Neon tetras are indeed some of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish around. They have plenty of energy, they love to swim, and they have mild temperaments too. There’s of course also the fact that neon tetras look really nice.
You may also like the neon Tetra fish due to the fact that it is very low maintenance. One of the only tank requirements that you really need to keep an eye out for is how large the tank is.
In other words, how many neon tetras per gallon can you fit in a tank? Let’s take a closer look at neon tetra fish and tank size requirements right now.
How Much Room Do Neon Tetras Need?
One of the first things that you need to know about any kind of aquarium fish is how much room they generally need. Now, the rule of thumb with freshwater aquarium fish is that you need to have a gallon of water for every inch of fish.
Therefore, if a fish is three inches long, it needs to have three gallons of water. This is no different with neon tetra fish. Neon tetra fish need at least one gallon of water for every inch of length.
Thus, it’s important for you to know how large neon tetra fish get. A neon tetra will grow to anywhere between 1.5 and 2 inches long. This means that to be on the safe side, you should give each neon tetra fish two gallons of water.
What you need to know about neon tetra fish is that they are fairly active swimmers. They are quick moving, and they love to constantly dart around the tank.
Due to this reason, they do require a good deal of space. Therefore, even if your neon tetra fish are only 1.5 inches long, we still recommend giving each fish two gallons of water.
How Many Neon Tetras Per Gallon?
So, if the main question of the day is how many neon tetras you can fit in a gallon of water, technically, none. As you can see from above, each neon tetra fish needs at least 1.5 gallons, if not two gallons of water.
Realistically, based on these spatial requirements, a single gallon of water could house about half or three quarters of a neon tetra fish comfortably. Simply put, a single gallon of water is just not enough for even one neon tetra fish.
How Many Neon Tetras Should I Keep Together?
The next thing that you need to know about keeping neon tetra fish is the fact that they do not like to be alone. These are schooling fish, so they do need to be kept in groups.
Generally speaking, most recommend keeping neon tetras in schools of at least five fish. So, how much room are five neon tetra fish going to require?
Well, based on the fact that each neon tetra fish should have two gallons of space, a school of five fish should have at least 10 gallons. Keeping them in schools will help them feel much safer, more comfortable, and less stressed out.
How Many Neon Tetras in 10 and 20 Gallon Tanks?
So, if you can fit 5 neon Tetra fish into a 10 gallon tank, you can therefore fit 10 neon Tetra fish into a 20 gallon tank. As long as you provide each fish with at least 1.5 or two gallons of tank space, they should be totally fine.
What Happens if Neon Tetras Don’t Have Enough Tank Space?
Something you might be wondering now is what exactly is going to happen if you don’t provide your neon tetra fish with enough tank space. There are actually a few things that could go wrong here, so let’s take a look.
- Whether neon tetras or otherwise, if fish don’t have enough space, it is going to cause issues with water quality. If a fish tank is overstocked, your filter won’t be able to keep up. This means that the water will eventually get too dirty, and ammonia will build up. This could potentially kill your fish.
- Related to that first point, this also means that your filter is going to have to work overtime. It’s going to put too much strain on your filter if there are too many fish in too little water.
- If a fish tank is not large enough, and there are too many fish, it may also create competition for food.
- If neon tetra fish do not have enough space, it may cause them great amounts of stress. Great amounts of stress can lead to them developing diseases.
- If fish don’t have enough space in general, it may also cause issues with temperament. In other words, the fish may become aggressive towards each other.
Neon Tetra Spatial Requirements
As long as each and every neon tetra fish has around two gallons of tank space, you shouldn’t have any problems on this front.
Ben Morales
Aquarist & Writer 15+ Years