Before sexing neon tetras, it is essential to determine the exact gender of the neon tetras in a tank. The difference between a female neon tetra and a male neon tetra is visible such that the female neon tetra has a blue line on its body that is curvy and is thicker than the male neon tetra as the other one is tiny and has a black line that is straight in the body.
After determining the neon tetras’ gender, you can now sex the neon tetras since they both can stay together in the sametank. Therefore, you should add the neon tetras to the tank for the sexing process.
The article below shows the conditions and factors to consider when sexing the male and female neon tetras in the habitat since sexing helps produce more neon tetras for theaquariums. Follow the guide to help you sex your neon tetras on the farm.
Factors to consider when sexing neon tetras for males and females
1. Age of the neon tetras
Neon tetras that want to sex must attain certain age for them to lay eggs and hatch fully. Although the neon tetras have to be four months and above for them to start breeding or rather sexing, in this case, you must not sex immediately but at least give them time to grow and be mature enough to handle the sexing process.
After they are mature, the neon tetras can live for a very long time, like ten years old enough for the sexing process and increase the number of neon tetras in the tank. The period suitable for the sexing of the neon tetras in a particular habitat can benefit the aquarists before they become old.
It is advisable to give the neon tetras still young to mature by leaving them to enjoy their lives for over one year before introducing them to sexing life. Since the young neon tetras can fail to produce eggs, the male can produce immature sperms that cannot fertilize the eggs leading to low production of baby neon tetras.
2. Mode of sexing the neon tetras
Mode of sexing refers to how the aquarist prefers to sex the male and female neon tetras in that habitat and the location for the sexing process. Most aquarists claim that sexing the neon tetras in pet stores is somehow hard as they keep trying, but they fail. Sexing the neon tetras at the pet store is a challenge because, in the sexing process, you need to choose a particular number of neon tetras in the store in the same ratio of both the male and the female.
The difficulties arise since you can only catch male neon tetras for sex, and sometimes you need both of them; therefore, in case one is buying the neon tetras in a sex store, it is better to buy more than 6 of them to at least have a mixture of the two genders for sexing. After selecting the group to sex, decide how to sex them. It is the mode of sexing such that you have to either separate the male and female in the tank or place them together for sex.
You can only separate the neon tetras in thetank before the spawning process so long as the water conditions meet the requirements of the breeding neon tetras. However, when the neon tetras are in a community tank, you can put the male and female neon tetras in the same tank for breeding.
3. The ratio of male to female neon tetras
Before sexing the neon tetras, make sure the neon tetras are in a group of about six fish. There is no specific ratio of the male to female neon tetras in a tank so long as the fish are in a school of six or more for a companion. When the neon tetras are less in the aquarium, they can keep on fighting, or sometimes the neon tetras are not on good terms with their mates and they need some addition to mix them up.
Is Your Neon Tetra Fish Going to Lay Eggs? Click here to know about Pregnant Neon Tetra
FAQs About How to Sex Neon Tetras:
How can you determine the sex of a neon tetra?
The sex of a neon tetra differs mainly from their physical appearance, where the female neon tetra is larger as the male one is smaller. The other difference is that the male neon tetra has a blue color that follows a straight line in the back, while the female neon tetra has a curved line of blue color at its surface.
One can determine the sex when the neon tetras are ready for breeding as the female neon tetra develops a belly that becomes big. One can quickly identify and recognize its gender on the hand. The male neon tetra develops strange dancing behaviors in that it shows romance to the female neon tetras.
Between the male and female neon tetras, which gender lives longer?
Typically most aquarists say that the female neon tetra lives for longer than the other gender of the neon tetra. On the other hand, both the neon tetras cannot live for long if the conditions of the waters do not fit. Therefore to maintain the life span of the neon tetras in a tank, ensure that the tank meets all the requirements from the temperature conditions, the acidity level and that the tank has soft water. Sometimes it is advisable to use rainy water since they are soft waters. Even the male can live for long when it feeds well and lives in a good environment with proper care of its habitat.
Conclusion
Sexing a neon tetra is an easy task to perform in an aquarium, such that the aquarists have to consider meeting the expectations of the neon tetras that need sex. The article above discusses the factors to consider before sexing neon tetras by identifying their gender to the ratio of the neon tetras’ need for sex.
Make sure you follow the considerations to make your sexing process successful since the neon tetras can only sex in areas with ideal conditions such that they are comfortable. Consider adding more neon tetras in a tank for maximum sexing to occur.
