copied: neon tetras care, feeding, housing...

[Charis]

I guess you could say I am trying to break the rules ( what a shock for being a college student ). I am brand new to keeping any other fish than bettas . And even in the field of bettas I guess I am still pretty new. I've only had them for about 6 months now (don't worry I researched them for about one year before I bought one). I am wanting to expand my fishy world. I want to add about 5 neon tetras give or take a few. I would love to just put them in with my bettas and call it good but I haven't gotten an okay on that from my research (even though that would be the perfect scenerio for me). I need someone who knows about neon tetras and how to care for them to share their knowledge with me( pretty please...if you wouldn't mind : ). I need to know the minimum space and size of an aquarium for neon tetras. I have heard that a good rule of thumb is one gallon for every inch of fish. So around 5-6 gallon tank for five tetras? Also I do not have hardly any room to expand. I am also in a pickle. I have limited funds (I am a college student), I have limited space (I live in a tiny place), my landlord is not to keen on the idea of a large tank (not sure what his definition of large is though... ), if I move any time soon (which I will) I have heard tetras can live; if given excellent care; about ten years. Once I get pets I hate to get rid of them so I need them in a small enough aquarium that I can move and the landlord will hardly notice. My bettas can come with me almost anywhere because they are in small bowls and my landlord doens't count them as "pets". So any help (advice on where to purchase neon tetras, feeding them, housing them, what to house them with, ideal condition, i.e. any and everything) I would greatly appeciate it. It would help me so much in my research about neon tetras.
Oh and one last big question I have: Do neon tetras absouletely have to have filtration and umm...you can tell I am new to aquaruims here...please don't laugh...we all have to start somewhere....what is that thing...the thing that puts oxygen in the water do they have to have that too? Thanks for any help.

Charis

[carlrs]

You are correct in the amount of neons your tank will hold.

As for filtration, neons do need filtration, heat and a balanced diet to survive and thrive.

Air pumps can be used to run filters (such as a sponge filter), and provide oxygen to your tank. Power heads also circulate water and add oxygen via breaking surface tension of the water (this is where ALL gasses are exchanged in an aquarium).

HOB filters such as ReSun or Aqua Clear also filter water, circulate, and again add oxygen via breaking the surface tension.

Personally I would recommend two filters for any aquarium (even a small one such as 5-10 gallon), as this gives you redundancy in case one filter fails and of coarse improved filtration while both are functioning. Complimentary filters are best for this, such as a HOB and a Sponge filter.

Carl