# neon tetra variation?



## petlover516

today, when we got the dog groomed at petco, i checked out the aquatic section. when i found the neon tetra tank, i noticed one hiding while the rest schooled around. when i took a closer look, i noticed the neon stripe was, unlike the others who had electric turquoise stripes, a deep blue, almost purple in color. was that neon a rare morph?


----------



## MediaHound

There are now 4 types of neons, the most recent was recently discovered and brought to Germany to be bred.


----------



## petlover516

what are the names of these neons? what characteristics make them differ from regular neons?


----------



## MediaHound

It's the elusive mysterious green neon, yet unnamed. The scientific paper is unpublished yet so its not 100% official. But the four species have been DNA sequenced, the three named are Paracheirodon axelrodi, Paracheirodon simulans, Paracheirodon innesi, and of course the new one. 
Have you looked at pics of the cardinal tetra to compare what you saw in the neon tank?


----------



## Dmaaaaax

I know these and cardinals can also vary from a deep dark blue to almost green depending on several factors (ex. water conditions, mating, dominant/submissive, lighting). The fact that this one was not with the school may mean that he was a recent addition or stressed out?...just another possibility.

The green neon tetra's blue stripe is straight across the back like a cardinal, while the typical neon has an arch in the blue. Look for that next time you are there.

Green neon:









Standard neon:









Cardinal tetra:











BTW...a bit off topic but I would love to get my hands on the royal tetra. Has anyone seen a fish store carry these? Also know as the Blue emperor tetra:


----------



## petlover516

we saw him again on saturday, and he was schooling. all of them were standard neons, except for this one neon with a much darker stripe containing no green or any "neon" look. he only had the red on his tail and mid-body, so he wasn't a cardinal.


----------



## Cannedus

I have the same thing! I bought 4 neon tetras yesterday, and one of them has a dark blue/ violet stripe. Other than the different colour stripe he looks the same as the others  He is my special fish i love him! I think that they are just a different subspecies that don't really have a name yet! I just call him Indigo Neon Tetra, because i named him indigo!


----------



## petlover516

I think there's a possibility it could be a gender diffrence, now that it think about it.


----------



## Mr_Pat

wow i had no idea there were that many kinds of neons


----------



## Nectaris

I know I have one in the mix weird thing is he just started doing this I thought he was in the mood or something. Only camera i got is my iphone so i will post shots when i get a chance . This one also has the almost purple looking line.


----------



## Nectaris

i really think thats what it is i have 2 of them chasing each other around and i think the male has this white thing on the anal fin. Looks kinda of like the guppies( just doesnt function the same, I guess). My kids notcied this 1st , so here they are. Also i included shots of the other neons to compare. Plz keep in mind this is on a iphone in a planted tank...not eazy to get shots of, even if it isn't fully planted over.<br>







this is one them.<br>







Here r the other ones.

Any ideas?


----------

