
The following suggestions will get you on the right track. You’re not going to run into a lot of trouble keeping Neons but some basic design principles can help you make a tank that’s specifically accommodating for them. Water conditions aren’t crucial, any cycled, tropical conditions will suit them just fine. These will help them feel secure in their new home and let them thrive. The biggest thing that you should transfer from their natural environment? These fish should be kept in a blackwater tank for the best results. The vast majority of the trade comes out of commercial farms in Southeast Asia these days. If you happen to stumble upon a batch of them, you may run into some issues. Wild collected specimens can be found on occasion but shouldn’t be sought out. These days? They do very well in a “normal” tropical aquarium and are often regarded as a hardy aquarium staple. It appears to have been a holdover from the first few captive generations which needed a very low pH to thrive and breed, their ideal waters can go as low as 4.0 and have virtually zero water hardness.

I never personally noticed any trouble in their care, even in hard water with a high pH.

When I first began keeping aquariums Neon Tetras were still regarded as a bit fragile. It just takes a few dozen generations to get them there. Most fish adapt well to aquarium environments, as long as they’re able to be bred in captive conditions. You can still stick them in a blackwater biome, and they’ll love it, but it’s not a necessary part of their care. Neon Tetras have been a staple in the aquarium trade for so long that their care isn’t really connected to their natural environment anymore. The only place they’re completely absent is in white water areas, which would quickly overpower these small fish.

There, they excel in dark, acidic water environments but find themselves in clear water environments as well. Neon Tetras hail from the Amazon River Basin.
