How long does it take for neon tetras to have babies?

I think they are called fry. But anyways. How long should it take if I buy 5 or 6 neon tetras to start having some fry?
Answers:
Breeding neons is a bit touchy... raising the fry is far worse. Here's a link about how to do it.

http://www.thekrib.com/fish/neons.html...

MM

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They actually lay eggs and then spawn. The process is usually have to be very perfect for the Neon Tetras

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Years ago it was considered almost impossible to breed neons/cardinals etc in captivity. Nowadays, most neons in your local fsh shop are captive bred, probably due to better filtration methods and greater understanding of conditioning requirements.

Usual rule of thumb is 9 months before they are capable, but if you buy a school of babies and manage to keep them alive to juvenile adulthood, its possible to get egg production at 5 months+ (very hard though).

Most commercial breeders use pseudo-chemical encouragement methods such as Acriflavine (mainly to stop fungus growth, Peat, Oak bark, willow root etc. Conditioning is important to start production of eggs in the female so you can't do this in a community tank as you need to lower the PH (VERY gradually!) to around 5.0-6.0) and soften the water (peat moss in the filter is the easiest method. If you have more than one pair you will need a separate spawning tank (small %26 shallow, 10-15 galls is good). Water conditions must be exact to the main tank and some say it helps to cover the walls in newspaper to replicate the darkened conditions in their native rivers etc. You can also add some salt (not iodide based) 1tsp per 5 gallons worked for me.

Watch the mated pairs, you will know when the female is ready (fat %26 the male is all over her). Transfer the pair (AT NIGHT) to the spawning tank %26 make sure it has a layer of coarse gravel (pref boiled) and some (live) plants and has absolutely no snails or other egg/fry eating critters in it.

The eggs are tiny and difficult to see in the darkened conditions but you will know when this has occured because the male and female with have no interest in each other anymore. REMOVE them immediately - they will eat the fry!

Do some research on the latest fry food available as even baby brine can be to big for the fry to eat in the early stages of growth.

Hope that helps!