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I've heard so much about the horror stories that neons are evil and they bring nothing but disease to aquariums everwhere... But I don't think this is 100% true... So if you have neons and they were a wonderful addition to your aquarium, please share your stories.

I don't have them myself, but the one's we get at work are very nice looking, and hardy. I used to never suggest them to anyone, but we rarely have neon deaths at work, other types of tetras die more frequently than them. I think they're growing stronger, or we have a good breeder or something. My neons didn't survive, but that was my fault. Different story...

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

ive bred them n raised over a 1000 easily i used to sell them locally n a few to stores i had great success with them n loved to see tanks filled with massive schools of shimmering neon blue in all my time fish keepin the sight of 100 neons together turning n swimmin in perfect symetry is one of the best moments n most remeberful sights ive experinced unfortunatly my attitude in fish keepin changed n i went from breeding tetras to keepin cichlids as they r more persoanlity inclined neons r beautiful fish but they jsut swim which is great to watch

If well cared for and kept in adequate surroundings, neons are lively, colorful, and hardy fish. LFS that have good neon tanks, with large individuals swimming around (and feeding---always have the LFS owner feed the fish to see if they're eating well), and no floaters are the places you want to go. IME, the waiting a week rule on neons usually ensures success. I myself have never had NTD hit my neons, and have actually experienced more cardinal deaths than neons. The general rule is that if they survive a week in your tank, you're good to go. Also, made sure tey don't "spiral"---it is the telltale sign of inevitable paracheirodon death.

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 25-Oct-2004 22:20

I've recently brought 13 neons from my LFS. They looked very healthy compared to my other LFS.

I brought the 13 about a month ago now. i haven't lost a single one and havent had any diease outbreaks either.

(i did have to rescue one from the filter though)

I bought 6 from an LFS and had only one die in the first two or so weeks, so I thought that was a good ratio.

The LFS was a small family-owned and operated store, and the woman who did most of the work really knew her ichthyology.
The neons were a little more expensive than at chain stores, but I thought they were still worth it.

Of the ten neons I bought a few weeks ago, nine are still with me. One of them had a big white patch across his head and couldn't swim any more, so I euthanized him (for his sake and for the sake of the rest of the fish).

Oddly enough, only one of the nine neons shows any signs of the Ich in my tank.

So I'd say that the neons at that LFS are pretty hardy. They had two tanks, one small and one big, and I bought only from the big tank, which probably helped.

Last edited by Silverlight at 26-Oct-2004 12:27

[font color="#000080"]I have had my neons for about two years now and not a single death(if i remember straight), also i recently got gold neons and they settled in really well.[/font]

I purchased 4 neons 2 mollies and two platies and cycled a 10 gallon with them. I didn't know any better being my first tank! All fish made it and are very heathly it seems. I bought 2 more neons after about a month and a half and one was very poor looking right out of the bag and the other was very small. Both only lasted 24hrs then I had to peel them off the filter. I wasn't paying attention to what fish the girl gave me cuz I was more interested in her. I think she gave me two of the worsed fish in the tank so I would have to return them to her the next day!

I have a school of neons that I recently took out of my 20g & put into a 10g.

During the switch over I had two very bad experiences that showed me just how tough these neons, which I've had for about 9 months, are.

I got them out of the 20g into a bucket to acclimatize them to the other tank water (water parameters were different because of drift wood). As I was taking one out of the bucket he jumped out of the net and onto the counter. I picked him up and put him in the tank. He was very pale and was basically just floating around the tank.

Then, as I was catching another neon he jumped out of the water and stuck to the side of the bucket. Again, I had to pick him up and put him in the tank. He was also very pale and limp.

As they were in the tank another of the neons kept poking at them. Sort of like, "come on buddy, you can make it." After a short time they coloured up again and have been doing great.

I really like Neons! Common they may be, but this ensures their affordable price They are bright and colourful, and stay a nice size.

When I first bought Neons I was advised to get 'more than I wanted' as some were sure to die off. I was suprised and happy to say that none did! In fact they have grown quickly from little ones to inch long fatties (good eaters that they are!). I have just lost one after treating the tank for a case of Ick - the meds must have been too much for it, it went a bit swollen headed/boggle eyed and died overnight. But all the others have done superbly.

I'm looking forward to setting the 45g up for them, where I'll be able to get a good group of them together.

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