The concern is real! Fishes do DIE from overeating because the foods we feed them (particularly flake foods) are difficult for them to digest, and consuming too much of it causes constipation/blockage and bloat, which can be fatal.
Will Neon Tetras Overeat? Yes, Neon tetras can overeat even though they can go without food for at least a week. They’re fishes and surely keep eating if you keep feeding them. Some might even die in the process.
Also, the food that remains uneaten is then dissolved and mixed with water which results in toxicity in aquariums.
In this short read, I’ll try to explain the overeating problem of Neon Tetras from my experiences with them. There has to be a balance when it comes to feeding your fish. You might want to keep reading as your fish’s lives depend on it!
Why Do Fishes Overeat?
Fish eat anytime they are hungry, and there is food available in nature. They will eat numerous times a day if food sources are adequate.
On the other hand, if food is scarce, they may go for days without eating. As a result, fish are incredibly opportunistic, eating whenever they get the chance.
That means that if you give them food, they will usually eat it even if they aren’t hungry. When your fish wants food, do keep that in mind.
Even if they are not in desperate need of food, fish rapidly learn who brings the food to the tank and will jump at the chance to be fed.
What Happens When We Overfeed Our Neon Tetras?
It’s possible that the consequences of overfeeding your fish will not be obvious right away. Fish exploding due to overeating is a myth, so that’s one less reason to worry about, huh? Overfeeding, however, is linked to several additional health issues.
Some fish species can develop the fatty liver disease (hepatic lipidosis). Overfeeding can stress your fish, and the negative impacts on the aquatic environment will impact your fish’s health.
By-products (ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate) produced by uneaten food can be detrimental to fish. If you do overfeed, use a siphon or a net to remove the uneaten food as soon as possible.
You might risk changing the chemistry of the aquarium water if you do not remove the surplus food. Nitrite and ammonia levels can rise, while oxygen and pH levels can fall to dangerously low levels.
The by-products can cloud the water, cause an algal bloom, or encourage mold or planaria to spread uncontrollably.
The filter also gets a hit if you don’t clean the excess remaining food. Because of the movements of fishes, they go around and under the decorations and thus hide from your eyesight. Several days like this can cause severe damage to the filter as they’ll get stuck.
8 Problems Caused By Overfeeding Your Neon Tetras:
1. Increases Ammonia & Nitrites In Water:
Protein in leftover food and Neon Tetra poop is broken down into nitrites and ammonia, which are particularly hazardous to your tetras.
2. Reduces Oxygen Level Indirectly:
When uneaten food and waste decomposes, it undergoes an aerobic process in which oxygen is used, and carbon dioxide is produced.
This implies your Neon Tetras will have less dissolved oxygen to use in the tank.
3. Decreases water pH:
Because acids are created during the decomposition of organic material, it reduces the pH of the water, just as it lowers the oxygen content.
Because each species of fish has a preferred pH range, alkaline-loving fish are particularly stressed.
4. Causes Diseases:
Fin rot is a condition in neon tetras that causes the fins to become shaggy and moth-eaten.
It usually happens when the neon tetras are stressed, which is a common side effect of overfeeding.
5. Leads To Fatty Liver in Neon Tetras:
Overeating causes fatty liver, also known as hepatic lipidosis, which is more common in African cichlids and rainbowfish.
It interferes with the liver’s function and can lead to the fish’s death.
6. Improvise Algal Growth:
One of the most common issues in aquariums is algae growth. Overfeeding is the leading reason.
When there are huge amounts of dissolved organic material, nitrates, and phosphates in the water, unsightly blue-green and red algae thrive, which is frequent when fish are overfed.
7. Develop Fungi Culture:
Mold or fungus could cause white, cottony stuff to develop on the gravel, plants, and another décor.
These creatures, like algae, thrive when organic material is abundant in the water.
8. Clogs Filter More Often:
Filter systems are intended to remove the usual amount of waste materials and breakdown products from the water, not to solve the overfeeding concerns.
