
They prefer living in school, and their vivid coloration and appearance help them to locate each other. They block most of the daylight, and within these dark waters with fallen leaves, these beautiful Tetras are found lurking. These rivers have murky waters as it flows through dense canopies of the forest. The majority of them can be located in the Amazon River basin. Neon Tetras are commonly found in the rivers of tropical countries like Brazil, South America, Peru, and Colombia. In contrast, it starts from below the eyes and stretches to the entire length in Cardinal Tetras. The red strip in Neon Tetra starts only from the middle. The major difference between them is the bright red strip. The one who doesn’t know the difference can get easily confused between them. Neon Tetra and Cardinal Tetra have almost the same appearance. Cardinal Tetra vs Neon Tetra Cardinal tetras Also, the faded coloration of their body indicates stress or poor health. They can even turn off the iridescent appearance when they feel highly threatened or while sleeping. The transparent part helps Neon Tetras to mix with the background and hide from the predators. Their bright blue and red combination helps them to locate each other and adds attractiveness to their beauty. The faded part looks translucent with a bright red stripe that starts from the middle and stretches down the tail. The color looked brighter on the top and faded on the lower part. Neon Tetras are characterized by a bright turquoise blue. Their vivid appearance and bright color are what attract everyone towards them. The Neon Tetra females are slightly shorter than males. They can grow up 1.5 inches while, in some conditions, they can stretch up to 2.5 inches. They have a short spindle-like body with a round nose and large eyes (taking most of the space on their head). Neon Tetra is known not only for having bright blue and red color combination but their ability to turn off and on the colors when hiding from predators or sleeping.

They can live up to 5 years in the artificial environment while in the wild, they can live up to 8 years. You can even keep them with other fishes who share the same temperament and size.

They can be seen swimming in the middle part of the tank. School smaller than that will not feel safe and won’t thrive in the tank. Is there a minimum number of neon tetras to keep together? Yes, it is better to keep at least 15 Neon Tetras in an aquarium. They love being surrounded by other fishes. Neon Tetra BehaviorĪs mentioned above, they are small peaceful community fish. They are community fishes and loves to live in the school. Neon tetras are easy to maintain and quite easy to breed in captivity. Also known as Paracheirodon innesi, Hyphessobrycon innesi Myers, or Cheirodon innesi, they have a range of color and vivid appearance. 2 million Neon Tetras are sold in the US alone each month. Neon Tetra, from the Characidae family, was first discovered in Amazon Jungles back in 1934. Should You Keep Neon Tetras? Neon Tetra Overview
