Neons are viviparous or not. How do neon fish reproduce in a home aquarium?

Reproduction of neons is not so difficult in a home aquarium, if you comply with a number of requirements. First of all, you should know that in wildlife Neon fish spawning occurs during the rainy season, and lasts 1.5-2 months throughout the year. When the spawning ends, the fish calm down and take a break. Neons brought to our country can reproduce at any time of the year, which simplifies their breeding. A variety of live foods, replacements aquarium water stimulate them mating season. You should know that all types of neons (blue, blue, red, black and others) are not viviparous, but spawning fish.

How does the reproduction process occur in neons?

Aquarium neons should spawn under careful supervision - due to changes in the natural rhythms of life, the laying of eggs may be endangered. All males and females must be transferred to different tanks, and before placing them in a common spawning tank, a short “acquaintance” between the fish should be carried out 5 times. The female neon can lay eggs every week, and the male releases milk 2 times less often. Sexual dimorphism is expressed during the breeding season - females are rounded in the abdomen, males have a swim bladder, it moves towards the anus, which is not the case in females.

Before setting up the spawning tank, prepare the water - take water from the tap, let it steep for several days in a glass container, then heat it to the required temperature. Optimal parameters aquatic environment will ensure fertilization maximum quantity eggs, and their ripening. You can choose a medium aquarium for spawning - 30-50 liters per couple. It is not necessary to line the bottom with soil. Permissible temperature water in the tank: 25-26 degrees Celsius, hardness 2-4 o, acidity 6.5-7.0 pH.

See how to prepare an aquarium for neon breeding.

Successful breeding will provide a substrate in the form of aquatic plants. At the bottom of the tank you can put a few sprigs of myriophyllum or Java moss. It is better to introduce fish ready for spawning into the aquarium in the evening, a few hours before turning off the lights - this way the pair will get used to each other faster, and in the morning the eggs will be spawned.

Aquarium fish, despite being kept in different conditions the aquatic environment, unlike their natural relatives, behave similarly in this process. Usually 2 males are launched at one female, and they instantly attack her, and the male who turns out to be more agile than his opponent wins; it is he who fertilizes the eggs due to the highest degree of readiness. Before the spawning process, males and females swim above the plants. Then she lays eggs on the plants in a chaotic manner.

The first few hours after spawning, the eggs have a sticky texture. Once on the plant, they attach themselves to them, and then, with a slight fluctuation in the water, they fall to the bottom. Therefore, you cannot line the tank with soil - the substrate can damage their thin surface. 3-4 hours after the breeding process, the male and female are caught from the spawning tank with a net, and if this is not done immediately, the producers can eat their fruits.

How to care for a brood

Unfortunately, not all fertilized eggs will be able to survive; some may become infected with fungus, and some will die during the ripening period. After 9 hours, surviving, unspoiled fertilized eggs can be selected from the rest with a medical pipette. Transfer them to another container with similar water parameters so that they do not become infected and die.

Watch a video showing how to care for neons and how fish reproduce.

The most dangerous enemy of neon eggs is harmful bacteria and fungus. Using the drugs Tripaflavin, methylene blue or General Tonic, you can stop the proliferation of microbes, thereby ensuring the life of future fish. After adding the drug, the water level can be reduced by 7-10 cm. The eggs will ripen until the larvae appear. This will happen after 24 hours if the water temperature is 24-25 o C.

After a few days, the fish fry can swim in upper layers water, then you can give them food that they themselves will eat. The starting food for the fry is Cyclops larvae (for the first 4 weeks of life, until the first colored stripes appear on the body). If you know how to get ciliates, rotifers or other types of plankton at home, you can add this food.

The fish grow quickly, later they will require other feeding, now they can be given small cyclops, chopped live food. When the brood grows up, the surviving fry can be moved to another aquarium with a temperature of 24-25 degrees, water hardness of 10-12 o. This is necessary so that they are not infected with plistophora. At first they will adapt to the new conditions, but after a month they will completely get used to them. If the water is too hard (take measurements with instruments with indicators), soften it by special means which are available in stores.

They reach sexual maturity by eight months and retain the ability to spawn for up to 4-5 years, of course, provided they are kept in optimal conditions. Ideally, immediately before planting for spawning, the spawners should be seated for a week in different containers with a water temperature of 22℃. At this time, you need to feed intensively and variedly, be sure to include live food in the diet.

