page_title: Neon tetra
section_title: In the aquarium
hierarchical_section_title: Neon tetra / In the aquarium
caption_attribution_description: English: This picture features the Neon Tetra.
context_page_description: The neon tetra is a freshwater fish of the characin family of order Characiformes. The type species of its genus, it is native to blackwater and clearwater streams in the Amazon basin of South America. Its bright colouring makes the fish visible to conspecifics in the dark blackwater streams, and is also the main reason for its popularity among freshwater fish hobbyists.
context_section_description: While commercially bred neon tetras have adapted well to a wide range of water conditions, in the wild they inhabit very soft, acidic waters that are usually cooler than the 25 °C (77 °F) at which most tropical aquaria are maintained. They can have a lifespan of up to ten years, or normally about five in an aquarium.
  Neon tetras reach 3.5 cm in length, and are considered easy to keep in a community aquarium of at least 50 cm (20 in) long, with a pH of 6.0 to 6.5 and a KH of 1.0 to 2.0. However, they will die if traumatized by dramatic changes to their environments. They tend to be timid and, because of their small size, should not be kept with large or aggressive fish which may bully or simply eat them. Fish that mix well in an aquarium are guppies, dwarf cichlids, smaller danionins and barbs, 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. Mid-level feeders, they are best kept in schools of six or more, for the shoaling effect when they move around the tank. They shoal naturally in the wild and are thus more brightly colored and more active when kept as a shoal as opposed to singly. The color and the iridescent stripe of this fish may become dim at night, and can be virtually invisible after a period of darkness. The color 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 21–27 °C (70–81 °F) to resemble their native Amazon environments.
caption: A shoal of neon tetras in a home aquarium
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