be clearly visible. The neon line on the body of the male is straighter, without a bend. A pregnant neon female becomes even more rounded in the abdomen, and the male’s swim bladder stands out very clearly during the breeding season. Therefore, during the spawning period, determining the sex of the fish is much easier.

In order to have a high probability of getting offspring, and healthy ones at that, you need to choose the most the best fish. Selection criteria:

• Externally, the fish looks healthy and active.
• The color is bright and juicy.
• The fish eats well and does not refuse food.
• The age of the individual does not exceed 1 year.

Having caught the winners in these nominations, you need to put them in separate containers, where the water temperature is 22 degrees, and serve royal ration with healthy live food. Daphnia, small bloodworms, and cyclops are suitable. But it is not recommended to give tubifex to fish. For all its advantages, this type of live food contains a lot of fat and can cause illness in the future “parent”. In addition, tubifex worms are often carriers of pathogenic agents and viruses.

Before the main disembarkation takes place for mating games, it is recommended to arrange short-term dates for the fish several times (five will be enough). This way they will “get to know each other” and organize their dance more successfully.

During special experiments on neons, it was found that eggs in females mature faster than milt in males. Therefore, when different-sex individuals are planted in a spawning tank in a 1:1 ratio, a significant proportion of the eggs will remain unfertilized. This is why experts recommend a 2:1 ratio in favor of males. This is the only way that neonates will reproduce rationally.

Preparing the spawning tank

For the main planting of neons for spawning, you will need a solid glass container with a volume of 15-20 liters. It can easily hold 3 pairs of neon lights. The container must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected weak solution potassium permanganate.

It is better to lay a net at the bottom of the spawning tank and throw big piece spools of fishing line, this will help protect future offspring from voracious parents.

Java moss is suitable as a substrate, but be careful! There should be no snails in it - they will definitely get to the eggs. In such cases, many fish lovers use a nylon entanglement with a thin fishing line, which must be scalded with boiling water before use. The whiting is pressed to the bottom with boiled river or sea pebbles.

The water should be soft. If the hardness is about 4 degrees, fertilization will not occur: the neon eggs will simply become stiff and will not allow sperm to enter. The pH level in the water should not exceed 5.0. There are special preparations on sale for acidic water, but many amateurs use a simple decoction of alder cones. The water must be prepared immediately before dispensing steam into the container. And to make the fish calmer and more familiar, you can add a glass of water from the previous aquarium to the new shelter. And one more thing: you need to know that when mating dance The fish's passions become intensely heated, and they can jump out of the container. Therefore, it is not recommended to set the water level high. It should be 15 cm from the top of the container.

If distilled water was used, it is necessary to bleed the container (very weakly to avoid bubbling). Then, by raising the water temperature to 26 degrees and shading the spawning area on all sides with photo paper, you can release the spawners into the tank. This is done in the evening. Next to the container you need to install a small light bulb (15 watts), the light of which will enter the water through a tiny hole in the photo paper.

Video: Neon Spawning

Some owners like to watch neons reproduce. This usually happens that same night or at dawn. By this time, the fish look very tired and pale, especially the females - they lose volume and begin to huddle against the walls of the container. Transparent caviar is scattered over the substrate, but the main part of it is under it. Now the “parents” can be caught and returned “to their homeland” in a common aquarium. And put the spawning tank in a dark place.

Fry and care for them

To make it easier to control the eggs, the substrate must be removed by shaking it first. All the eggs will fall out of the entanglement and will take about 5 days to develop. It is recommended to buy a special anti-fungal drug to reduce the loss of offspring. Dying eggs turn white and are removed from the water using a pipette. The surviving eggs hatch into neon larvae, which after 3 days are already swimming.

The photo shows a grown neon fry, which is already three weeks old.

It is vital for each larva to reach the surface of the water, so you need to make sure that a film does not form. The air bubble that the larva swallows is necessary for the development of the swim bladder. The larvae soon turn into fry and begin to swim horizontally.

It is forbidden to place any filters in the spawning tank - they are dangerous to the life of the fry. Replacing water with hard water is introduced gradually - 1 glass per day.

Neon fry are ready to feed, but this is a labor-intensive process for the owner. Children see poorly and swim towards the light. Therefore, the owner of the fish needs to provide the fry with a special “light” feeding area, where ciliates will be placed under a beam of light. This is the only way to save children from starvation. After some time, the fry are able to eat artemia nauplii, rotifers and small cyclops. The fish consume this food for up to 4 weeks, until the coveted neon stripes appear on their bodies.

Reproduction of neons at home is a troublesome task, but quite realistic. When provided to the fish good conditions, you can count on getting healthy, beautiful offspring.

