Green Neon Tetra Care: Tank Mates, Tank Size, Food, Breeding & More

Green Neon Tetra is another demanding fish species in the aquarium trade because of its shiny color patterns. When the Green Neon Tetra is mentioned, at least we remember a fish with a beautiful color stripe and one that we all love.

This fish dwells in freshwaters and has many interesting benefits just like the standard Neon Tetra and other popular tetras. These Tetra species are beautiful and taking care of them is as well very easy as other Tetra breeds.

They feature variations that are of much interest to aquarists. This Green Neon Tetra care guide will give in-depth information on how to take care of them.

Quick Facts:
Common Names :	Green Neon Tetra
Origin :	Negro and Orinoco Rivers in South America
Family :	Characidae
Scientific Name :	Paracheirodon simulans
Care Level :	Easy
Temperament :	Peaceful
Social :	Schooling fish
Diet :	Omnivores
Size (average) :	Up to 1 inches
Lifespan :	2 to 3 years
Breeding :	Egg layer
Minimum Tank Size:	15 gallons
Tank Environment :	Freshwater , Sandy or gravel substrate, Lot of Plants, Lot of hiding places, Rocks
Temperature :	75 – 85 °F (23 – 29 °C)
Water Hardness :	< 10 dGH
Water pH Level :	5.0 - 6.5

Table of Contents

Species Overview

As mentioned above, the Green Neon Tetra is a freshwater fish species that are sometimes known as false or Blue Neon Tetras. They are known by their scientific name Paracheirodon simulans.

These fish species are rare species and not as common as the standard Neon Tetra. They belong to a family of fish called Characidae which has many other popular species.

Among the other species are the Piranhas Fish and other Tetra varieties. The standard Neon Tetra are known better by most aquarists and they are the first choice for beginners.

However, it is easy to take care of the Green Neon Tetra and is an excellent choice for beginners. The Green Neon Tetra differs from the standard Neon Tetra by its smaller size and color variation.

Most of the Tetras varieties originate from South America. So the Green Neon Tetra specifically originates from Negro and Orinoco Rivers. You can easily find any Tetra species including the Green Neon Tetra from the nearby pet stores and their availability is not an issue.

Breeding the Green Neon Tetras is easy and hence they are affordable at lower prices. The prices range between $2 and $3 but can also be cheaper if you buy many of them at the same time.

Before you buy these fish it is good to check whether they are healthy by checking signs of diseases. Wounds, abnormal color changes, and body spots are some of the signs of ill health.

In their natural habitat, the Green Neon Tetra can have a longer lifespan. But in a captivity environment, they can live around 2 to 3 years but you can prolong their lifespan by providing them with a pristine environment with a healthier diet.

Green Neon Tetra Size

When mature Green Neon Tetra size can grow up to one inch long but is still slightly smaller than the other related species. The females of this species of the Neon Tetras are slightly larger than the males.

Green Neon Tetra size may be influenced by a couple of factors such as genetics and how well they are taken care of when developing.

Their growth rate depends on the care you give them including diet and environment but you can do nothing to alter size that is entirely subject to the genes.

When buying them, size is something that you should pay attention to especially to determine their health.

Green Neon Tetra Lifespan

Green Neon Tetra lifespan between 2 to 3 years in an aquarium depending on the quality of care accorded to them. Besides the quality of care, genetics play a significant role in determining the age that which these fish can live.

As mentioned above the wild varieties may have longer lifespans than captivity breeds.

Behavior and Temperament

These fish species are peaceful with not a single sign of aggression. For that reason, therefore, these fish can live well with other species and you will notice no problems with that co-existence.

Even though they are not a threat to other species sharing habitat with them, placing larger fish as their tank mates may lead to a predator-prey relationship where the larger fish eat the smaller Green Neon Tetra.

If you want these fish to have peace and more confidence, keep them as a group. They are social with one another and you will often see them moving together in a school.

Apart from their peaceful co-existence with one another, the Green Neon Tetras will display brighter colors as a group hence making your aquarium even more beautiful. That means that the beauty will increase with the size of the group.

Since they are social species, keeping them singly is not good because they might stress out from loneliness hence lowering their lifespan. You should keep around 6 to 8 Green Neon Tetras in your tank to prevent loneliness.

These fish usually stay in the middle level of the water column and only come to the surface when they are feeding.

Appearance and Colors

All species of tetra are very colorful and beautiful and the Green Neon Tetras are not any different. With a sufficient amount of light, the Green Neon Tetras sparkle brightly in both clear and dark water environments but the sparkling reduces as the light becomes dimmer.

Even though they are called the Green Neon Tetra, their name is not a reflection of their color in totality since they are less greener than Cardinal or Neon Tetras.

This mismatch of the names of these fish and their colors may result in misidentification when buying and hence it is good to enquire if you are not sure of your preferred species’ appearance.

Cardinal Tetras, Neon Tetras, and the Green Neon Tetras all feature a bluish-green stripe that extends along their body to the eye. You can know their difference with the help of the Red Color below the Green Stripe.

The Green Neon Tetras have a red color but it is faint compared to the other species hence the Green color stands out.

