Should I buy it?
Neon Tetra
Paracheirodon innesi
Also known as: neon, paracheirodon innesi, Neon, Paracheirodon innesi
Fishori provides conservative planning guidance, not guarantees.
Based on multiple reputable aquarium care sources with strong agreement. Use the numbers here as planning defaults — your room, water, and routine still shape real-world outcomes.
The classic schooling tetra. Peaceful and stable in soft, settled water. Adding them to a tank under a month old loses half of any batch.
Best for
Established planted community tanks 60L+ where eight to ten neons can sit mid-water as a single moving shoal.
Avoid if
Your tank is brand new, your water is hard alkaline straight from the tap, or you keep cichlids large enough to gulp them.
Top things that go wrong
- Group welfare — not a solo display fish. Plan at least **6** together for normal behaviour; smaller groups often mean stress, colour loss, or nipping depending on species.
- Shrimp & snails. Shrimp: compatible in most setups. Cherry shrimp and other dwarf species coexist with peaceful small fish, though baby shrimp are food for almost any fish that gets to them.
Common mistakeBuying only three for colour. A weak school stresses the fish and washes the colour out within a week.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Buying only three "for colour". Three neons read as stressed, washed-out fish that nip in the wrong tank.
- 2.Adding to a tank that is brand-new, uncycled, or otherwise unstable. The classic "neon die-off" path.
- 3.Keep six or more or they sulk and lose colour. First sign of trouble is one fish hanging back near the heater, not a whole-tank crash.
About this species
Neon tetras are small soft-water characins. The blue stripe catches under tank lighting. The red tail half only shows on settled fish, and stressed neons go grey.
- Ember Tetra45L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Beckford Pencilfish60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Black Neon Tetra60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Bloodfin tetra60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Cardinal Tetra60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Glowlight Tetra60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Green neon tetra60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Lemon Tetra60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Amano Shrimpalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Assassin Snailalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Beckford Pencilfishalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Black Neon Tetraalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Black phantom tetraalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Bloodfin tetraalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Adolfoi cory tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Agassiz’s dwarf cichlid tank mateslists this fish among its recommended pairings
- Amano Shrimp tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Assassin Snail tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Bamboo Shrimp tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Betta tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Black Neon Tetra tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Black phantom tetra tank mateslists this fish among its recommended pairings
Plan grid
Key limits are shown above; this section adds planning detail: pH band, swim level, bioload and activity, and the radar.
Swim zones
Planning trait chart
Six indices for comparing species on paper before you spend.
- Beginner ease85
- Peacefulness90
- Community fit86
- Small-tank fit100
- Hardiness79
- Energy54
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Common setup sketches
Conservative patterns from Fishori fields — still run the pair checker for every species you add; sketches are not a stocking guarantee.
Rough 90L+ layout: one calm centrepiece, 8–12 small tetras/rasboras, 6–8 corydoras-type bottom fish — verify every name in the pair checker before buying.
Safe directions on file include: Corydoras Catfish, Guppy, Harlequin Rasbora.
Prioritise 6+ of Neon Tetra in 40L+ with filtration sized for messy feeding — add only mates that already pass pair checks with this species.
Tank mate intelligence
Excellent with corydoras, otocinclus, dwarf shrimp, harlequin rasboras, ember tetras, dwarf gouramis. Risky with angelfish: juveniles tolerate, adults hunt. Skip predatory cichlids.
Pair-level compatibility with this fish as anchor.
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Neon Tetra + Corydoras Catfish
- Try Corydoras Catfish — open the pair check.
- Try Guppy — open the pair check.
- Try Harlequin Rasbora — open the pair check.
- Try Cherry Barb — open the pair check.
Behaviour, temperament, and what to watch
Prose and lists come from the same record: read temperament first, then glass-level signals so you are not surprised after day three.
Peaceful and shoaling. A group of three or four breaks down into stressed individuals. The school behaviour only stabilises at eight fish or more.
