Pregnant Neon Tetra – Is Your Fish Going To Lay Eggs?

The neon tetra is the best type of tetra to keep at home many aquarists prefer keeping it because of its beautiful natural color on the skin. The neon tetras are good because they can easily stay with other species of animals without quarrels or fights when they are swimming.

Neon tetras require less maintenance when keeping, and it is easy to identify if they are pregnant as they will show signs on their bodies. However, neon tetras are sensitive to the water conditions they live in as they can react with the temperature changes in the PH level.

When a neon tetra is pregnant, it shows that the neon tetra will lay eggs as it shows signs in its belly will grow fast. The question, if your fish is going to lay eggs, is true because a pregnant neon tetra will lay eggs that will hatch to produce baby neon tetras.

This article will show signs of a neon tetra that will lay eggs that are pregnant neon tetra. A pregnant neon tetra that will lay eggs must live for specific breeding purposes to produce healthy young ones.

Also worth reading;

1. How Many Tetras In A 5-Gallon Tank?
2. How To Sex Neon Tetras? (Male Or Female)
3. Does Neon Tetra Jump Out Of Tank?- Possible Reasons
4. Do Neon Tetras Lose Color at Night? – You Need to Know

How To Determine If Your Fish Is Going To Lay Eggs

Here is how to determine if your fish is going to lay eggs;

1. Inspect Its Sex

To determine if your fish will lay eggs or not, you need to first assess its gender by knowing its sex, if it’s either male or female.

Usually, a female can lay eggs while the male fertilizes the eggs, so after determining the sex, you can check the fish if it has some more signs of laying eggs.

It is easy to differentiate between a male and a female neon tetra as they have a physical characteristic that separates them. Female neon tetras are always larger than male neon tetras so you can identify them faster.

Another difference is that the female neon tetra has a blue stripe curvy at its body and is round in shape, while the male neon tetra has a straight line on its body as it is thin.

2. Check The Size Of The Belly

After knowing the sex of the fish, it is easier to take note of their bellies as they show if the neon tetra is ready to lay eggs or not.

With the female neon tetra, its physical appearance will change as its belly outgrows and becomes big such that one can think it is swollen. The one idea is a clear indication that the neon tetra is ready to lay eggs.

3. Changes In The Behavior Of The Male Neon Tetra

When checking if the neon tetra will lay eggs or not, it is good to keep checking the male neon tetra. The manners of the male neon tetra are also a clear sign of a ready female neon tetra.

Since the male ones will start showing signs of romance with the female neon tetra, they will keep giving them company since the female tetra is carrying eggs that they will fertilize.

Sometimes the male neon tetras start showing signs of drawing the attention of the female neon tetras by attracting them so that they can begin to dance toward them.

The dance shows that they want to meet as the male neon tetra keeps moving up and down the tank while swimming, then suddenly stops and then goes on with the dance.

Things One Must Do For Pregnant Neon Tetras

There are several things to do when it is confirmed that the neon tetra is pregnant and they are;

1. Get A Different Tank For Breeding

If the neon tetras in your tank show signs of being pregnant using the symptoms above, consider getting a different tank for breeding purposes. Use the separate after-hatching process to keep the young neon tetras until they are old enough to live with the other older neon tetras.

2. Set The Breeding Requirements In The Tank

Ensure the breeding tank meets all the requirements as per the pregnant neon tetra. First of all, ensure the tank has some vegetation for holding the eggs as they will stick to them for safety purposes.

Ensure the tank has a seal that helps close the tank to prevent the neon tetras from getting out of the tank. Set the tank to some height for a stable tank stand as the eggs will also be stable.

3. Add Water That Meets The Conditions

Add water into the tank and measure the temperatures, acidity level, and other suitable neon tetra factors. The neon tetra can only survive on soft waters as they are comfortable with such waters since the soft waters have fewer minerals in them that cannot easily affect the health of the neon tetra.

The water in the tank must be cleaned every time to facilitate faster breeding since dirty and contaminated water may cause the neon tetras not to breed.

4. Add A Filtration System To The New Tank

Most pet keepers of the neon tetras advise aquarists to use corner filters for the tank. The corner filters provide good infiltration in the tank by removing the excess food particles and some toxic substances in the waters that can affect the normal lives of the neon tetras.

Sometimes, the filters help remove bacteria that cause diseases to the neon tetras, so filters help reduce the chances of the neon tetras being sick.  Since young neon tetras are prone to infections, the corner filters can increase their chances of survival.

Failure to add filters in the tank will cause the dirty substances in the water to accumulate around the position of the eggs leading to the production of a fungus.

The fungi affect egg production by killing the embryo that is to be a baby neon tetra. Therefore a filter plays a more significant role in maintaining the neon tetras in a tank.

5. Provide Optimum Light To The Tank

In most cases, the neon tetras love living in dark areas as the breeding process occurs at night. That is why putting the neon tetras into the tank at night or in the evening during the breeding process is advisable.

However, the tank must not be dark since they need some light for warming up; therefore, ensure the tank is in the right direction away from direct sunlight. In case of lights at the tank’s position, ensure you wrap the sides of the tank using a lack of paper to minimize the number of lights that penetrate the tank.

6. Create Space For Hiding

Hiding places are best for the female neon tetra to hide when they want to lay eggs in the tank; the hiding places must consist of plants and moss or rocks that is dark enough so that no one can see the female neon tetra when it is laying eggs as they become shy during the breeding process.

7. We Are Putting Fish In The Tank

Since the neon tetras have a unique way of breeding, unlike the other animals, ensure you add a couple of them in a tank and give them a few days before removing them for the eggs to hatch.

Adding several of them to the tank suits the company since they are comfortable breeding in groups. Please note the time to add the neon tetras as they mainly breed in the evening or at night.

What Is The Average Time That The Neon Tetras Take For Laying Eggs?

So long as the female neon tetra is ready to lay eggs, the tetra will just lay eggs in the tank for about 15 minutes to 60 minutes to complete the laying process. The female neon tetras will finish the laying process that fasts to give the male neon tetras space to fertilize them as they do the breeding process for a few days. 

In most cases, the female neon tetra will lay eggs at the start of the day, which is in the morning hours, so long as the light is dim since when there is a lot of light, the female neon tetra will take a lot of time to lay eggs.

After laying the eggs for less than one hour, the eggs will hatch within 24 to 36 hours to bring the young ones into existence. The young ones need maximum care in their separate tank for about one week to feed on pellets and move to a different tank.

Conclusion

Neon tetras do not become pregnant but instead lay eggs that the male neon tetras will fertilize, and later, they hatch to produce baby neon tetras. Therefore, when they say the neon tetra is pregnant, it is ready to lay eggs.

The article above shows the signs of a pregnant neon tetra for both the male and female neon tetras as they change their behaviors and physical appearance and the conditions the aquarists must follow during the breeding process.

To make the breeding processes successful, ensure the tank meets all the requirements the neon tetra needs to lay eggs. The right conditions for the female neon tetras increase the laying of eggs and make the process faster.

For more about pregnant neon tetras, you might be interested to watch this video below, enjoy!