Red Neon (Paracheirodon Axelrodi)

2023 Author: Molly Page | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 22:49

Red neon, or Cardinal tetra (Cardinal tetra) - one of the most popular and beautiful aquarium fish. Endemic to South America. Of all neons, it stands out as the brightest color. A gregarious, mobile and peaceful fish that gets along well with various small neighbors. Red neon is not too picky about the conditions of detention, but does not like harsh water. Omnivorous in aquariums. It is recommended to keep in groups of at least 10-15 tails. Breeding is associated with some difficulties.

Habitat: South America - Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia (tributaries of the Rio Negro and Orinoco rivers).

Habitat: stagnant shallow waters overgrown with vegetation in shallow forest streams and lakes with murky dark brown ("black") water.

Description: short, elongated and slightly flattened at the sides of the body. The caudal fin is two-lobed. There is an adipose fin.

Color: the back is olive-beige, from the eyes to the adipose fin there is a bright blue stripe gleaming with neon light, below it is a wide bright red stripe, the belly is whitish. Fins are colorless. The eyes are bluish green. The edges of the dorsal and anal fins have a bluish-white edging.

Size: females - up to 5 cm, males - up to 3 cm.

Life expectancy: in nature - up to 1 year, in aquariums - up to 5 years.

Aquarium: general (with a dark background), oblong.

Sizes: long aquarium with a volume of 50-60 liters for a flock. It is desirable that at least 3-5 liters of water fall on 1 fish.

Water: dH up to 20 °, pH 6-7, filtration through a peat filter, low flow, possible without aeration. Changes of up to 10-25% of water are made every two weeks. Neons do not tolerate cloudy water and are extremely susceptible to nitrite content in it. Some aquarists recommend adding a couple of handfuls of dried oak, beech or Indian almond leaves to the water. The leaves are replaced with new ones every two weeks.

Related article Neon Blue (Paracheirodon innesi)

Temperature:23-27 ° C. According to experiments carried out with neons caught in nature, it turned out that they die at temperatures below 19.6 ° C and above 33.7 ° C.

Lighting: overhead, dim.

Substrate: dark river sand.

Plants: thickets of living plants (Cryptocorynes, Echinodorus, Ceylon fern, Javanese moss, kabomba, shieldwort, Vallisneria), including floating ones (pistia).

Decoration: driftwood, branches, stones, plants, various decorations, a place for swimming is required.

Feeding: in nature, red neons feed on insects, small crustaceans, worms, diatoms and green algae, detritus. In aquariums, live, frozen food and their substitutes are taken. Do not use monotonous food, especially dry food (gammarus and daphnia).

Fish easily endure long hunger strikes. They are prone to obesity, so they are given a fasting day once a week. The frequency of feeding is 1-2 times a day.

Behavior: red neons are mobile schooling fish, which are kept in small groups of 10-20 or more individuals.

Personality: peaceful. Fights are sometimes observed between males, which do not cause any harm to the fish.

Water zone: middle and bottom water layer.

Can be kept with: commensurate peaceful and calm fish (small tetras, nannostomuses, hatchet fish, apistograms, corridors, small chain mail catfish, rasbora, pelvicachromis).

Cannot be kept with: aggressive and large fish (barbs, large cichlids, fringed catfish) and crustaceans.

Fish farming: This is difficult and requires experience. Spawning is paired, nesting (with a predominance of males) or group. Neons spawn mainly from October to April. Producers are seated for 7-10 days (water temperature up to 23 ° C) and are abundantly fed with animal feed twice a day. The day before landing for spawning, the fish are no longer fed. Spawning is stimulated by increased atmospheric pressure as well as moonlight.

The minimum spawning aquarium for a pair is 30 × 25 × 25 cm (for a nest - 15-20 liters), the bottom and walls of the aquarium, in addition to the sight glass, are shaded. For 30-40 fish, a 60x55x30 cm aquarium is suitable. The aquarium is covered with a cover glass from above. A separator mesh and several bundles of carefully washed small-leaved plants are placed on the bottom. Water that has settled for at least two weeks with parameters: 25-27 ° С, dH up to 2 °, KN 0 °, pH 5-5.5, level 20 cm. Some aquarists select fish at the age of 9-10 months for spawning, others - females at the age of 1 year, males - 2 years. Red neons are planted to spawn in the afternoon. If in the evening the fish rise to the surface and swim restlessly above the substrate, then with the onset of darkness spawning occurs, which usually lasts 2-3 hours. After spawning, the aquarium is shaded and methylene blue is added to the water. Eggs and larvae are susceptible to the onslaught of bacteria and protozoa.

Related article Neon green (Hemigrammus hyanuary)

Sex differences: females are fatter than males, the edge of their anal fin is concave.

Puberty: begins at the age of 7-10 months.

Number of eggs: 200-300 non-sticky eggs.

Incubation period: 22-30 hours.

Offspring:fry swim for 5-6 days. At this time, weak aeration is turned on. During the first 2 weeks the fry hide under the leaves of plants, are extremely sensitive to light and water quality. Therefore, the aquarium is shaded from the sides and slightly illuminated from above the place through which the starter food is given. Some aquarists recommend night feeding of fry. To keep the aquarium clean, you can run red coils or young ampullia. Filtration through a foam filter is started when the fry are 10-12 days old. Juveniles of the red cardinal do not tolerate bacterial turbidity at all, therefore, at the same time, they begin daily water changes (up to 5-10%) with the same parameters as in the spawning grounds, do not forget about cleaning the bottom. Part of well-settled tap water, with the addition of "AquaSafe", is added to monthly fry during changes. By week 6, all the water you change can be from the tap.

Growth rate: with an abundance of feed - very fast. In 3 week old fry, a luminous strip appears, and the eyes begin to glow. At 5 weeks, the fry acquire the color and shape of adult fish and can already be transplanted into a common aquarium.

Related article Black neon (Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi)

Feeding juveniles: starter feed - ciliates, rotifers, nauplii diaptomus and cyclops. After 5-6 she is given only hatched Artemia. Plant food can be fed as it grows.

Jigging from parents: after spawning, producers are removed from the aquarium.

Comments: Neon red should not be used in recently launched aquariums, as they do not tolerate chlorine dissolved in water.

This type of fish is prone to plistophorosis (neon disease). When treating, it must be remembered that neons have an increased sensitivity to copper-based drugs.