Neon Tetra Breeding How Do They Reproduce?

One of the biggest problems with keeping neon tetra is getting good healthy tetra. These fish have blossomed in recent years. They have become one of the most-kept fish in the world. It’s believed two million of our little neon tetras are sold per month just in the United States.

However, the way they are farmed leaves disease and deformities open as there are too many fish to count and look for defects. The fish farms will generally just weigh the fish and guess how many fish are sold on that weight. This leaves them open to the possibility of dying before their time.

So how can we be sure to get ourselves some good healthy schooling neon tetras? We breed our own let’s look at the process of breeding our own neon tetras.

First, let’s look at how they reproduce and then how we can breed our own neon tetras.

How Do Neon Tetras Reproduce 

The process is fairly simple the female once she is ripe with eggs releases them usually over plants while this happens the male fertilizes the eggs with his milt once the eggs are fertilized they hatch in around 24 hours.

So this is the reproduction but now we need to replicate this in our tanks. To do this let’s look at how this happens in the wild.

Breeding Conditions In The Wild

For neon tetra breeding in the wild happens after it rains. We need to replicate no easy feat Rain water brings the temperature down a touch. The Ph will be slightly lower too. We will need slightly softer water with a bit of acidity at 70 degrees (F) which I believe is 21 degrees (C).

How Soft Should The Water Be

Really soft under 40 parts per million to be sure we recommend reverse osmosis water. Reverse osmosis basically takes out those minerals. You can pick up filters these days to provide you with RO water. Amazon eBay etc have some good choices. Or most fish stockists sell RO water these days too. If not you can go through the process of making your own RO water here’s one.

Whichever way you go they’re all pretty similar and now we’ve got nice clean safe RO water.

 PH For Breeding Tank

Now we have soft water we need a Ph to go with it. Neon tetra needs between 5 and 6 on the Scale. The eggs in order for them to hatch will need closer to 5 if possible. Here’s an article on the water conditions and ph of neon tetra. The article will give you a great understanding of the overall conditions. Although we need slightly more acidic conditions for them to breed.

Amazon Rain Forest 

Ok, let’s not forget these fish are from the Amazon river basin incorporating Columbia Brazil, and Peru. The water is murky and dark and covered with wood plants shrubs and leaf litter. So the tank needs to be pretty dark neons are called blackwater fish after all. 

We need to mimic the amazon river floor too. As this will encourage her to spawn her eggs.

Peat moss

A simple and effective way is to add peat moss soil and use it as our substrate. These fish love a dark substrate. And the moss will help lower Ph levels as well as replicate the darker murkier waters of the amazon basin.

Java Moss

Last but not least the female needs somewhere to scatter her eggs. That’s right scatter she doesn’t lay her eggs it’s not that precise she just needs to know there in the general area. That’s where Java Moss comes in its perfect to catch those eggs. Then the male can do his thing and fertilize the eggs should stay in a tight enough area as the eggs will stick to the java giving them the best chance to be fertilized. 

Lets Breed Neon Tetras

Now we have what we need let’s build a breeding tank. Take our tank an average quarantine/hospital tank will do. Maybe a 10-gallon tank. Take a bucket and cover the bottom of the bucket with good organic peat moss. Pour over with RO water (Reverse Osmosis).  We do this to allow some minerals to get into the water and for the water to start looking like the blackwaters of the amazon.

We also want to make it look as though it’s just rained remember she will only spawn when she thinks it rained crazy but true.

Add the peat moss and water you soaked in the bucket. Simply layer the moss across the bottom of the tank and allow it to settle. Once done we can gently fill the tank three-quarters or so to the top don’t worry it will look messy as the peat is disturbed into the waters.

Once done leave for some time it may well take three (3) days to completely settle. It’s not meant to be lovely clear clean water its meant to look like murky muddy Amazon water. Also with a dark layer of the substrate.

Next, we can add the java moss so they have a place to scatter and fertilize the eggs. Now we can cover and heat the tank to the desired temperature of 70 degrees (F) around 21 degrees (C). 

Choosing Our Fish For Breeding & Preparing Them

Great, we now have an excellent habitat for our couple to breed in. Let’s choose our fish first we need to feed them really well for a few days. Really fatten them up. Try to feed them good foods with lots of protein. Brine shrimp and blood worms will get them nice and plump. Feed them four times a day for a few days we want to encourage her to make more eggs.