To dilute neons, prepare an all-glass container with a volume of 10-20 liters. Disinfect it and fill it with distilled water. Add 200 ml of water from the aquarium containing neons. At the bottom of the spawning tank, place a bunch of Java moss (if you are 100% sure that there are no snails on it) or a nylon sponge.

The main thing in breeding neons is to properly prepare the water. Neons can lay eggs in any water (even in a general aquarium), but fertilization is possible only in soft water (up to 3°). It is optimal for the rigidity to be about 1°. Neons prefer to spawn in slightly acidic water (pH 5.5-6). You can acidify it folk remedies- for example, a decoction of alder cones, a peat decoction, or you can use special preparations (fortunately, there are plenty of them on sale now).

Do not blow too much air in the spawning tank, raise the temperature to 25-26℃ and you can start the spawners. Shade the breeding aquarium on all sides, leaving only one corner dimly lit to see the results of spawning. Everything should be done by morning. The bulk of the eggs should be on the substrate and under it. It is necessary to place the breeders back into the general aquarium, and carefully shake the eggs from the substrate to the bottom. Reduce the water level in the spawning tank with eggs to 7-10 cm and add an antifungal drug (for example, methylene blue or General Tonic).

At a temperature of 25℃, eggs develop in 36-48 hours. The fry first hang on the glass, then begin to swim. Feeding neon fry is very difficult. IN early age Neon fry see very poorly; they only develop an orientation towards light - phototaxis. This is what you need to use for feeding. The entire aquarium must be darkened, leaving only a ray of light in one corner. In the illuminated place, ciliates necessary for feeding the fry will accumulate. With such lighting, the neon fry will not remain hungry; when they find themselves in a cloud of ciliates, they begin to actively feed. This makes it possible to save all the young.

Gradually, the fry are transferred to feeding on Artemia nauplii and rotifers, and then on small cyclops. Gradually it is necessary to increase the water hardness in the spawning tank with fry, adding a small portion of water daily from general aquarium.

Video:, and other inhabitants of the aquarium.

A small flock of neon fish decorates any aquarium and gets along well with its peaceful representatives. In addition, you can try to breed them yourself, even in a community aquarium. We will try to figure out how to do this correctly in our article.

Sex differences

At rest, the sex of fish is very difficult to determine, but during the spawning period, small differences between male and female can be found.

The sex of the fish can be determined by the following characteristics:

• the male is smaller than the female;
• the male's swim bladder moves closer to the anus and can be seen through the lumen;
• the neon (blue) stripe crossing the male’s body remains straight, but in the female it is curved in the center;
• Neon females become rounded and their abdomen enlarges.

Pair selection

When breeding in a community aquarium, the fish will find a mate on their own. The main condition is the presence of fish of different sexes that are at least 8-9 months old. Since this is the age that is considered optimal for the first spawning of neon fish.

Did you know?To awaken the instinct to reproduce in neons, you need to frequently change their water.

There is a need to select a pair if breeding will take place in a spawning area. In this case, you need to pay attention to the activity of the fish, their appearance and color.

Having determined the sex of the neon and selected the ones they like, the future parents are placed in different containers for 10-14 days, separating the males from the females. When selecting, it should be taken into account that for successful spawning, 2-3 males must be selected per female.

To determine the fathers of future offspring, a female with prospective partners is placed in a separate container; those who are more agile win. Before placing the fish for spawning, it is recommended to organize short dates; five to six dates will be enough.
It was experimentally established that the female is ready for disembarkation - once a week, but the male - once every two weeks.

Important!Since sperm maturation in males occurs slowly, there is a risk that if you add one male and one female, some of the eggs will remain unfertilized. Therefore, fish are placed in the aquarium in a ratio of 2 males: 1 female.

Breeding at home

Neon breeding is a painstaking task that requires special attention to your pets and control over the process.

In the wild, neons live in streams and rivers of Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. Their spawning time is during the rainy season. Rivers and streams are filling up big amount soft, almost distilled water.

Therefore, at home they imitate these natural features to stimulate spawning in fish.

When breeding neons, it is necessary to adhere to their natural rhythms - in the wild, fish lay eggs twice a year, spawning periods last one and a half to two months, followed by periods of rest, which last four months.

