Neon Tetra Feeding – The Complete Guide
Neon tetras are amazing little fish which make a great option for inexperienced keepers just as much as they do for the experts. Indeed, they are quite hardy pets once that you get to learn the basics.
They are overly sensitive to any oscillations among water parameters, so your regular maintenance will mostly consist of water changes and proper feeding.
When it comes to feeding, these omnivorous creatures require a high-quality choice of meals, in order to get all the necessary nutrients they need to thrive. Here comes the complete guide on neon tetra feeding.
How Often to Feed Neon Tetras?
You can feed your neon tetras by easily adjusting the schedule according to your free time. Once or twice per day is more than enough for these tiny living beings.
Their core diet should consist of commercial food which is specially designed to provide all necessary nutrients, and you can also add some tasty green or meaty snacks to their feeding plan. However, remember to be extremely careful when it comes to meal dosage.
These fish are extremely small, so their meals need to be adjusted to their size. A good thumb rule is always offering to your pets such amounts which they can eat in less than 2 minutes of time.
How Long can Neon Tetras go Without Food?
Neon tetras are known for surviving up to 2 weeks without any food around. However, such situations are highly dangerous and can lead to several serious health complications, as well as to trigger stress or even aggressive behavior among the school.
If you have to leave your precious aquarium, try keeping that under 4 days. This is perfectly fine and should leave no consequences to your little pets.
In the wild, fish are not really used to getting their meals around the same time each day. Indeed, it can often happen for them not being able of finding any suitable food around and having to skip feeding for a couple of days or more.
Therefore, it is not something to worry about, as it comes as a natural situation. Anything that is up to 4 days is totally safe.
In theory, your pets could go for longer times with no food as well, as they could emergency-nip on some plants and seek for minute living creatures across the tank, but it is really not safe at all.
Additionally, living for many days in un-changed water may possibly cause more harm than the lack of food would. Therefore, we recommend finding a keeper who would help while you are away.
Can Neon Tetras Die from Overfeeding?
Sadly, overfeeding is the most common reason for any fish dying during their life in captivity. Even if your neon tetras do not decide to ingest all the extra food you offer them, the leftovers will eventually sink to the bottom of the tank, causing unwanted debris to accumulate.
Soon enough, this will bring to ammonia levels rising across the entire tank, and the water will become highly dangerous for neons.
Although neon tetras are exceptionally small in size and do not create lots of waste, food leftovers can be just as dangerous.
Therefore, always feed your pets with such amounts which they can eat in a couple of minutes. Also, if there are any visible leftovers, you can try scooping them out of the tank before they manage to sink.
Last but not least, overfeeding can bring complications even when there are no leftovers. Indeed, if some of your neon tetras decide to accept all the extra amounts and to actually eat them, they may soon begin suffering from constipation.
Perhaps constipation does not sound that threatening to humans, but fish can easily die because of all the potentially negative consequences this could lead to.
Best Food for Neon Tetras
In the wild, these amazing creatures mostly feed on tiny insects and plant matter. In captivity, they need appositely designed nutrients that will compensate for their way of living. Therefore, high-quality meals are essential.
– Commercial Food
Commercial food like apposite flakes or pellets should make their core diet. Additionally, there are several different variations of snacks that can be found in pet stores.
For instance, frozen food such as daphnia or brine shrimp will make excellent treats to neon tetras, as they are not picky eaters. Also, freeze-dried solutions such as bloodworms or mosquito larvae will be happily accepted by your pets, too.
– Live Food
Whenever you have a chance of providing your pets with live food, take it. Your neons will surely be delighted when seeing some actual pray around their captivity home, and they will enjoy chasing it.
These can include bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia, microworms or tubifex. Furthermore, you can prepare your own homemade meals to feed your baby neons. Indeed, infusoria is quite simple to craft and your fry will be thankful.
Can Neon Tetras Eat Algae Wafers?
Absolutely, algae wafers make a great addition to their basic meal plan. However, just as they should not feed just on meaty food, algae wafers should not become their core food either. As a snack, they will do simply amazing.
It is really important to ensure that your fish pets are getting all the right nutrients in healthy amounts, as well as a well-balanced diet plan. This is the key to their healthy life in captivity.
Can Neon Tetras Eat Vegetables?
Neon tetras are omnivorous, meaning that they will happily accept basically any meal you offer them, including vegetables. Provide your tiny pets with a healthy dose of greens by blanching cucumber, zucchini, carrots or peeled peas. These are a great addition to their basic feeding plan and they will certainly enjoy eating them.
Can Neon Tetras Eat Betta Food?
With bettas being tropical fish just as neon tetras are, you can easily share their food every now and then. Obviously, in separate tanks. However, betta fish are primarily carnivorous, so try not making their pellets or flakes as the only meals which your neon tetras will have to eat.
Goldfish food, on the other side, maybe a much more suitable option, as they are omnivorous like neon fish. You may offer such food to your fish safely and with no concerns but remember to only provide them with tiny bites which they can actually swallow and digest.
Will Neon Tetras Eat Aquarium Algae?
With neon tetras being omnivorous and able of feeding on basically any plant matter, they can eat aquarium algae. However, they will mostly choose not to unless they are stressed out or starving.
In ideal conditions, they prefer feeding on decaying algae rather than on live ones. Occasionally, you may see them nibbling on tank plants, either because of being bored or collecting tiny creatures from the leaves surface, but there is no risk of them eating out or destroying your newly planted aquatic greenery.
Will Neon Tetras Eat Their Fry?
Fry is a synonym for moving food to neon tetra fish. Indeed, they will not hesitate to eat them whenever they get a chance to. Including their own fry. Baby fish are much smaller than adult neon tetras, so they are easy for them to digest while offering a great source of healthy nutrients at the same time.
All in all, eating fry is part of their natural instinct and there is absolutely nothing you can do to change that. If you are looking to breed your fish, you should always place them into a separate tank, to ensure that the babies are safe and protected from all neon adults, including the parents.
On top of that, neons will also feed on eggs just as they will on fry. Therefore, if you are planning to isolate the fry only once they are hatched, you may want to give it another think. Any eggs which are found by neons across their tank will eventually become their food.
Wrapping Up
The choice of the food we eat is what creates the basics of our overall wellbeing. And just as we do our best to eat as healthy and balanced as possible, so should our pets. Therefore, please keep that in mind whenever you decide to offer a treat to your amazing neon tetras.
These tiny omnivorous fish are quite sensitive when kept in captivity, especially when it comes to their water parameters. So, providing them appropriate nutrients is essential, as this will ensure that they build a strong immune system and become more resistant to any potential complication.
High-quality commercial flakes or pellets should make their basic and regular meals. Other than that, you can include a vast variety of different snacks, from daphnia and bloodworms to algae wafers and blanched cucumber.
The important is to keep the meals as small as your tiny fish require them, and to never exaggerate with the amounts of food you offer them.
With such simple yet effective guidance, your neon tetra fish have all the predispositions for a healthy and happy life.
