Hi
Assume you're talking about neon tetras?? How large is your school?? They usually recommed 6 but I find larger schools are far better. They can be very shy and jumpy in small groups. With a dozen or so they are always out in the open.
Neons are egglayers that require specific water conditions. One of the more difficult to breed fish and the fry are difficult to feed .You'll have no population problems with them lol. If you do please share your secrets lol
gary

Or are you referring to the NEON rainbow fish. Please be specific. Neon tetras are schooling fish from the amazon. Neon Rainbows are from Australia

I'm not very concerned with my fish's health while the tank is cycling because I'm changing the water often, which I understand will slow the process, but keep the fish healthier. Correct me if that's wrong.)

Am I correct in two things?
You are cycling with Neons and you are not concerned about your fishes heath?

First you should never cycle with neons they are just too delicate to do that.

Secondly I hope I am wrong "but not concerned"
Sorry I could be banned for life if I replied as to what I am thinking. Those fish are totally dependent on you for all their needs. In my 35+ years of fish keeping,and 68 years being with animals that tops it all and I hope I never hear it again.

I will not go any further

Keith

Sorry, I meant neon tetras. Everyone here just calls them neons. ^^;

Right now I have four of them, with one glowlight and a white cloud. The other two drift off a bit, but they still school together most of the time. I certainly would like to get more to make the school bigger, especially to add the different colored ones, like the black and gold neons.

It's good to hear that they're hard to breed. The sites I read just said "moderate difficulty," and I wasn't sure how to interpret that.

I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that I think they'll be okay. Is that not right? My fish seem very healthy, and the guy at the fish store didn't seem worried about it. He told me that I'll just need to change the water more often, and that I definitely shouldn't add any new fish for a couple months.

I'm really attached to all of my fish, even though I've only had them a little while. They each have names and everything.

(I'm not very concerned with my fish's health while the tank is cycling because I'm changing the water often, which I understand will slow the process, but keep the fish healthier. Correct me if that's wrong.) Not really, because you haven't yet established the cycle, you need to keep a minimal amount of ammonia in the water to initiate the first stage of the cycle. Since you are cycling with fish you should keep the ammonia level less then 1 ppm. Neon Tetras are not a good choice for establishing cycle a tank because they are very fragile, especially with ammonia. The person in the fish store should have disuaded you on using them if he had any experience or really cared. In the next 2 weeks ammonia will build. Very slowly at first, maybe not even detectable for a week or so, hten by week 2 all hell breaks loose. Your ammonia will spike and most likely stay that way for a week or more. Things you can do to reduce ammonia, besides constant water changes 1) feed minimally, less food = less fish poop and less uneaten food = less ammonia. 1 small feeding every other day. This is fine your fish won't starve. Do the 2 minute rule with feeding. If the fish don't eat what you put in within 2 minutes you are feeding too much. 2)If you are using a dechlorinator like "Prime" double dose it to help detoxify ammonia. 3) Don't add any more fish until you have completed cycling. After the ammonia disappears you will see nitrites appearing and spike also. The good news is they can be blocked by adding salt. Also, keep an eye on pH. pH tends to crash durring a cycle becoming very acidic. Try to keep it above 6.8ppm. If it gets too acidic the bacteria that is trying to grow will be killed.

Unfortunately, I bought three neons to go with my betta in his jar, but then I was reading about them, and it said they should be kept in schools. So I went back a day or two later and bought three more little fish (giving me the school I mentioned above) and a 10 gallon tank to house them.

Yesterday I went to pick up some decorations, and I asked about the cloudiness to my water. It wasn't until then that I even knew freshwater tanks had a cycle at all. Thank God I found out then, because the water was pretty cloudy. I had heard from my dad about his saltwater tank needing some kind of cycle and bacteria, but it was never actually explained to me, so I thought it was a saltwater-only thing because the fish are more sensitive or something. I've kept goldfish and bettas for years without any knowledge of it at all. I guess that's a testament to their durability.

Anyway, I changed about three gallons over 24 hours ago, and the water is pretty clear now, though not perfectly. I'm going to change two gallons tonight, and we'll see how it goes tomorrow. I don't mind changing small amounts of water every night because it's the sort of work I enjoy.

I don't blame the fish store because I'm sure the workers just assumed I knew more than I really did, and that my betta was in an established tank. I've talked to them a lot, and they seem like nice people who actually care about the fish. I'm going back there tomorrow (hopefully) with a sample of my water for them to test, and I'll probably pick up a home test kit.

This is getting pretty off topic. ^^;

I want to thank all of you for responding. =^_^= I'm sure my fishies thank you, too.

Like fish will school with like fish. So if you are including black neons or glo-lights, don't expect that they will school with the neons!

It's very cool to watch schooling fish - but I think you should stick with about 6 neons and that's fine. Your tank is not large enough to accommodate too many fish - even if they're slim-bodied and small.

hi
Why don't you check out some of the online fish sites??
Tons of basic info. Just search "tropical fish"
gary

I don't blame the fish store because I'm sure the workers just assumed I knew more than I really did, and that my betta was in an established tank. I've talked to them a lot, and they seem like nice people who actually care about the fish.

One of the first things about fish and fish stores "Never Assume" most are so called "nice" for one reason only to sell you fish. Two of my local pet stores that sell fish in one only one out of five know anything about fish. The other four out of five know about fish.
I suggest you have a look at Fishprofiles.com this is rated as one of the best aquarium sites on the web. It also has a chat were members can help newbees very quickly.

Keith

When I got my first neon tetras, it was a disaster. For some reason the pet store then had the water in blue colour and I was fascinated with how it looked. I also wasn't properly instructed on how to keep them. Unfortunately I washed the gravel in soapy water, and although I had rinsed it out several times before putting them in the tank, it wasn't enough and killed the poor things. It was my first lesson in fish keeping and this happened many years ago... So it goes to show pet stores are more interested in sales than the conditions their animals live in..

Neon tetras are very sensitive to their environment. They thrive as a school Give them some plants & drift wood to help them hide and feel comfortable. By the way, this other mistake I made was still some years ago, but I learned the hard way that angel fishes and neon tetras do not go hand in hand.. In fact all my neons were wiped out in one night by a ravenous angel fish...