In a separate spawning area

To successfully breed neons, it is advisable to purchase a small cast (seamless) aquarium for one family, size 25*15*15. The spawning tank must be disinfected and prepared accordingly. One side of the spawning tank is covered with a dark film, providing diffused lighting.

Important!If you use a plant for spawning that was previously in a community aquarium, carefully inspect it and remove all snails.

Since during spawning neons glue their eggs to different surfaces- the aquarium must have plants or devices on which the eggs will be held. At the bottom of the container you can place a fine nylon mesh, a tangled skein of fishing line, a washcloth, and willow roots that were collected in the pond.

Small-leaved plants that can be placed in a spawning tank: myriophyllum,. The plants are pressed down with a stone so that they do not float to the surface.
Water is the main component of the success of fish breeding, Special attention The following factors should be taken into account:

• the aquarium is filled with settled, distilled or cationized water;
• should correspond to 0.5-4°;
• the acidity of the water should not go beyond pH 5.5-6.5. You can regulate the acidity level with a decoction of peat, alder cones or oak bark; you should check the pH level using special test strips;
• The best water temperature for spawning is considered to be 22-26°C;
• the water level in the aquarium should not exceed 20 cm;
• the water must be saturated with oxygen.

Future parents are placed in the spawning tank in the evening, shortly before going to bed - this way the fish will get used to it faster, and there is a high probability that the eggs will be spawned by the morning.

By placing neons in the spawning area, you can watch the fish swim above the plant or artificial substitute.
The female swims in front, the male is a little behind, but the moment of the mating dance comes and during its performance the fish rush around, make turns and make throws towards each other, making dense touches.

The dorsal fin of the future father rests on the female, the bodies of the fish bend and eggs and sperm immediately emerge from them. The eggs have a sticky structure for some time after spawning (2-3 hours).

Once on the leaves of the plant, the eggs attach to them, but then, even with a slight movement of water, they fly off the leaves and end up at the bottom.

Four hours later, the mating dance ends, the neons cease to be interested in each other. The time has come to remove the fish from the aquarium; if this is not done, the couple will eat their offspring.

Breeding red neon: video

In a common aquarium

Water requirements when breeding fish in a community aquarium:

• distilled water with a hardness of no higher than 4°;
• the acidity of the water should not exceed pH 5.0;
• water temperature 26 °C;
• darkening the aquarium;
• the presence of algae on which eggs can attach.

Did you know?The smallest aquarium is 3 cm long and one and a half cm wide and boasts the following contents: two fish, algae, pebbles and sand.

But even if these conditions are met, breeding neons in a community aquarium is problematic for the following reasons:

• due to water hardness, fertilization does not always occur;
• any lighting, even dim lighting, is detrimental to the eggs;
• if this event somehow miraculously happened, the eggs risk becoming a nutritious delicacy for the neons themselves, other fish and snails.

Appearance and care of fry

A female can lay up to 250 eggs, but this does not mean that the fry will hatch in the same number - some of the eggs will die from the fungus, some while they are developing. After 9-10 hours, the fertilized eggs are separated with a pipette.

You can, of course, leave the eggs in the spawning tank, but there is a high probability of contamination of fertilized eggs from decomposing eggs.

The development of bacteria can be stopped with special disinfectants (General Tonic, trypaflavin), the water level in the spawning tank is lowered to 10 cm, and the water temperature is increased to 28 °C. In a day the first larvae will appear.

For the first three to five days, fish larvae do not need feeding. As soon as the yolk sac (an orange spot on the abdomen) becomes invisible, the juvenile neon is able to swim independently and find food.
The first food for fry is zooplankton, which contains other small water inhabitants, but you can get by with the crushed yolk of a chicken egg.

The aquarium with neon fry must be darkened, only a small area should be illuminated with light. To make feeding the fry easier, food is poured into a beam of light, and the young instinctively swim to the light in search of food.

After two weeks, neon juveniles are accustomed to normal lighting, increasing the light zone day by day. The food is changed - special mixtures for fry. By the age of one month, neon juveniles should switch to natural light.
The next stage begins - preparation for a general aquarium, this is done by changing the water. Over the course of 15-20 days, the indicators of water hardness and acidity are gradually equalized, trying to make them as close as possible to the indicators in the aquarium, and the fish are accustomed to food for adult fish.

