Small neon fish will definitely change into a ornament of any aquarium. These fish belong to the order Characiniformes and are shut family members of the well-known piranhas. But not like their predatory counterparts, neons are completely calm and peaceable fish that’s unlikely to offend their neighbor.
General info
Aquarists respect neons not just for their capability to get together with most species in a standard aquarium but additionally for the weird coloration of those underwater inhabitants. A particular function of all neons is the presence of a particular shiny strip alongside the physique, which flares up like a lightweight in mirrored mild. It is so shiny that it resembles the lights of neon commercials within the evening metropolis. For this, the fish bought its identify.
Neons typically change into the primary inhabitants of aquarium landscapes – aquascapes.
Professional designers are very keen on neons for his or her small dimension, not distracting from the primary image, an exercise that provides liveliness to the complete design, and indifference to vegetation that can retain their form and sweetness. The flocks of neons themselves look very spectacular towards the background of dense inexperienced vegetation.
The query of why such a shiny shade of a small defenseless neon fish is required stays unanswered. Perhaps that is vital to ascertain a hierarchy within the flock, maybe complicated predators who determined to assault a flock of neons. There is a idea that such mild results permit neons to search out one another within the darkened water situations typical of typical biotopes. Some aquarists imagine that neons are able to glowing themselves, however, sadly, this can be a false impression: stripes of neons solely replicate and refract mild rays falling on them.
Keeping neons in a house aquarium is not going to be troublesome, the primary factor is to create optimum water parameters for the fish, frequently preserve the aquarium and feed it with high-quality meals.
Appearance
All neons are small education species. The dimension of fish hardly ever exceeds 4-5 cm. Neon males are smaller than females. The physique is elongated and barely flattened on the sides. The mouth is small. The fins of the neon are clear, the anal fins are longer than the dorsal. Like different characin fish, neons have an additional adipose fin. It is an unpaired organ positioned behind the dorsal fin. It has no bone rays and consists of adipose tissue. Each fish has a longitudinal neon strip on its physique, which displays mild and creates a glowing impact. It is fashioned by particular cells – chromatophores – positioned beneath the scales.
The neon strip in neon females has a small break within the center, in males, it represents a straight line.
History of look/discovery
The historical past of the invention and look of neon in beginner aquariums is intently associated to the French explorer and adventurer Auguste Rabot. It was he who first found small glowing fish within the Putumayo River (Peru). He was merely mesmerized by the fantastic thing about these creatures and determined that he may earn huge cash by exporting such a miracle. In 1935, the primary neon was shipped to the United States of America and Europe. Aquarists of that point liked the fish madly, the demand for it skyrocketed, and now Rabo is already changing into the world’s solely provider of neons to the Old and New Worlds. It was not potential to propagate neons in captivity for a very long time, so the monopoly existed for a comparatively very long time. One of the primary copies was donated for promoting functions to William Innessy, a hobbyist and popularizer of the aquarium pastime. He, in flip, handed on the fish to his pal George Myers, who made the primary scientific description of a brand new species – blue, or extraordinary neon, which he named after his comrade Hyphessobrycon innesi. Later the species modified its identify to Paracheirodon innesi.
Red neon (Paracheirodon axelrodi) was found solely in the midst of the twentieth century. The descriptions had been made in parallel by two scientists – Myers and Schultz. But the latter revealed his work earlier, so the identify that he gave to the fish in honor of his pal the aquarist Herbert Axelrod was mounted within the nomenclature.
In 1963, Jacques Gehry found one other sort of neon – emerald neon, or neon simulator. The pattern he caught was similar to pink neon, however an extra examine led to the separation of those fish right into a separate species. Gehry additionally performed a scientific revision of neons and attributed them to the genus Paracheirodon, as they’re known as to this present day.
It was the primary time in Germany to get offspring from neons in captivity. This occurred by a contented coincidence and was because of the truth that this nation has very gentle water, which was used to comprise neons. In the start, neon spawning was known as the “German miracle”, however the first research revealed the mechanisms of the affect of water parameters on the replica of those fish. From this level on, neons change into accessible to all aquarists on the planet.