Choose A Male & Female

Now we choose the best male and female be sure to sex them correctly otherwise we defeat the purpose. We obviously want one male and one female. Sexing is pretty easy as the females will have big bellies full of eggs. Males will be thinner but with more color and a really bright straight stripe across them.

Putting Our Couple Into The Breeding Tank

We’ve sorted our breeding tank and have fattened our fish. Select the best male and female now we need to transfer them to the breeding tank. We need to do this the night before we want them to spawn. They spawn in the mornings so we put them in the night before. 

We make sure it’s nice and dark no lighting at all. This ensures they know its night time and they can sleep.

The Spawning & Scattering Of Eggs

It’s the next morning the morning of the spawning, First, turn the light on so they know it’s morning leave it on, and await. It may take an hour or two but eventually, they will swim amongst the java moss. If you are lucky you will see the eggs being scattered and you will see the male darting in and out of the java moss.

When you have seen him darting in and out of the moss a few times it’s time to retrieve them and move them back to the main tank. This is because they are more than likely to start eating the eggs so it’s vital we move them back.

Hatching Of The Eggs

Now we have our eggs fertilized if good eggs they will be little white transparent balls. If rotten they will be black. Sometimes it’s hard to see but they will hatch in only 24 hours. So you will know pretty soon if you have been successful.

After only 24 hours those eggs will hatch and the tiny baby fry will start appearing. Each little fry will take a day or two before becoming free swimming fry. They will need a few weeks of feeding via an infusoria kit. After this, they can eat tiny brine shrimp and blood worms.

When they reach 12 weeks old they will be able to transfer to the main tank as proper neon tetra fish.

Feeding Fry

This kit the infusoria kit is made by boiling some vegetables usually broccoli. Make sure the broccoli is really soft then add it to a jar with a little bit of aquarium water. The aquarium water has all the good bacteria. Leave the jar by a window with good sunlight this will encourage bacteria growth.

After a few days, we should have a bacteria bloom and these microbes will keep breeding its these microbes that we will be feeding the baby fry.

The peat moss will also provide microbes for the baby fry to eat so they will definitely get enough food.

Tips And Tricks Concerning Egg Production And Spawning

Be prepared to have a few goes with spawning parents. When first placed in the breeding tank the female may be carrying old rotten eggs. Those black eggs I spoke of earlier we want white see-through eggs.

Also, the eggs may be fine but not fertilized and of course, there are always some eggs that don’t hatch. A female may lay 200 eggs but only half will ever have a chance of hatching.

If after spawning nothing happens or the eggs are rotten etc simply put the parents back into the main tank and feed them again. Then put them back in the breeding tank that evening and try again.

She should produce better eggs and keep repeating up to 5 times after this they will have had a good spawning or two and will need a rest.

Fun Facts 

Remember Neon tetra can produce eggs every day for around five days before needing a rest. And can do this every 14 days. The eggs will hatch within 1 day and the fry will be swimming and shoaling with each other after only 3 days. The fry will be able to join the main tank after only 12 weeks. And after 12 weeks will be able to reproduce.

Alternative Breeding Method

Well done for reading this far I have a special alternative method for you. This doesn’t require any messy peat moss and no heater. I know crazy stuff let’s dive in all we need is a few tubs. That’s right 1-gallon tiny tubs.

Take 5 tubs and fill them with RO water take some coco fiber and add some to each tub (rinse the coco fiber). Add the parents after feeding them etc making sure to add them at night. Put the lids on the tubs.

Now it’s the next morning turn the room light on so they know it’s daytime and wholla after an hour or so they should have spawned. Remove the parents and follow the same steps as in the article for the hatching fry.   

Alternative Fry Feed

Another way of feeding these fry and any fry is to boil some eggs scrambled eggs work to gently mix some of these eggs in with some tank water in a jar and feed them from a syringe awesome. After a few weeks, they will be big enough for some brine shrimp and blood worms.

The Breeding And Reproduction Of Neon Tetra Conclusion

Well, this was a blast I love neon tetra and enjoy breeding my own as it’s the only way of guaranteeing super healthy fish. If first, you don’t succeed try and try again as we need the female to get rid of her old rotten eggs and start producing new eggs.

The same can be said of the male as he may need some practice of where and how to fertilize those eggs so be patient. The first couple of goes may produce rotten eggs or unfertilized eggs but I bet by the third or fourth they are producing great eggs and fertilizing them.

Remember to move the parents after spawning as they will eat the eggs and or the fry. I enjoyed writing this one and hope you enjoyed the read as always I hope you find time to read more please feel free to look around the site.