Did you know?There are some species of fish that incubate their offspring in their mouths. These fish are distinguished by their patience and endurance, because the incubation process can last up to 3-6 weeks. Some fish do not feed at all, others have learned to skip food, despite the fact that the mouth is occupied by offspring, and still others are able to transfer their offspring from mouth to mouth to a partner.

The neon fish does not require much attention in daily maintenance, which cannot be said about the period when the fish reproduce, but if you follow the recommendations and rules, you can see the emergence and birth of a new life!

Neon breeding: video

Neon is a small aquarium fish with a shiny blue stripe running along its body, reminiscent of a neon glow. They began to spread at home in the 30s, and in our time it is one of the most common aquarium fish, giving bright rich colors to the underwater world.

Neon fish

Due to its small size, it does not require a large aquarium to keep fish. Of course, you need to take into account the requirements of other fish if the neons are adjacent to someone.

Neon Characteristics:

• Length – up to 4 cm;
• Color – red, black, blue;
• Number - the fish is schooling; for comfort, at least 7 individuals are required;
• Layer of water - they prefer to be in the lower layers, closer to the bottom;
• Life expectancy is up to 4 years.

Water temperature greatly influences life expectancy; the higher it is, the faster the fish ages. So at a temperature of 22 degrees they live as long as possible, up to 4 years, and if the temperature is around 28 degrees, then a year and a half is the ceiling.

Flock of Neons

The fish are not picky about the composition of the water; the main thing is that it is soft and left to sit for 3 days.

Nature has endowed neon with a good disposition; in terms of compatibility, they do not pose a threat to either the little ones or the harmless ones. Of course, they will not get along with predators, as they will feed on them. But it is worth noting that in natural conditions neons hide well in dense thickets, and if you have a large aquarium with dense vegetation, then neons have every chance of getting along with a fighting disposition or.

You can feed neons with any food for small fish. For good health It is better to alternate food with frozen, live and artificial mixtures from the pet store. One day a week it is possible (even useful) to have a fasting day.

Aquarium

Neon fish do not require water flow, they prefer standing pools, so it is enough to equip them only with a compressor with a fine spray, the smaller the bubbles, the better. The vegetation should be dense in all layers, as in the photo below, since neons, although they prefer the lower layers, are very playful, and sometimes a flock will rush around in the upper layers.

Dense aquarium

There is no need to buy a lighting lamp; fish prefer dim lighting. A water filter is desirable, but not critical, especially if there are also snails in the aquarium.

Water parameters:

• pH – up to 6.5;
• dH – up to 8;
• Water change - 25% per week.

These are ideal parameters, but in fact they will perform well in more acidic and hard water.

It is very important - the soil must be dark!

The darker the ground, the brighter and more intense the neon strip. And in general, create more dark areas at the bottom - driftwood, large stones, grottoes, this will bring them as close as possible to their usual living conditions.

That’s it, they don’t require any special care anymore, so they are highly recommended for beginner aquarists.

Buying fish

We bought an aquarium, filled it with settled water and decorated it, it was time to go get some fish. You can buy neon fish at any pet store, this is a very common aquarium fish at a very low price - black and blue are around 50 rubles apiece, and red is around 100 rubles.

Black neon

Try to buy a flock of fish at once, rather than just one fish per week. Firstly, there will be less stress for the fish, and secondly, newcomers will not need to be kept in a separate jar in quarantine for a couple of days. It would be a pity if the tenth fish purchased turns out to be sick and all its relatives die.

If you make a purchase in winter, then take a thermos with you in which you will bring the fish home. A sharp change in temperature can have a bad effect on their health.

Fish reproduction

Reproduction of neon fish is not difficult. A female can be distinguished from a male with the naked eye:

• Females are slightly larger;
• The stripe in females in the middle of the body is slightly curved, in males it is clearly straight along the entire length;
• Females have a slightly larger belly (hence the curvature of the stripe).

Sexual maturity occurs by six months of age. Before spawning, males need to be removed, and females need to be created ideal conditions(water hardness and acidity), lower the temperature to 20 degrees, and feed only live food. This goes on for about a month.

• Water depth – 15 cm;
• Temperature – 22 degrees;
• Hardness – dH 2;
• Acidity – pH 6;
• No artificial lighting.

