Neon Tetra Breeding ?advice Please .

[danny ..]

hi guys,, just a quick question. iv had nothing but good luck for a change with my tank,which is nice. iv just had some guppie fry which all seem to be swimming round in the breeding trap nicely,,one of my mollies is v big now so she will drop soon and yesterday i noticed one out of 10 of my neon tetras look really fat and was defo not that big when i got them months ago..im thinkin she might be pregnant so just after some advice as whats best to do as would be nice to try and have some neon fry. iv had a look but some people say 23 oC some say 28 oC temp. also they say keep the pair together but as i have ten some say add salt some say no etc etc etc do they need to be put i a tank or can i use a floating breeding tank but as these lay eges they would fall though..

u guys have always helped so i thought id ask u lot thanks dan .

 

[Curiosity101]

It is best to seperate a m/f pair off in their own breeding tank. They're egg scatteres, but the ones that aren't breeding will chase after the pair eating the eggs as they're laid.

The temperature isn't too important. Just keep them in normal conditions.

They'll often spawn once they're ready, in a morning (just as dawn breaks or as the tank lights come on).
The eggs are photo senstive though so they need to be kept in the dark once laid (with the parents removed).

Mine spawned several times when I had them with no help from me. But as I didn't seperate off a pair or keep the tank dark I never had any neon fry.

 

[danny ..]

It is best to seperate a m/f pair off in their own breeding tank. They're egg scatteres, but the ones that aren't breeding will chase after the pair eating the eggs as they're laid.

The temperature isn't too important. Just keep them in normal conditions.

They'll often spawn once they're ready, in a morning (just as dawn breaks or as the tank lights come on).
The eggs are photo senstive though so they need to be kept in the dark once laid (with the parents removed).

Mine spawned several times when I had them with no help from me. But as I didn't seperate off a pair or keep the tank dark I never had any neon fry.

well id like to try and keep them if poss,, so would u recomend just putting the female in one her own or put on of the other neons in with her, saying that i cant see a difference in any of them part from the big fat one so might end up puting another female with her !how can u tell them??? also is there a way to tell when she will be close as shes bigger than the rest but not stupidly big !!! thanks

 

[Curiosity101]

Well she isn't a live bearer, so of course you'd need to put her with a male. The male will fertilise them as she releases them.

If you have a spare tank then you just need to seperate a pair to a cycled tank and wait and see. The fish aren't easily sexed, but you can normally assume that if they're fully grown then the slimmer ones are males. Where females are larger and fatter.

 

[danny ..]

k k didnt realise it worked like that, need to do a bit of reading up i think,, i will give it a go and see how i get on
its all a learning curve. i have fry food a small tank heater etc ready and will use water from the tank,would i need a small filter in there or would i be able to do a small water change on a reg basis to keep the water ok

 

[Curiosity101]

Cycled filter is the only proper way to do it really. That way you can also raise the fry in the same tank.