Breeding Neon Tetra

Hi all , just starting this thread incase anyone is interested like @tanked72 lol, I am starting the thread now but I only intend to attempt the actual spawning next weekend (23 may). Will show you guys some of the prep and work that I have done getting ready for the big day.

so first these are the recomended water parameters for breeding Neons:

ph less then 6
gh 1-2
temp 23-25c

so my first step was to get soft water, I have used a mix of R/O water and tap water, 3/4 R/O water 1/4 tap water
after mixing and letting the water run in my breeding tank for about 3 days I came out with the following:

ph 7.2
gh 2
my temp is set at 24c



my breeding tank with the mixed water, I have not filled it all the way incase I need to add more tap water to balance it out or for when the fry are hopefully hatched I can just add water for a few days rather than attempting to do water changes.

next I made my bottom grid to protect the eggs from the parents:


now obviously you saw that my water is not yet at the right ph, but instead of peat like is commonly used with lowering ph , I am trying something different that I read about in an article about breeding tetras , I am using dried Oak leaves instead.
There are a few reasons I decided to go with the leaves instead and they are the following:

1. They will lye on the bottom of the tank under the grid, giving the eggs a bit of extra "hiding" place from the parents.
2. They will help to kick start natural colonies of rotifers in the tank supplying food to the hatched fry
3. They will lower the ph slowly giving me a little more peace of mind that there wont be any big ph bounces
4. The tanins released into the tank should stain the water just like blackwater extract
5. They will also release a few helpful nutrients into the water
6. Given that eggs and fry are light sensitive , the leaves provide darkened shaded areas
7. Due to the tanins being released the leaves app have a anti fungal/bacterial property which will hopefully keep as many of the eggs as possible viable

stjo didn't think I would have this much to say lol

Anyway here is a pick of some leaves under the grid:


I have only put a little in , I am going to leave it for the weekend and see how big an effect it has then decide if I should add more leaves.

ok , last thing for now , while setting up the tank and getting all that ready I have been feeding the adults with bloodworm , brine shrimp artemia, daphnia, mozzie lavae and some flake aswell, the females have fattened up nicely and the males colours are looking good and all have gotten very energetic and active. so far they have been on this diet for 2 weeks and by the time I attempt a spawning they would have been on this diet for 3 weeks.

That's it for now , you can ask any questions/ give advice if you like , I will be checking water parameters and making some spawning mops next week and will keep you all updated as the big day gets closer.

 

Silly question but how long will it take those leaves to rot, and how will you do a cleanup with fry in the tank when the leaves do rot? otherwise I like it letting nature help you.

Just my 2c, only thing I breed is snails:tongue:

 

It will take a few weeks for them to rot , fry should be big enough by the time I need to do any serious clean up to handle me messing around in the tank , they will only be able to handle being exposed to some light when they about 10 days old

 

Ok cool looking forward to seeing you'r progress.

 

Thanks , I hope I make good progress to post about lol, they don't have the best reputation when it comes too breeding so lets hope all goes well with my first attempt.

 

Brilliant thread thanks. Please keep us updated either way. What will you do if the leaves don't lower the ph below 6?

 

They should , i do have a feeling that i will need more then what is in the tank so will be collecting more over this weekend , the article i read the person used a layer of 2.5cm at the bottom of the tank and his ph went lowet then 5 if not then i will have to go the slightly more traditional route with peat

 

I think u have made great progress @col182 and I think the leaves are a brillent move I think they are goingh to do the job perfectly can't wait to see further progress

 

Following this one…

 

Thanks @tanked72 I am hoping for a successful spawn think it would be fantastic , never seen or heard of it locally, Welcome @SICARIUS

 

Well it will be a first from what I know about neons @col182 they are common fish but I think pretty hard to breed so you will be one of a very select few to get it right

 

Well I have read that some think it's hard and others think it is just attention to detail , but either way I think it will be harder to raise the fry , I will be starting a cultivation of "Infusoria" next Friday, the Monday after that and then the Thursday after that just to make sure I have enough of the tinniest of food for them.

 

I think you have all the bases covered now its up to the neons to perform

 

hi mate. very interesting thread. looking forward to see the results. you can invest in some seachem discus buffer as, it will also lower the ph for you and keep it stable. keep us posted on your progress.

 

Hi @dash thanks for the info , depending on how things go this week i might have to look into that.

 

So how many females and male neons are u going to. Use in your breeding program?

 

Hi @tanked72 , to be honest i am still a little undecided on that one , i have 3 pairs , so I was not sure if i was goung to simply pick the best male and female out of the lot or put in 2 pairs or all 3 pairs , there are pros and cons to all. With 1 pairs the adult fish are both kept busy at the same time so they dont have much time to eat the eggs while spawning , with 2 or more pairs they might not all spawn at the same time so some of the eggs from one pair might be eaten by the adults from another pair , on the other hand if all goes well then obviously you get more eggs and more fry , so i guess it is six of one and half a dozen of the other , was thinking of just doing 2 pairs , but will first see how "ready" they look by the end of the week

 

@col182 I see well its a trail and error atleast fish can almost be ready to spawn with a drop of a hat so you can play around with your breeding pairs till you get. It right but odds would say the more breeding pairs you use the better your odds are that you are sucessful

 

Ggod luck with the breeding, please keep us updated.

 

Thanks @Leen , will update as things happen , hopefully