They are therefore called the Green Neon Tetras because the green color makes them appear brighter and shinier. The Green Neon Tetras also have small and colorless fins that are transparent.

Green Neon Tetra Care

As mentioned earlier, giving your Green Neon Tetras the best quality care will ensure that they are not stressed out and subsequently they will have a longer lifespan.

Fortunately, taking care of this great species of fish is quite easy and by just following a few guidelines anyone can give them the quality care they need.

They might not show visible signs when they are not receiving the best care and therefore it is upon you to follow all the principles. Excellent knowledge of taking care of them but not doing it is not useful at all.

The best care involves feeding them sufficiently, ensuring that they are staying in a stress-free environment, and taking the necessary precautions to prevent cases of sicknesses.

Also, you should keep the tanks clean to kill pathogens and partially remove water at least once per week.

Besides, anytime you realize that some fish look sick, it is good to separate them from the rest to avoid the spread of diseases. When you do all this and maintain all other conditions and parameters at optimum levels, your fish will thrive well.

– Green Neon Tetra Tank Size

Green Neon Tetra tank size where your fish live is a critical consideration. The Green Neon Tetra tank size recommended should measure between 15 and 20 gallons. The bigger the tank the better that will allow them to swim freely.

While some aquarists will keep their fish in tanks as small as 5 or 10 gallons, that is too small and not sufficient at all for the comfort of your fish.

The bigger size is better because you will not keep only one or two fish in the tank. We recommended keeping a group of at least 6 to 8 tetras. To ensure that every fish gets sufficient space, a 20 gallons tank is just the best.

Extremely small tanks such as ones measuring only 5 gallons are just a bad idea and they will result in stress and it becomes a threat to the health of your fish.

– Tank Setup

The natural habitat of this Tetra breed is Orinoco and Negro Rivers in South America which have certain conditions like the sandy substrate, debris, and dense vegetation with warm and acidic waters.

These are the kind of conditions that you should maintain in the tank for your Tetras to thrive in good health. First, you are expected to put sandy substrate at the bottom of the tank to mimic the natural habitat.

Then on the sandy substrate, you should add decorations such as rocks and driftwood that look like debris where your Green Neon Tetras can play, explore, and hide.

Vegetation in the natural habitat is very important since it keeps the water clean and acts as a natural shelter for the fish. For that reason, including vegetation that grows up the water column is important.

Hornwort is an example of the best plant to include since it is hardy and grows tall.

Besides the sandy substrate, vegetation, and decorations, leaving large and open swimming spaces inside the tank is also vital since your tetras need to display their social lifestyle by moving together as a group.

To create a blackwater environment and lower the water acidity levels, you need to add driftwood in the tank to release tannins that perform these roles.

The water temperature has to be maintained at certain levels as mentioned below. The light should not be so bright and therefore standard aquarium lighting is enough. However, the dimmer the light the better for the Green Neon Tetras.

– Water Conditions and Parameters

Consistency is key when it comes to the water conditions for your tetras. The water conditions and parameters should be kept at the right levels at all times.

To help you achieve that, you will need a trusted test kit for each parameter to test the water and ascertain that the conditions are right especially when you are a beginner.

Water temperature: 75 – 85 °F (23 – 29 °C)
Acidity: 5.0 – 6.5 pH
Water hardness: Less than 10 dGH

You can ensure water quality by changing at least 25% of it every week.

– Suitable Aquarium Plants

Setting up the right aquarium plants inside the tanks where your fish stay is one way of mimicking their natural habitat. The significance of this principle is that your fish will have lower levels of stress and better overall health.

Adding suitable vegetation to the tank is the right thing to do since the fish will use the vegetation to hide and hence feel safe.

The most suitable aquarium plants are:

– Possible Diseases and Prevention

The Green Neon Tetras are prone to itch and parasites that may result in serious health issues. It is therefore very important to watch out for these kinds of challenges.

To ensure that your fish do not suffer from itch and parasites, you simply need to stick to all the care principles.

The type of care that you give your Tetras and the conditions of the tank determines whether the fish will suffer from itch and parasites or not.

Always ensure that the water conditions are at optimum levels, the fish have low-stress levels and you are feeding them the right diet to reduce their chances of becoming sick.

Origin, Distribution, and Availability

Green Neon Tetras and other Tetra species originated from South America and more specifically from Amazon and Orinoco Rivers that run through Brazil, Peru, and Columbia.

The fish have since then been distributed to many places including North America.

Green Neon Tetra Diet And Feeding

Feeding your fish is one of the fundamentals and you should feed them with the right foods and in the right amounts.

The good thing is that you have many options when it comes to feeding them and hence you can never run out of alternatives. That is because these fish feed on a wide range of foods when they are they are in their natural habitats.

They are omnivorous and they will feed on both vegetation and meat. You can get dried foods such as pellets and flakes from the nearby pet store. The advantage of dried foods is that they are affordable and easy to store.

However one of the drawbacks of feeding your Tetras with dried foods is that they do not get the best nutrition since these types of foods usually have less nutritional value as much has been lost during processing.

