FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Oh yeah, another week I haven't missed! Last week we took a look at a fish that seemed to be pretty awesome, but too bad it gets to such colossal sizes! This week's fish will be just the opposite.

RFotW #17 -- Paracheirodon simulans -- False Neon Tetra, Green Neon Tetra



This fish may look close to it's Cardinal and Neon relatives, but it actually is a different fish! It's hard to find good pictures; this pic captures the green color but none of the red stripe... But the way to tell the difference is that the red stripe on the underside is between that of a Cardinal and a Neon, and it also has a greener color to it.

This fish is rarer than it's relatives for a few possible reasons. One is that these fish have a more restricted habitat than its counterparts. Another is that this fish is not quite as brightly colored as its relatives; the Cardinal Tetra can also be found in this species' range, and so generally they are more a more desirable catch. This fish is also not currently captively bred, at least as far as I know.

The care of this fish is quite similar to that of the Cardinal Tetra. In fact, it's basically exactly like the Cardinal Tetra. It eats a variety of foods (as an omnivore), it likes soft water, and breeding isn't easy but it's also not impossible. Basically a pretty easy fish to keep, though a little more touchy than say a guppy.

This is a fish I haven't had the luck of actually see being sold. You'll probably have to find one of these fish hiding in a batch of Cardinal Tetras, unfortunately.

Links:

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=12394&genusname=Paracheirodon&speciesname=simulans

There's also this one article that had Neon and Cardinal information in a past issue of Aquarium Fish Magazine... Darned if I could remember the month...:%)

Past RFOTW:
1. Polynemus paradiseus -- Paradise threadfin
2. Anableps anableps -- Four-Eyed Fish
3. Hypancistrus zebra -- Zebra Plec
4. Potamotrygon sp. -- Pearl Ray
5. Merodontotus Tigrinus -- Tigrinus Catfish, Zebra Shovelnose
6. Rhinopias aphanes -- Merlet's Scorpionfish, Lacy Scorpionfish
7. Tetraodon pustulatus
8. Astronotus orbicularis -- Bumblebee Oscar
9. Parambassis pulcinella -- Rhino Glassfish, Humphead Glassfish
10. Lepisosteus platyrhincus -- Golden Florida Gar
11. Polyodon spathula -- Missippi Paddlefish
12. Pterois radiata -- Radiata Lionfish, Clearfin Turkeyfish
13. Panaque suttonorum, Panaque suttoni -- Blue Eyed Plec
14. Potamotrygon sp. -- P14, Itaituba Ray
15. Brachyplatysoma juruense -- Juruense Catfish, False Tigrinus, Alianza Cat
16. Neoceratodus forsteri -- Australian Lungfish, Queensland Lungfish

Last edited by Shinigami at 13-Feb-2005 17:26[/font]

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

We got some green neons in one time in a shipment of cardinal tetras. They didn't look as good as the cardinals, but I still sorted them out and put a higher price on them (and they all got sold).



EDIT: Umm... The fish in that picture have ich...






Last edited by Cory Addict at 13-Feb-2005 16:54

---

I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Argh... *hunts for another pic*

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I've kept these! Wow first rare fish of the week I've kept. They're a lot of fun!

The best way to tell them from neons is that the blue/green stripe goes all the way to the tail fin

Last edited by superlion at 13-Feb-2005 17:51

><>

I.HAVE.BEEN.LOOKING.FOR.THESE.FOREVER.YOU.HAVE.NO.FREAKING.IDEA.



We recieved a shipment of these quite a while back, and I was quite intrigued with them, though, at the time, I had but CA cichlids and assorted semi-very aggros. I've regretted not getting them every day of my waking life. They're basically, along with mohawk plecs, my dream fish.

my store had a shipment of those a couple weeks back and we loved them. They did better than the neons AND cardinals. We paid about 6 cents per tetra!!! We've ordered them about 3 or 4 more times and the same results each time. Only problem is that they are small.

I wanted to try some and went ahead and got some. Turns out they were smaller than they looked, and my other TETRAS got a good meal.

Anyway, to describe them, i would say they are half neon/half cardinal. The blue goes through the body like a cardinal, but the red is like a neon.

Also, from what i've found, they get their names from their coloration when you look at them from a high angle (aka, straight down on them).