The green neon tetra (''Paracheirodon simulans'') is a

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Characidae Characidae, the characids or characins is a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish, belonging to the order Characiformes. The name "characins" is the historical one, but scientists today tend to prefer "characids" to reflect their st ...

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Characiformes Characiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, comprising the characins and their allies. Grouped in 18 recognized families, more than 2000 different species are described, including the well-known piranha and tetras.; Buckup P.A.: "Relationshi ...

. It is native to the upper

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...

and

Negro In the English language, ''negro'' is a term historically used to denote persons considered to be of Black African heritage. The word ''negro'' means the color black in both Spanish and in Portuguese, where English took it from. The term can be ...

Rivers in South America. This fish is similar in appearance to the closely related and better-known

neon tetra The neon tetra (''Paracheirodon innesi'') is a Freshwater fish of the characin family (family Characidae) of order Characiformes. The type species of its genus, it is native to blackwater and clearwater streams in the Amazon basin of South Am ...

, but it is slightly smaller, and its red patch is less pronounced, while the blue-green areas of the upper body are more brilliant. Also, its body is slimmer than that of the neon tetra. It grows to a maximum overall length of about . Like the other ''Paracheirodon'' species, the green neon tetra is kept as an

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

fish, but it is less commonly seen than either the

or the

cardinal tetra The cardinal tetra (''Paracheirodon axelrodi'') is a freshwater fish of the family Characidae of order Characiformes. It is native to the upper Orinoco and Negro Rivers in South America. Growing to about total length, the cardinal tetra has ...

. ''P. simulans'' is also sometimes called the blue or false neon. ''Hyphessobrycon simulans'' and ''Cheirodon simulans'' are obsolete synonyms.

This fish loses its brilliant blue and red colors when lights are switched off, but regains them when lights are switched on again. The green neon tetra comes from extremely soft, acidic water at temperatures around .

Breeding

For breeding, these tetras need water similar to the waters in which they live in the wild; extremely soft water with a pH of about 6 and a temperature of around . Ideally, the water should be highly stained by the tannins from peat, in subdued light, shaded by plants. It spawns in a school, although in the actual act of spawning, one female may be closely associated with one or more males. About 130 eggs can be laid by each female. The parents should be removed after spawning. The eggs should hatch in 24 hours. The eggs are light sensitive so avoid light. The babies are very small, so feeding infusoria (protozoa) is necessary early on. As they grow, this can increasingly be supplemented with fine commercial fry foods. Adults can breed again after a few weeks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Green Neon Tetra simulans Tetras Fishkeeping Freshwater fish of South America Freshwater fish of Brazil Freshwater fish of Colombia Fish described in 1963 Taxa named by Jacques Géry

Breeding

See also

References