Neon Tetras: the good, the bad, and the...?

[MissMeow]

This follows from my other thread, but I am really curious as to people's opinions about Neon tetras (and possibly other tetras).

The books that I have, the guys at the LFS, and lots of people on the web swear by neon tetras as great beginner fish. My dad who know jack about fish thinks they are great, and I have heard them touted as "the most popular freshwater aquarium fish" (after goldfish). On the other hand, I also heard that they are really sensitive to water changes, and some of you have said that they are poorly bred, and nearly all of mine have died within 24 hours. What are some of your experiences?

 

[Hound]

The popularity of neons has led to weak breeding practices in order to get thousands of them into stores. Twenty to thirty years ago they were great fish. Now you have to really weed out the week from the strong if you want to keep neons. I have lost neons from disease, but never from acclimation to a tank. The only fish I lost just after acclimation into a tank was a lemon tetra. The others are still going strong weeks later so I think something was probably not right with that fish in the first place. As for neons they really need a reprieve from the poor breeding habits, but until they stop selling so well you need to choose them wisely. I know most of us vary, but I visit four LFS every week and will watch the fish they have for hours sometimes. The way a LFS keeps its tanks can say much about the quality of the fish they have.

 

[fishypoo2]

I prefer the cardinal over the neon, even though they can be very sensitive. Cardinals get a little bigger, brighter and generally have more color. Not only that, but the sale of these and other wild-caught Amazonian fishes may help the fishers and the rainforest. See: http://www.angelfire.com/pq/piaba or http://finarama.com/projectpiaba

 

[m3th0d]

ok, you've probably read my noobified story in my other thread but anyway here it goes again.. about a week and a half ago, i bought a tank w/ everything included. took it home, cycled it for a few hours.. went back to the lfs and bought some tetras and mollies. this is when i had absolutely ZERO knowledge about the whole cycling process and stuff and also the person at the store said it was okay to take fish home the very same day i bought my tank. anyway, i took the tetras and mollies home and put them in my tank and they've been fine ever since. they're very playful and healthy (for now at least?). i just hope i didn't jinx myself.. yeah so i didn't know they were so sensitive to water but they handled their new tank fine.. err maybe i'm just lucky.