Towards evening we transfer a couple of fish into the spawning tank. Usually in the morning the female already begins to spawn, but this process can drag on for a couple of days. During spawning, the fish are not fed anything.

Spawning tank

From 50 to 300 eggs are born at a time. It is very important to catch this moment and immediately place the parents in a common aquarium, otherwise they will eat all the fry.

We cover the spawning tank with a dark cloth - light is destructive for the game.

The incubation period lasts about a day. Watch the eggs, and if after 4 hours some begin to turn white, then remove them, there will be no fry from it, and the water will spoil.

After the fry hatch, they will remain in place for another 4 days without moving. On the fifth day they will begin to swim and eat food:

• Special ready-made food for fry;
• Boiled chicken egg yolk;
• Living dust - ciliates and rotifers.

Food for fry (clickable)

We increase the lighting gradually over the course of a month, after which they can be transplanted into a common aquarium.

And remember - we are responsible for those we have tamed!

Neon and other fish in the aquarium, video

Reproduction of aquarium neons is a painstaking task that requires patience, attention and experience. To ensure this process is successful and your aquarium is replenished with new specimens, read the rules for breeding them.

Preparing breeder neon for spawning

Neon aquarium fish reach sexual maturity at 8 months and when kept in optimal conditions retain the ability to spawn for up to 4-5 years. However, males and females are selected for spawning at the age of 10-12 months, because It is believed that this age is optimal for successful reproduction of neons.

It is easy to distinguish males and females: Males are half a centimeter smaller than females and much “slimmer”; their lateral stripe is smooth, without convolutions. In turn, females are noticeably larger and plumper than males, and their neon stripe has a bend in the middle.

Neon fish selected for breeding should be placed in separate aquariums several weeks before spawning and provided with comfortable conditions. The water temperature in each aquarium should be between 19-22°. The fish are fed variedly and plentifully, including live food in the diet.

Setting up a spawning tank

To propagate neons, take a glass container with a volume of 15-20 liters, preferably elongated. Wash it thoroughly and disinfect it, fill it with cationized or distilled water, previously settled and disinfected with ultraviolet light.

Next add 200-250 ml. water from a common aquarium with neons. At the bottom of the container, place a small bunch of Java moss (make sure there are no snails on it first) or a fine mesh (artificial sponge).

The second stage is water preparation. Neons can lay eggs in any water, but fertilization is possible only in soft water, so the optimal hardness should be about 1°. Neons spawn in a slightly acidic environment (pH 5.5-6). You can acidify the water with special preparations or, for example, peat decoction. The water level in the spawning aquarium should not be higher than 20 cm.

Next we set up aeration. The blowing in the spawning tank should not be very strong.

Then we raise the water temperature to 25-26? and launch producers. It is advisable to do this in the afternoon.

The breeding aquarium for neon fish should be shaded, leaving one side dimly lit to allow the spawning results to be seen. The process should be completed by morning. The bulk of the game can be seen on or under the substrate.

After spawning

Correct actions after spawning guarantee the appearance of offspring and their viability. For this:

1. We put the breeders back into the community aquarium.
2. Carefully shake the eggs from the substrate to the bottom.
3. Next, reduce the water level in the spawning tank to 7-10 cm.
4. Add a special antifungal drug (such as methylene blue, General Tonic, etc.).

5. We monitor the development of eggs, promptly removing the whitened eggs with a pipette, and wait for the fry to appear, maintaining a constant temperature of 25-26° in the spawning tank. The eggs take approximately 36-48 hours to develop.

Appearance of fry

Neon fry first hang on the glass, and after a little time they begin to swim. Babies have developed an instinctive orientation towards light - phototaxis. We use this feature for feeding. In a darkened aquarium, leave a beam of light and place ciliates? healthy and nutritious food for neon fry. Ciliates will accumulate in a lighted place, and the fry will also rush there. Gradually, neon fry are transferred to feeding on artemia, nauplii and rotifers, and then they are given cyclops.

Over time, it is necessary to increase the water hardness in the spawning aquarium with fry, adding water from the general aquarium daily.

Reproduction of neons is not an easy, but very exciting activity. If you are new to this business, we also advise you to watch the video of the process of breeding neon aquarium fish.