Stress / aggression triggers on file
- Sudden crowding
- Poor water quality
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper, but individuals can still test fins under stress or in a crowded tank.
Predation: Not a predator toward similarly-sized community fish. The usual community caveats about mouth size still apply for very small fry or shrimp.
Territory: Not strongly territorial, but still claims a working area in the tank. Give it room to settle without overlapping the next species' patch.
Planted tanks: excellent — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Moderate pacing — not hyperactive, not motionless.
- Shoaling/schooling: most colour and confidence show when the group meets **6+**.
- Clamped fins, gasping at the surface, hiding non-stop, or refusing food after the first week.
- Rapid breathing when parameters swing — fix ammonia/nitrite first, then reassess mates.
- Low listed risk — still watch new introductions.
- Separate or rehome if injuries appear, one fish is pinned, or feeding becomes a daily chase.
- If water is stable but behaviour worsens, reduce stocking or remove the highest-impact species first.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Care parameters: water, food, inverts, grouping
Chemistry and group rules sit here so you are not re-reading the same line from tank mate or temperament blocks. Swim level is in the plan grid above.
Hardness
soft
Diet
omnivore
Mixed diet: a quality flake or pellet as the staple, with frozen or live foods two or three times a week.
Shrimp & snails
Shrimp: compatible in most setups. Cherry shrimp and other dwarf species coexist with peaceful small fish, though baby shrimp are food for almost any fish that gets to them.
Shoaling species. Buy 6 or more of one species together. Smaller schools sulk, lose colour, and redirect their schooling energy at whatever else is in the tank.
Egg scatterers and schoolers still spawn in stable tanks. Have a plan for the fry, or accept that the parents and tank mates will eat them in a community setup.
- Hold 20 to 26 °C steadily on a real thermometer, not the dial on the heater.
- Aim for pH 6 to 7 and a hardness you can re-test in two weeks. A one-time strip in the shop car park is not a water test.
- Schooling species. Buy 6 or more from the same tank on the same day before adding any centrepiece fish.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 40L published minimum for adults.
- You can stock at least 6 individuals (group welfare).
- Heater can hold 20–26°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
Explore and stocking hubs
Same library as the rest of Fishori: tank-mate index for this species, category peers, guides, and litre-based stocking lists where min tank on file is within the hub volume.
Plan with tools
Pair-level rules and multi-fish stocking use the same conservative engine — add this fish in the tank builder only after mates pass pair checks.
Filtration & heating
A 40L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 160L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 20–26°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Neon Tetra does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 20–26°C and pH 6–7:
Profile status: verified · Evidence tier: high · 3 linked source(s). Fishori does not fabricate citations.
Fishori uses conservative planning rules based on these sources.
Confidence is explained in the summary at the top of this page (same tier as here), not repeated below.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Paracheirodon innesi
Primary: aquarium size, water chemistry, behaviour, and compatibility (URL verified in upgrade script; recheck if site content changes).
- FishBase. Paracheirodon innesi
Secondary: taxonomy, distribution, and maximum length in nature; cross-check with aquarium import lines and measured tank parameters.
- Wikipedia. Paracheirodon innesi
Secondary: general species context; verify all husbandry numbers against a dedicated aquarium care sheet and your test kit, not a single table row.
Evidence notes
- The Seriously Fish profile for the binomial in this record was successfully reached as the primary aquarium reference.
- FishBase contributes natural-range size and habitat context. Translate those numbers through your heater, your water report, and your tank footprint before stocking.
- Wikipedia is only cited if the article URL returned OK. Use it for orientation, not as the only care sheet for an import.
- All compatibility text reflects typical hobby experience and the Fishori model. Individual fish, shop stress, and the order tank mates are added in can still defy a single-paragraph label.
- Fishori profiles work from typical aquarium trade sizes and hobby care norms. Specialist site checks and literature review for this species are not yet recorded here, so the ranges on this page are planning numbers rather than guarantees.