Neons are a real decoration of any aquarium. Therefore, they are often chosen for maintenance and reproduction at home. It must be said that if all the necessary conditions are met, it will not be long to wait for spawning. Normally, neons are ready to breed at any time of the year for 6-8 months of life in your aquarium.
Preparing the aquarium fish of neon for reproduction
When the fish reach puberty, or more precisely - by the age of 8 months, under the condition that they are kept under optimal conditions, one can start preparing the neon to reproduce.
Select males and females is not difficult: males are smaller than females and noticeably slender, their lateral band is more even. In females, on the lateral strip there is a bend approximately in the middle. When preparing them for spawning, it is necessary to strictly observe such conditions:
- the water temperature in the aquarium for spawning should be in the range from +21 to + 25 ° C;
- the feeding of fish becomes more diverse and abundant, the ration includes live food;
- the hardness of the water should be reduced to 1, which will increase the percentage of fertilization of eggs;
- it is highly desirable to transplant the fish into a separate aquarium, since the reproduction of neon in the common aquarium rarely leads to the desired result - they are not suitable for such conditions, and they will simply be eaten by the inhabitants.
Propagation of neon is necessary in a glass container for 15-20 liters of elongated shape. It must be washed and sterilized in advance, filled with distilled water. Water should be pre-protected for 2 weeks and disinfected with ultraviolet. In this water, you need to add a glass of water from the common aquarium, where the neon lived, put a bunch of Javanese moss on the bottom, making sure that there are no snails on it. You can replace the moss with a fine mesh or artificial washcloth.
Beginning of breeding neon fish
Male and female begin to "introduce" gradually, releasing 2 males per female. Through competition, the future father of the offspring is determined-more agile fertilizes the eggs.
First, males and females swim above the plants, then the female chaoticly lays eggs on the plants. Adhesive eggs are attached to them, and then fall to the bottom. 3-4 hours after spawning, females and males are caught and transplanted back into the common aquarium, and the reservoir with the offspring shadows and reduces the water level by half.
An antifungal agent such as GeneralTonic or methylene blue is added to the water to prevent the development of a harmful environment for eggs. At this stage, you need to carefully monitor the caviar, in time cleaning the blanched eggs with a pipette. Unfortunately, not all eggs will survive - some of them invariably die.
Care for small neon in the aquarium
The first fry appear after 36-48 hours. First they hang on the walls of the aquarium, then start to swim. Using the orientation of the fry to the light, we begin to feed them. In a darkened aquarium, you need to arrange a ray of light and populate aquarium water with infusoria, a nutritious food for neon fry.
Infusoria will accumulate in a lighted place, the fry will also come there. Gradually, the fry are transferred to feeding Kolovratki, Artemia, Nauplius, and then cyclops.
Every day you need to add to the fry of little water from the common aquarium, increasing stiffness and preparing them for adulthood.
Need to say that the fish grow quite quickly. When the brood grows a little, they can be transplanted into an aquarium with a temperature of 24-25 ° C and a stiffness of 10-12 °. A month later they fully adapt to the new conditions. On this fascinating process of reproduction of neon ends.