Uneaten food and waste items can accumulate on the filters, manufacturing hazardous chemicals and clogging the filters, limiting their ability to function even further. [Source]
How To Not Overfeed Your Neon Tetra Fish:
Understanding how easy it is to overfeed and how harmful it can be is the first step toward avoiding it. This will provide us with the drive to adopt good feeding habits for our fish.
1. Fix a Schedule:
Most tank dwellers will thrive if they are fed twice a day. Most fish in the wild do not consume enormous “meals” as we do but instead, forage and “nibble” throughout the day. So, you can feed them small meals twice per day.
2. Feed just as much as your Neon Tetras eat:
Observing your Tetras regularly while they eat is the best approach to figure out how much to feed them.
Adding tiny amounts of food at a time is the best way to go (e.g. 2-3 flakes per Neon Tetra). If all of the food has been consumed within a few minutes, feed a tiny amount of additional food.
A good rule of thumb is to provide them enough food that they can eat within 3-4 minutes. Anything not consumed within 5 minutes is unlikely to be eaten.
3. Feed Properly:
Always feed according to the number of fish in the tank, not the tank’s size. As neon tetras are nano fish, they would eat a tiny meal at a time.
So, spread the food out over the water’s surface, despite the tank’s size, to enable your neon tetras to feed at the same time.
4. Feed Proper High-Quality Food:
Not only will feeding inappropriate, low-quality, or stale food result in malnutrition, but it will also result in extra waste because the fish will not consume it.
Neon tetras are omnivores, and generally, they eat live food, frozen food, flakes, pallets, literally anything that will fit in their mouth.
Some fish require floating food, while others prefer sinking food. But neon tetras will consume both floating and sinking foods. Just make careful use of high-quality, fresh ingredients for your neon tetras.
5. Remove the foods that aren’t eaten:
If there is any uneaten food after one feeding, use a siphon or fine net to remove as much as possible.
Regardless of its capacity, your filtration system was not meant to solve all of the difficulties related to overfeeding.
6. Proper Filtration:
Make sure to size your filtration units correctly when planning your aquarium; bigger is usually preferable.
Maintain your filtration system on a regular basis to guarantee it is performing at its best.
How Much Should You Feed Neon Tetras?
When it comes to feeding them, you should strive to feed them twice a day, as much as they can consume in three minutes.
You can lower this to once a day as they become older while still following the three-minute feeding guidelines.
How Many Times a Day Should I Feed My Neon Tetras?
It’s better to feed neon tetras 2-3 times a day in small quantities. However, you can also feed your neon tetras once every day. In that case, give them a particular amount of food that they can finish within 3 minutes.
How Do You Know If Neon Tetras Are Hungry?
If neon tetras are searching for food all over the fish tank and trying to bite plants, walls of the fish tank, and anything else they find around them, you can tell the neon tetras are hungry.
My neon tetras always act as if they are hungry, and they continue to eat until they are practically dumping and still eating. That’s why I have to feed them timely and properly.
Related Questions:
Do Neon Tetras Eat Detritus Worms?
Neon tetras love to eat detritus worms. Detritus worms are a good source of protein for neons.
They are on the list of perfect small-size workers who can help you if you have excess detritus worms growing in your fish tank. They’ll eat up the worms and keep them from taking over the tank.
How Long Can Neon Tetras Go Without Eating?
Adult Neon Tetras can go without food for a week or two if they’re fed regularly before that period. In the case of planted tanks, they can even live up to three weeks without food. However, neon tetra fries won’t survive that long without food.
Final Thoughts
Neon tetras or any fishes are opportunistic, and they will eat every time they get the chance. In nature, they don’t get food all the time, so they eat whenever food is available.
Neon tetras have the tendency to overeat if you give them lots of food. However, overfeeding them will raise a lot of issues, and you can even end up losing your neon tetras.
Try to feed them tiny meals twice per day.
