Anybody own Neon Tetra's?

[natonstan 10]

So, In my room I have a sort of Pet corner going on, on top of my drawers I have a large tank which olds a Leopard Gecko, Also I have a small tank with a Japanese Fire Bellied Gecko. So today I found my old fish tank and I filled it with water and cleaned the whole thing and put in my old ornaments, I plan to have a group of Neon Tetra in this tank, Am I right in saying that Neons are Tropical so they require a heater? Also where's the best place to get them, Pets & home seem to have alot of dead fish in there tanks, I've not been to Sheffield Aquatics on Hilslborough in a while, hows there selection?

[Moonbird 10]

Yes neon tetra are tropical and need heated water, they are lovely bright little fish and its great how they swim in a shoal

Sorry though I don't know a good place to buy them, I am sure that someone will soon be along with more information.

[natonstan 10]

Thanks, Thats exactly why i want them, They are so cool how they swim in groups, I think i'm gonna go to Sheffield Aquatics tommorow, I never knew how big that place was!

[teresatheory 10]

leopard geckos and a tropical fish tank, sounds like my room!

i got my neon tetras from Aqua Hobby, they are brilliant! and cost about 80p so you can't go wrong really!!

[natonstan 10]

HAHA, Awesome . I was planning on getting about 10 - 12 Neon Tetra's , They are so cool how they swim in groups! Where is aqua hobby?

[I3lade4life 10]

Fish Inc at handsworth usually have some great neons. A few weeks ago they had a rainbow variety which were slightly more expensive than regulars neons, but if thats all your going to have in the tank I would fork out for the more colourful ones.

Hope this helps

[natonstan 10]

Nice 1, Ill try there Thanks

[muckynees 10]

I love tetra's, which is quite odd because I can't stand fish ordinarily. When we had our tank we had quite a few of them, they look awsome with a dark background at the back of the tank (this makes em glow better).

[teresatheory 10]

yeah we have a dark blue background and beige gravel, it makes them glow so well! they look amazing with endler guppies as well.

 

aqua hobby is in heeley, right near heeley city farm. well worth a visit, good luck and let us know!

[j00ce 10]

We've had a fish-tank for about 5 months now, so here's some nuggets of knowledge which will helpfully make things a bit easier...

 

Neon Tetras are tropical fish, and will require a heater (about £15 - £25 from somewhere like Pets at Home, depending on the tank size) - a thermometer is also a good idea so you can ensure the water stays around 24-30 C (Tetras get more aggressive at higher temperatures, so I'd recommend aiming for 26C). You should also get a filter (similar price range) to ensure the water stays clear.

 

The water for the fish needs to be treated - fish don't like the chemicals in tapwater! You can buy treatments from a petstore and/or leave the water for 24 hours, which allows the chemicals to break down and/or evapourate. Aqua salt is also useful - about a tablespoon per gallon.

 

Also, newly-setup tanks need a week or two to settle in - otherwise there won't be any "friendly" bacteria to break down the waste produced by the fish (which otherwise produces NO3 - Neons are highly susceptible to this (i.e. they're the first to die) and it also promotes algae growth). Again, you can buy bottles of bacteria to speed this up and do partial water changes to dilute the NO3 levels, but giving it a week or two and adding plants will help a lot too.

 

Finally, the general recommendation for fish numbers is "an inch a gallon" - or about 2cm per 4l - otherwise, they're likely to get highly stressed due to lack of space.

 

If you're sticking to just Neons, then you may be able to have a larger shoal, as they prefer to be in larger groups. Best thing to do is to ask at an aquarium for advice!

 

I'd recommend Fish Inc over at Handsworth (Asda), though it can be a little bit tricky to find, as it's buried in a lock-up behind a truck garage! Lindsay knows his stuff and is very friendly - and has a large tank dedicated to Neons, at very cheap prices!

 

Heeley Aquatics is also very good - again, they're very friendly and helpful, though they're sadly a bit limited on tankspace.

 

I've never had a problem with fish I've bought from either of these places

 

Sheffield Aquatics over in Hillsborough has a decent selection of fish, and they have some cheap ornaments (and snails, which are good at eating algae).

 

Pets at Home: usually a bit more expensive than these guys (and they also only "guarantee" up to six fish at a time) - plus they've also had a recent visit from the Inspectors, who found them to be lacking in several areas (i.e. dead fish in the tanks, etc). That said, they've hopefully tightened up now and the PAH up at Crystal Peaks has a large tropical section, plus they do "4 for 5" deals on a lot of their fish.

 

The best thing to do in any aquarium is to look at the tanks and check for ill or dead fish. One or two is par for the course - especially if the fish have only just arrived at a petshop (one place was recently overjoyed at only having lost 10 Neons from the 500 that had just arrived), but if there's lots of dead fish in multiple tanks, then I'd be wary of buying from them.

 

Here endeth the lecture... hope it helps!

[gaynor1568 10]

So, In my room I have a sort of Pet corner going on, on top of my drawers I have a large tank which olds a Leopard Gecko, Also I have a small tank with a Japanese Fire Bellied Gecko. So today I found my old fish tank and I filled it with water and cleaned the whole thing and put in my old ornaments, I plan to have a group of Neon Tetra in this tank, Am I right in saying that Neons are Tropical so they require a heater? Also where's the best place to get them, Pets & home seem to have alot of dead fish in there tanks, I've not been to Sheffield Aquatics on Hilslborough in a while, hows there selection?

 

hi there fish inc on finchwell industrial estate just of handsworth road in sheffield is the best place for neons they will help you in whatever way possible trust me i work there

[miwki_buden 10]

Sheffield aquatics is fantastic. We never go anywhere else. Been back again this morning. He will Answer any questions you hae and give you spot on info! Highly recomended