Paracheirodon Simulans
Written by on 18th April 2012 and viewed 731 times
Profile - Freshwater Fish - Characins
| Latin | Paracheirodon Simulans |
| Common | Green Neon Tetra |
| Group | Freshwater Fish |
| Type | Characins |
| Family | Characidae |
| Origin | South America; the Green Neon Tetra are found in Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil |
| Adult Size | Up to 1 inch |
| Lifespan | 3-5 years |
| Social | Peaceful |
| Tank level | Minimum tank size of 10 gallons where the Green Neon Tetra will occupy the mid levels |
| Lighting | Subdued |
| dGH | 4-6 |
| pH | 5.5-6.0 |
| Temperature | 23-28 °C (73-82 °F) |
| Difficulty | Moderate |
| Sexing | Mature females will have a plumper body shape compared to mature males |
| Breeding | Like all Tetras, they prefer a breeding tank that has dim lighting and add spawning mops or Java Moss to act as spawning sites.The base of the tank should have marbles or a mesh so that any eggs can fall through and protect them from the parent fish, they are renowned for eating their own eggs. Use an air driven sponge filter and set this so that only a low water current is produced. They are group spawners so add a group of fish , preferably the same ratio of each sex and condition them with a rich diet of live or frozen foods. Spawning will always take place at daybreak and thousands of eggs will be deposited. Once spawning is complete, remove the parents and the eggs should hatch 12-24 hours later. Do not attempt to feed the fry at this stage as they will be consuming their yolk sacs, 3-4 days later the fry should be free swiming and can now be fed on infusoria or a commercial egg layer fry food until they have grown large enough to accept newly hatched brine shrimp or microworms. Never allow strong light to reach the breeding tank in the early stages as both eggs and fry are light sensitive. |
| Feeding | These fish have very small mouths so use a quality flake for the staple diet that has been crushed down to size. This needs to be varied with treats of small live or frozen foods. White worms, newly hatched brine shrimp and daphnia are ideal. |
| Care | A planted tank is ideal for these fish but it must be a mature set up before they are added. The prefer to be kept in small groups of at least 6 specimens and they must never be added to a tank with aggressive tank mates or they will be seen as food. The water should always be slightly acidic and kept to a high quality with regular water changes. Make sure that open swimming spaces are provided and that the lighting is kept subdued as they do not like bright lighting. |
| Notes | These fish can be delicate especially when first added to the tank and they should be acclimatised slowly. |
