Rules for the care and maintenance of neon fish

Flocks of small neons can be watched for hours - this sight is soothing and mesmerizing. Such inhabitants of home reservoirs are peaceful, they easily get along with other small inhabitants of aquariums. In order for the neons to feel good and delight the owners, you should choose the right water house for them and follow the rules of maintenance.

One fish should have at least 1.5 liters of the total volume of water, and if the reservoir is not additionally supplied with air - all 3. The smallest permissible volume of the aquarium, which can contain neons - 10 liters. This can fit 4 individuals freely.

Because neons prefer to flock it is desirable for a small company to provide for a reservoir of at least 30 liters... It is necessary that in such an aquarium there is enough vegetation of a dark green color, which is best placed against the back wall of the tank. Against this background, neons look very picturesque.

Since fish do not jump out of the water, it is not necessary to cover the aquarium with a lid. The temperature of the liquid is maintained at 18-20 degrees. The acidity of the water is between 5.5 and 7.5 pH.

Both dry and live food are suitable for feeding neons.Variety should be maintained in the diet. Neons are happy to eat:

• daphnia;
• bloodworms;
• cyclops;
• brine shrimp.

It is advisable to feed these aquarium fish once a day in moderation.so that excess food does not remain at the bottom. It is better to skip feeding once a week. This is only for the health benefits of silent pets - they will not gain excess weight, as they do if the owners are too generous with food.

The lifespan of neons depends a lot. on water temperature... If it is about 18 degrees, the fish will live for 4 years. At 22 degrees - a year less, and if you keep it at 27 degrees - only 1.5 years.

For fry, you need to create conditions when the temperature is kept at 22 degrees. In this case, the aquatic environment must be fed with air. You will also have to renew the water by about one tenth every day.

As the young growth grows, the lighting level in the spawning aquarium is raised. The maximum permissible light brightness for such fish should be achieved by one month of age. If the water tank is filled with enough light for adult fish earlier, teenage neons will not be able to navigate.

Since the fry have not yet developed vision, a small light source is installed in the shaded aquarium, which attracts them to the feeding area.

In order to get neon offspring at home, you must at least understand the sex differences between females and males. The process does not require special manipulations.

Females of neons are larger than males (about 0.5 cm longer). Their belly is more prominent than that of the "boys", and in the middle of the body there is a bend of the shiny stripe characteristic of the appearance of these fish. Males are flatter and with a flat lateral stripe without hints of bends.

At 6-9 months, neons become ready to receive offspring, and individuals at the age of 10 to 12 months can provide the healthiest. To begin with, future "moms and dads" are provided with the most favorable living conditions in a large aquarium.

They are provided with a varied menu and the most suitable water temperature. Before spawning, males are separated from females. Feeding during the week is live food. The water temperature is 20 degrees.

Also prepare an aquarium for spawning. In length, it should be at least 40 cm. There is no soil at the bottom. Instead, a special mesh is installed (for example, a nylon washcloth), and the back and sides of the container are made dark by installing a substrate of the appropriate color.

During spawning, fish need water with pH 5.5-6. You can bring the condition to the desired level of acidity with the help of store preparations. Some people use a decoction of alder cones.

The water temperature is from 22 to 25 degrees. No special lighting - the light should be natural. It also requires disinfection of the liquid using ultraviolet light or ozone.

After preparing the aquarium, neons are placed in it. It can be assumed that there should be 3 males per female. It is better to transplant fish into a spawning aquarium in the late afternoon. Spawning usually occurs at sunrise, although sometimes you have to wait 3 days for the result. You don't need to feed the neons at this time.

Females lay up to 200 eggs.After that, adult neons are planted in another aquarium so that they do not eat their own offspring, and the spawning one is protected from light, since eggs can die in such conditions.

Other peacefully-minded inhabitants of the water will approach the neons with the company:

• tetras;
• platies;
• swordtails;
• ornatus;
• pulcher;
• flashlights.

You cannot keep neons in the same container with the warlike and large abodes of the water world. Neighborhood with:

• goldfish;
• barbs;
• catfish;
• gourami;
• labeo.

Stress negatively affects the state of neons. And even inappropriate water temperature can provoke it. This is possible, for example, if the fish were just bought in a store and placed in a bag with "intermediate" water. It cools down in about half an hour.

After returning home do not immediately transplant neons from the package into a future reservoir. It is better to put "temporary housing" in a regular aquarium with water and wait until the temperature of the liquid in the portable tank and the permanent one equals. Only then can the fish be released.

You cannot keep neons in an aquarium one by one. The flock should consist of at least 5 individuals, and preferably more. In a group, the fish feel safe and not stressed. A lonely individual will hide in dark corners in fear of being attacked by the larger occupant of the water house.

Like all living things, neons are susceptible to various diseases. One of the misfortunes - plistiphorosiswhich causes fungus to grow on the bodies of these aquarium dwellers. It enters the container itself with the next portion of water, and then is transmitted from infected fish to healthy ones.

Outwardly, the disease manifests itself in the form of loss of color saturation and movement of the tail up. It is impossible to treat such a sore. You will have to get rid of the fish and thoroughly disinfect the aquarium itself.

Another neon disease - ichthyophthiriosis, which the fish pick up with the ciliates, which go to feed the young. Sick fish look like they are sprinkled with semolina.

To get rid of the problem, the temperature in the container with water is increased by a couple of degrees and the supply of oxygen to it is increased. Also, special preparations are added to the aquarium.

All about aquarium fish neons, see below.