Nowadays, fish are massively grown on particular farms in Southeast Asia. Although sometimes there are additionally provides of neon savages caught within the pure surroundings.
Habitat
The homeland of neons is South America. It is right here, within the area of the basins of Paraguay, Rio Takuari, and Brazil rivers, that these wonderful fish might be discovered of their pure habitat. Neons don’t like quick currents and like to reside in slow-flowing tributaries of enormous rivers, the waters of that are wealthy in humic substances, which provides them a brown tint. These rivers normally stream beneath the cover of tropical rainforests, which creates twilight within the water. Decaying leaves, common rains, a big layer of silt make the water gentle and acidic.
Care and upkeep
All neons are education fish, so it is advisable to maintain them at the least 6-8 items – so that they really feel comfy and look spectacular. When stored alone or in pairs, fish can lose their tone and shade, and the life span will likely be noticeably diminished. For such a variety of fish, an aquarium of fifty liters or extra is required.
You can select any soil you want, for instance, darkish sand or darkish pebbles, towards their background the fish will look very stunning. A lid in an aquarium with neons is non-obligatory, they hardly ever leap to the ground. Neons love dim lights, it’s advisable to not put particularly highly effective lamps within the aquarium – this will trigger a sense of stress and a want to cover within the shelter.
It isn’t really helpful to launch neons in a freshly launched aquarium, they like an already established stability. Optimal water parameters:
- Temperature – 23-25 ° С;
- Acidity – 5.5 – 5.7;
- Hardness – 8 – 10 (though tougher water will survive).
The larger the temperature, the decrease the life span of the fish. On common, neons reside in an aquarium for 3-4 years.
The aquarium must be geared up with a filter of acceptable energy, because of which mechanical and organic water purification will likely be carried out. A compressor can also be welcome.
To preserve optimum water high quality, it’s vital to vary 25-30% weekly, along with a soil siphon. Tetra ToruMin Conditioner might be added to the water to create a pure blackwater impact.
In the aquarium, it is strongly recommended to make zones with dense vegetation – quite a lot of long-stemmed vegetation (elodea, Vallisneria, hornwort, Cabomba, and so on.). Snags submerged to the underside, shards from pots will look good. Small fish really want shelter to cover there in case of hazard.
Compatibility
Perhaps, neons are some of the peaceable decorative fish and can change into good neighbors for different peaceable medium-sized species. They will reside equally nicely each with guppies and one other viviparous fish tooth and with cardinals, rasbora, tetras, barbs, corridors, ancistrus.
Of course, you possibly can’t plant neons with predatory and territorial fish. Their glowing strip acts on such species, like a pink rag on a bull, and probably neons will in a short time change into somebody’s dinner. It can also be not really helpful to comprise neons with giant fish, for instance, gold. If the neon can match within the fish’s mouth, it may be eaten.
The solely time when neons might be aggressive is spawning, however it’s higher to position pairs prepared for breeding in a separate spawning aquarium.
Feeding
Correctly chosen meals performs an enormous function within the lifetime of fish. It must be nutritious, containing all of the important nutritional vitamins and minerals, and in a type that’s straightforward to eat.
Neons are small fish that choose the center and decrease layers of the aquarium. Tetra feeds are excellent for his or her vitamin:
- TetraMin is a basic flake meals appropriate for all small to medium-sized decorative fish. Made from greater than 40 forms of high-quality uncooked supplies, it accommodates all the things a fish wants, together with prebiotics for the complete functioning of the digestive tract. The flakes float after which slowly sink to the underside, permitting the fish to feed at totally different ranges within the aquarium.
- Tetra Micro Pellets are small slowly dipping pellets with a dimension of 0.4-1.2 mm. Ideal for fish with small mouths. The meals is totally balanced and extremely digestible, which reduces water air pollution within the aquarium.