Neon Tetras.

[stanster]

Can I ask why its suggested that Neon Tetra are only stocked in mature aquariums, LFS, advises at least 3 months old.

I thought tetras were generally considered hardy fish.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

Seems they aren't as hardy as they are supposed to be, at least that is what I keep being told.

 

[elmo666]

Hmm, not too sure why your lfs would say this, unless, ofcourse they mean "cycled" as opposed to "mature". You're right, neons are looked upon as a hardy species. They will appreciate dark, tannin stained water with lots of foliage, some floating if possible, and if you want to see them at their best, a dark substrate. As long as a tank is fully cycled and stable, IMO there is no reason to hold off introducing them if they are compatible with you're other chosen stock.

 

[TekFish]

Neon tetras have been inbred so the line isn't as strong as it use to be.

TekFish

 

[PrairieSunflower]

They will appreciate dark, tannin stained water with lots of foliage, some floating if possible, and if you want to see them at their best, a dark substrate. As long as a tank is fully cycled and stable, IMO there is no reason to hold off introducing them if they are compatible with you're other chosen stock.

I didn't know they like floating foliage. I have something floating (forget what it is... looks like little 3 leaf clovers)... been thinking to remove it all, maybe its best to keep it. I think I should get a feeding ring as my fish have been having trouble finding food while it is still floating!

 

[TekFish]

(forget what it is... looks like little 3 leaf clovers)

Sounds like Duckweed. I got a load in my tank

TekFish

 

[Primous]

You can stock neon tetras in a tank you set up within the next 10 minutes just so long as the filter is cycled and My definition of cycled is as follows: A filter that can maintain 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites at all times (Plus your nitrates should be below 40ppm.) The reason why people keep this common misconception going; the advice of you must wait such and such a period before adding such and such a fish is simply because people do not cycle properly, then add fish such which are known to succumb to lower levels of ammonia and nitrite above 0ppm. Then in return tell the next person you gotta wait for your tank to mature...

And by the way the common saying of "Wait for the tank/water to mature" really means Wait for your bacteria to catch up because you didn't cycle properly.

In short, if you have a filter that will turn 5ppm of ammonia > nitrite > nitrate within 12 hours or under. Add whatever you like. If not then cycle fully and then add whatever you like.

 

[TekFish]

+1

TekFish

 

[Essjay]

There are hundreds if not thousands of mircro-organisms grow in our tanks. We concentrate on the ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria as lack of them can harm, if not kill, our fish. The other micro-organisms have their part to play too. They carry out myriad other functions besides removing ammonia and nitrite, and help to stabilise things we can't measure. A mature tank is one that has grown a full set of micro-organisms, not just the two filter bacteria.
It is thought by a lot of people that neons are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in things we can't measure, things that are stablised by the mirco-organisms, and therefore neons shouldn't be put in a tank until it is mature.

 

[Aquascaper]

My definition of a mature tank is a one that can maintain all parameters stable; filter is fully cycled, gaseous exchange is stable, alkalinity is stable, nutrients are stable, microbiology is stable, all decor has done leaching anything it will, etc. and there are no other changes to the tank other than regular water changes.

This IMO takes a lot longer than it does to simply cycle a filter. Speaking from a marine perspective a tank isn't considered 'mature' until around 6 months.

 

[Primous]

@ essjay

To me that's just aquarium folklore. People always and I mean always talk about things they can not measure in this hobby. It's part of the fish keepers folklore "Certain organisms and ions and particles" etc etc but zero evidence to back it up. We measure ammonia and nitrite. Neons because of their structure are susceptible to the lowest measure of nitrite and ammonia. 0.1ppm of either has been know to kill the most sensitive fish. A cycled aquarium will not contain any measure of a/n and therefore you can keep them.

I was told the exact same thing when I was nearing the end of my cycle. I was told that on this very forum until I had a long look into what the definition of sensitive fish actually is for myself. 9 Neon tetras were the very fist tropical fish to enter my aquarium. An aquarium/filter that had completed it's cycling process 5 days earlier. And they were going strong years later.

 

[stanster]

There are hundreds if not thousands of mircro-organisms grow in our tanks. We concentrate on the ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria as lack of them can harm, if not kill, our fish. The other micro-organisms have their part to play too. They carry out myriad other functions besides removing ammonia and nitrite, and help to stabilise things we can't measure. A mature tank is one that has grown a full set of micro-organisms, not just the two filter bacteria.
It is thought by a lot of people that neons are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in things we can't measure, things that are stablised by the mirco-organisms, and therefore neons shouldn't be put in a tank until it is mature.

An immeasurable imponderable

 

[Aquascaper]

Do you honestly believe there is only nitrosomonas sp., nitrobacter sp. and nitrospira sp. bacteria in an aquarium?

 

[elmo666]

There are hundreds if not thousands of mircro-organisms grow in our tanks. We concentrate on the ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria as lack of them can harm, if not kill, our fish. The other micro-organisms have their part to play too. They carry out myriad other functions besides removing ammonia and nitrite, and help to stabilise things we can't measure. A mature tank is one that has grown a full set of micro-organisms, not just the two filter bacteria.
It is thought by a lot of people that neons are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in things we can't measure, things that are stablised by the mirco-organisms, and therefore neons shouldn't be put in a tank until it is mature.

A good explanation, but how do we determine the point at which "sensitive" fish enter such an environment without knowledge of wether these micro-organisms are present or not? Every tank differs, and as such how a given fish will react upon introduction will vary. If you accurately measure those parameters that can be, and they remain stable over a 48hr period, there is no reason why, with careful acclimatising, neons should fair any worse than most community fish IMO.

 

[Aquascaper]

Not getting sucked into the neon specific debate but just wanted to say that determining the point at which a fish classed as 'sensitive' is introduced is covered by the "a mature tank is one which has been running (cycled) for 'x' months" surely? This timeframe should cover all the bases mentioned already by people and indicate a stable tank.