Neon is a small aquarium fish with a shiny blue stripe running along its body, reminiscent of a neon glow. They began to spread at home in the 30s, and nowadays they are one of the most common aquarium fish, adding bright rich colors to the underwater world.

Neon fish

Due to its small size, it does not require a large aquarium to keep fish. Of course, you need to take into account the requirements of other fish if the neons are adjacent to someone.

Neon Characteristics:

• Length – up to 4 cm;
• Color – red, black, blue;
• Number - the fish is schooling; for comfort, at least 7 individuals are required;
• Layer of water - they prefer to be in the lower layers, closer to the bottom;
• Life expectancy is up to 4 years.

Water temperature greatly influences life expectancy; the higher it is, the faster the fish ages. So at a temperature of 22 degrees they live as long as possible, up to 4 years, and if the temperature is around 28 degrees, then a year and a half is the ceiling.

Flock of Neons

The fish are not picky about the composition of the water; the main thing is that it is soft and left to sit for 3 days.

Nature has endowed neon with a good disposition; in terms of compatibility, they do not pose a threat to either the little ones or the harmless ones. Of course, they will not get along with predators, as they will feed on them. But it is worth noting that under natural conditions, neons are perfectly hidden in dense thickets, and if you have a large aquarium with dense vegetation, then neons have every chance of getting along with a fighting disposition or.

You can feed neons with any food for small fish. For good health, it is better to alternate food with frozen, live and artificial mixtures from the pet store. One day a week it is possible (even useful) to have a fasting day.

Aquarium

Neon fish do not require water flow, they prefer standing pools, so it is enough to equip them only with a compressor with a fine spray, the smaller the bubbles, the better. The vegetation should be dense in all layers, as in the photo below, since neons, although they prefer the lower layers, are very playful, and sometimes a flock will rush around in upper layers.

Dense aquarium

There is no need to buy a lighting lamp; fish prefer dim lighting. A water filter is desirable, but not critical, especially if there are also snails in the aquarium.

Water parameters:

• pH – up to 6.5;
• dH – up to 8;
• Water change - 25% per week.

These are ideal parameters, but in fact they will perform well in more acidic and hard water.

It is very important - the soil must be dark!

The darker the ground, the brighter and more intense the neon strip. And in general, create more dark areas at the bottom - driftwood, big stones, grottoes, this will bring them as close as possible to their usual living conditions.

That’s it, they don’t require any special care anymore, so they are highly recommended for beginner aquarists.

Buying fish

We bought an aquarium, filled it with settled water and decorated it, it was time to go get some fish. You can buy neon fish at any pet store, this is a very common aquarium fish at a very low price - black and blue are around 50 rubles apiece, and red is around 100 rubles.

Black neon

Try to buy a flock of fish at once, rather than just one fish per week. Firstly, there will be less stress for the fish, and secondly, newcomers will not need to be kept in a separate jar in quarantine for a couple of days. It would be a pity if the tenth fish purchased turns out to be sick and all its relatives die.

If you make a purchase in winter, then take a thermos with you in which you will bring the fish home. A sharp change in temperature can have a bad effect on their health.

Fish reproduction

Reproduction of neon fish is not difficult. A female can be distinguished from a male with the naked eye:

• Females are slightly larger;
• The stripe in females in the middle of the body is slightly curved, in males it is clearly straight along the entire length;
• Females have a slightly larger belly (hence the curvature of the stripe).

Sexual maturity occurs by six months of age. Before spawning, males must be removed, and females must be provided with ideal conditions (water hardness and acidity), the temperature reduced to 20 degrees, and fed only with live food. This goes on for about a month.

• Water depth – 15 cm;
• Temperature – 22 degrees;
• Hardness – dH 2;
• Acidity – pH 6;
• No artificial lighting.

Towards evening we transfer a couple of fish into the spawning tank. Usually in the morning the female already begins to spawn, but this process can drag on for a couple of days. During spawning, the fish are not fed anything.

Spawning tank

From 50 to 300 eggs are born at a time. It is very important to catch this moment and immediately place the parents in a common aquarium, otherwise they will eat all the fry.

We cover the spawning tank with a dark cloth - light is destructive for the game.

The incubation period lasts about a day. Watch the eggs, and if after 4 hours some begin to turn white, then remove them, there will be no fry from it, and the water will spoil.

After the fry hatch, they will remain in place for another 4 days without moving. On the fifth day they will begin to swim and eat food:

• Special ready-made food for fry;
• Boiled chicken egg yolk;
• Living dust - ciliates and rotifers.

Food for fry (clickable)

We increase the lighting gradually over the course of a month, after which they can be transplanted into a common aquarium.

And remember - we are responsible for those we have tamed!

Neon and other fish in the aquarium, video