Serious help from people that knows aquarium and neon tetra?

Question

i have 6 neon tetra they live in a 55 gallon aquarium, i did not put any pump or filter i just placed lots of live plants lots ot them lol, are they going to breed? i noticed that they swim in pairs and one of them will swim towards the other and rubbing/ vibaritng its body again the other neon tetra is it their mating rituals lol? and i think theirs algae in the glass that "green thing" it looks like mini grass in the glass of my aquarium, is it food for they? i mean the algae.. and i notice a small snail in the aquarium is it harmful for my neon tetra? i always change the water 10 percent everyday and my neon tetra seems happy they dont swim in the surface to grasp for air thats the reason why a put live plants lots of them in the aquarium as a source of oxygen, i want to make my aquarium look like their real habitat lol. pls help.... thanks a lot...

Answer 1

The breeding tank should be clean of everyhing except a single foliage (plant). Some aquarist think it's ok to keep snails in the breeding tank. This is not true. Snails are scavenders. They eat eggs. Before putting the parents in the breeding tank, the water should be stertilized by boiling for twenty minutes. This will kill any bacteria in the water (stertilizes). The pH should be as close as you can get to 7.0. The water temputer should be 75-78°f for the spawing. Rain water would be the best for this is you can gather it. Once you choose the male and female put the into the breeding tank. Female being round in comparison to the slim male. . Use a dim light or cover the aquarium with a sheet to dim the sun's light. If your lucky, they'll start breeding the next morning. The eggs are about the size of a grain of sand and practically invisable. This is why you can't have gravel or sand. The eggs fall at random and will be lost if fallen on any gravel. Once the spawning is over and the eggs are laid, the female should be removed first for she will eat them. The male will chase here around the yank to prevent this. Have plenty of brine shrimp ready for the offspring will hatch the next day or in 36 hours.

Answer 2

It's possible they may spawn, but neon tetra fry are rather difficult to raise. They are tiny and very delicate, even bright light will kill them. But in a large heavily planted tank I guess it's not impossible, just unlikely.

Because your tank is fairly big, very lightly stocked and gets frequent water changes, thats why your fish are doing OK. I would still add a small power filter, it needn't be a full 55gal size one, just one big enough to match the number of fish  you have. Maybe something designed for a 10gal tank. It will just keep the water quality and oxygen level much better, and let you get away with much less water changing.

If you are growing plants you actually want the Nitrate level up around 20ppm to provide nutrients to the plants. With few fish and frequent water changes you may be keeping the level much lower than ideal for plant growth.

The green will be algae growing, it's normal, and the snails will eat it. Just get a glass cleaner for the front, otherwise you wont see your fish after a while. You could also add some Oto catfish or a Bristlenose pleco to help control the algae in a natural way.  Otos are small catfish that only grow an inch or so long and love planted tanks with lots of algae. Bristlenose pelcos may grow to 4-5" but are peacefull and good algae eaters too.

They also come from the same natural environment as Neon tetas, so they will fit into the biotope you are trying to create.

But definately get at least a small filter before you add any more fish.

Good Luck

Ian

Answer 3

Neon Tetras are not pair spawners,they spawn in large groups. The answer that quoted the Angelfish website is just that,for Angels.