Neon tetra
image = Paracheirodon_innesi_2.jpg | image_width = 250px | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Chordata | classis = Actinopterygii | ordo = Characiformes | familia = Characidae | genus = Paracheirodon | species = P. innesi | binomial = Paracheirodon innesi | binomial_authority = (Myers, 1936)
The neon tetra (Paracheirodon innesi) is a freshwater fish of the characin family (family Characidae) of order Characiformes. The type species of its genus, it is native to blackwater or clearwater streams in southeastern Colombia, eastern Peru, and western Brazil, including the tributaries of the Solimões. Fish are collected in warm-flowing (21-29°C) clear and blackwater streams, but never in whitewater rivers of Andean origin. Its bright colouring is to make the fish visible in the dark blackwater streams, and are also the main reason for its popularity as a tropical fish.
The neon tetra has a dark olive-green back over a silver-white abdomen. The fish is characterized by an iridescent blue-green horizontal stripe along each side of the fish from its nose to the base of the adipose fin and an iridescent red stripe that begins at the middle of the body and extends posteriorly to the base of the caudal fin. During the night the color disappears as the fish rests - it reactivates once it become active in the morning. It grows to approximately 3 cm (1.25 in) in overall length. Sexual dimorphism is slight, the female having a slightly larger belly.
The Neon Tetra was first imported from South America and was described by renowned ichthyologist G.S. Meyers in 1936, and named after Dr. William T Innes. P. innesi is one of the most popular aquarium fish, having been bred in tremendous numbers for the trade. Most neon tetras available in the United States are imported from Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand, where they are farm raised, or to a lesser extent (<5%) imported from Colombia, Peru, and Brazil, where they are collected from the wild. During a single month, an average of 1.8 million neon tetras with an estimated value of $175,000 are imported into the United States for the aquarium trade.
The green neon tetra (P. simulans) and black neon tetra (Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi) are distinct species (the latter belonging to an altogether different genus) and not color varieties. The cardinal tetra (P. axelrodi), also sometimes called the red neon, is a very similar species and is often confused with the true neon tetra. In a domestic aquarium the two species will school together. It is distinguished by a lateral red stripe that runs the length of its body. Hyphessobrycon innesi, on the other hand, is an obsolete synonym for P. innesi, the neon tetra itself.
While commercially bred neon tetras have adapted well to a wide range of water conditions, in the wild they inhabit very soft, slightly acidic waters.
Neon Tetras have a lifespan of about five years.Neon tetras are considered easy to keep in a community aquarium of at least 10 gallons, with a pH of 5.0-7.0 and KH of 1.0-2.0. They tend to be timid, and because of their small size they should not be kept with large or aggressive fish, who may bully or simply eat them. Fish that mix well in an aquarium are other types of tetras, such as the rummy-nose tetra, cardinal tetra, and glowlight tetra, and other community fish that live well in an ideal Tetra water condition. Neon tetras are omnivores and will accept most flake foods, but should also have some small foods such as brine shrimp, daphnia, freeze-dried bloodworms, tubifex, and micro pellet food to supplement their diet. Mid-level feeders, they are best kept in schools of five to eight or more, for the "shoaling" effect when they move around the tank. They shoal naturally in the wild and are thus happier, more brightly coloured and more active when kept as a shoal as opposed to singly. Their colour and the iridescent stripe may become dim at night, and can be virtually invisible after a period of darkness. The colour may also fade during a period of stress, such as human intervention into the tank. Neons are best kept in a densely planted tank with subdued light and an ideal temperature of 68-74°F to resemble their native Amazon environment. Unfortunately, neon tetras are occasionally afflicted by the so-called "Neon Tetra Disease" which is usually fatal to the fish, and currently without a cure.
To breed Neon Tetras, place a pair of the species in a breeding tank without any light, and gradually increase the lighting until spawning occurs. Other inducers include mosquito larvae and a hardness of less than 4 degrees. Because the adults will often eat newly-hatched fry, it is best to remove them as soon as the eggs have been laid. Eggs will hatch within 30 hours of the laying. Fry can be fed rotifers and egg yolk, followed by nauplii of brine shrimp, shaved cattle liver, and formulated diets. Fry will achieve their adult coloration at approximately one month of age. Adults can spawn every two weeks.
|
