Details
Paracheirodon innesi
The neon tetra is a tiny characin with glowing blue and red stripes. It forms loose schools in shaded forest streams and picks at fine foods.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It lives in forest creeks and blackwater streams of the Neotropics. Leaf litter, roots, shade, and gentle freshwater flow are typical.
Length 3-4 cm; weight 1 g-2 g. A bright blue stripe runs along the side, with red on the rear half of the body. The small translucent form is conspicuous in dim water when schooling.
Diurnal and loosely schooling, it tightens the group when threatened. Fish retreat quickly into plants or root cover.
An omnivore, it eats tiny crustaceans, insect larvae, and fine organic matter. It snatches drifting food from the water column.
Adults scatter adhesive eggs near plants or leaf litter. There is no parental care, and larvae grow on very small foods.
It is listed as Least Concern, though local populations can still be affected by habitat change, collection, or pollution.