For that reason, therefore, dried foods are not recommended as the exclusive and the only foods to give your fish. You are required to supplement dried foods with live or frozen foods which have more nutrients.

If you feed them live foods, they will easily develop their hunting behaviors. Live foods can be insects and crustaceans such as bloodworms, daphnia, mosquito larvae, and brine shrimp.

You can also feed with plants such as green vegetables which can include Lettuce, Spinach, Zucchini, and many others. Changing the diet for your fish and giving them different types of food each time will ensure that you have healthier fish.

You should not overfeed and you can monitor the amounts of foods they can eat each time so that you can reduce or add accordingly. In a day you can feed them twice or three times and let them finish the food within 2 minutes each time.

Green Neon Tetra Tank Mates

Since they are peaceful and do cause any trouble, it is not a problem to keep them with other tank mates of similar characteristics.

Green Neon Tetra tank mates that you place together with should be peaceful. Also, they should be similar in size to avoid the situation where they intimidate your fish.

The best possible Green Neon Tetra tank mates that you can find for your fish include:

If you put aggressive tank mates such as Boisterous fish and your Green Neon Tetra together, your Tetras will be injured since they can’t fight back and hence causing them unnecessary stress.

The size of the possible tank mate should always be the biggest consideration before finding the best tank mates. Most invertebrates such as snails and shrimps are harmless and hence they are easily ignored by the Green Neon Tetras.

However, even though the Green Neon Tetra can live with other species, placing them alone in a tank will give a better display of their beautiful colors and swimming patterns.

Green Neon Tetra Breeding

Even though breeding your Green Neon Tetra is possible, it does not mean that it is necessarily easy. That is because for you to make your fish ready to mate, you will require an optimal tank environment.

An optimal environment means that you have a clean tank at all times with water maintained within the right conditions and parameters.

Apart from a perfect environment, your Green Neon Tetra will require a healthy diet that includes foods of different varieties with as many nutrients as possible. Besides, there are other tricks that accelerate the readiness of your fish to mate.

Such include gradually lowering the water pH level to 5.0, slowly raising the temperature to 85 °F, and using dimmer light intensity.

Once the tank conditions are set for the breeding environment, you just have to watch your Green Neon Tetra until eggs are laid and fertilized. You will see the males and the females staying in pairs as they mate.

The female will lay eggs near the plants within the tank and the male will stay close to ensure that all the eggs are have been fertilized.

Once the eggs are laid and fertilized you should put the adults in a different tank and wait for the eggs to hatch. You should feed the fries with small shrimp and infusoria for the first few days until they are grown to eat adult foods.

Gender Differences Of Green Neon Tetra

The differences in terms of gender are not that apparent in Green Neon Tetra. However, the belly of a female Green Neon Tetra is usually larger and more rounded than that of the male hence making the green stripe appear as if it is curved.

FAQs

Where Green Neon Tetras for Sale?

The Green Neon Tetras for sale are readily available and hence you can also get them at a very affordable price. You can buy them from any pet store near you.

There are several breeders who carry Green Neon Tetra for sale which is a convenient way to buy them online.

The Green Neon Tetras are not expensive since breeding them is relatively easy. The price of each will depend on how many fish or how big a group of fish you want.

The average price range of Green Neon Tetra for sale is between $2 to $3.

Are Green Neon Tetras Hardy?

Yes. Green Neon Tetra are hardy and hence you can easily take care of them.

All you need to do is to maintain the aquarium in the right conditions of temperature, water currents, light intensity, and other vital parameters and the fish will easily thrive in good health.

Are Green Neon Tetras Aggressive?

Abosuluetel not. Green Neon Tetras are very peaceful, and they never cause any trouble or fights amongst themselves or with other tank mates.

They are very social fish species with schooling behavior, and they always swim in groups as they display beautiful colors and patterns.

How Many Green Neon Tetras Should Be Kept Together?

You should keep Green Neon Tetras together at all times. That is because they like grouping up and moving together in a school.

If they are in large groups their confidence increases and hence they do not feel intimidated by any other inhabitants in the tank. You can keep 6 to 8 fish together and if the tank is larger and can comfortably accommodate more the better.

Apart from their increased confidence, keeping them in groups makes them more impressive to watch with a better display of their colors and behaviors. When you keep singly, on the other hand, they are likely to have stress that will result in health issues.

How Many Green Neon Tetras Make A Gallon?

Even though they like staying in groups, Green Neon Tetras require enough space inside the tank or the aquarium. There should be one Green Neon Tetra for at least every 2 to 3 gallons and that means that one gallon is not enough for one fish.

That also means that in a 20 gallons tank, there should be 6 to 8 Green Neon Tetra.

Can Green Neon Tetras Live With Bettas?

As far as space is enough, Green Neon Tetras can live with Bettas. However, the tank should have aquarium plants and more hiding places for the two species of fish to have a sense of safety.

Besides, open spaces should be available for their easy movement.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, taking good care of Green Neon Tetra is worth it since they are beautiful to watch and unique in their own way.

You can enjoy watching them especially when they are moving in a school and displaying stunning colors especially when the light intensity in the aquarium is high.