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6 Best Foods For Neon Tetras – 2024 Reviews & Top Picks

Sarah Psaradelis

By Sarah Psaradelis

neon-tetra

The Neon Tetra is a popular schooling fish known for their luminescent colors and small size, which makes them a good choice for small community fish tanks. When it comes to feeding your neon tetras, ensuring that they are fed a quality and balanced diet is important. Since they are such small fish, you will have difficulty feeding them larger fish foods.

As omnivores, Neon Tetras should be fed a diet rich in algae, plant matter, and animal-based protein. Ensuring that the food contains a variety of vitamins and minerals that your Neon Tetras need to be healthy is extremely important.

With this in mind, we have reviewed some of the best foods for Neon Tetras below.

A Quick Look at Our Favorites in 2024

Rating Image Product Details
Best Overall
Winner
API Tropical Mini Pellets API Tropical Mini Pellets
  • Does not cloud water
  • Nutritionally balanced
  • Color enhancing ingredients
  • Best Value
    Second place
    TetraMin Tropical Granules TetraMin Tropical Granules
  • Easy to eat
  • Rich in vitamins and minerals
  • Does not cloud water or leach colors
  • Premium Choice
    Third place
    Omega One Super Color Pellets Omega One Super Color Pellets
  • High in protein
  • Color enhancing formula
  • Rich in omega-3 and -6 fatty acids
  • Hikari Micro Pellets Hikari Micro Pellets
  • Maintains vibrant fish coloration
  • Does not cloud water
  • High in protein
  • Fluval Bug Bites Tropical Formula Fluval Bug Bites Tropical Formula
  • No or limited artificial preservatives, colors, or fillers
  • Balance of vitamins and minerals
  • Easy to eat
  • The 6 Best Foods for Neon Tetras

    1. API Tropical Mini Pellets – Best Overall

    API Sinking Pellets Tropical Fish Food

    Check Price on Chewy
    Food Form: Pellets
    Type: Sinking
    Size: 1.6-ounce container

    The best overall food for Neon Tetras that we have reviewed is the API tropical mini pellets. Neon Tetras will benefit from this sinking pellet food, which contains a variety of ingredients that meet the Neon Tetras’ nutritional requirements.

    The food consists of small pellets that sink to the bottom of the tank when they are introduced to the water, which allows your neon tetra to eat the food along the way or forage it from the bottom of the tank. However, they do seem to sink fast, which can be a downside.

    This food is formulated to not cloud the water which can lead to increased levels of ammonia, leading to better water quality. These mini pellets are rich in amino acids, vitamins, insect proteins, and a color enhancer known as carotenoids. Carotenoids help to enhance your fish’s color while having antioxidant properties.

    Pros
    • Does not cloud water
    • Nutritionally balanced
    • Color enhancing ingredients
    • Affordable
    Cons
    • Sinks quickly

    2. TetraMin Tropical Granules – Best Value

    TetraMin Tropical Granules Fish Food

    Food Form: Granular
    Type: Sinking
    Size: 3.52-ounce container

    The best Neon Tetra food for the money is the TetraMin tropical granules, which is an affordable food in a decent-sized container. This fish food is formulated for small tropical fish like Neon Tetras, and it is a complete diet that contains vitamins and minerals.

    The granules themselves are small enough to easily be eaten by Neon Tetras, and since they sink slower than other similar foods, your Neon Tetras will have enough time to eat these granules as they are falling. The food does not cloud the aquarium water if it is fed in an appropriate amount, which is better for the water quality. Omega-3 fatty acids are included in the formula, along with vitamins from the brand’s ProCare blend aimed to keep your fish healthy.

    Furthermore, this food is fairly easy to digest due to the inclusion of algae and fibrous ingredients. You may find that the granules get lost in the substrate once they fully sink, which can make it difficult for the fish to find after.

    Pros
    • Easy to eat
    • Rich in vitamins and minerals
    • Does not cloud water or leach colors
    Cons
    • Can get lost in the substrate

    3. Omega One Super Color Pellets – Premium Choice

    Omega One Super Color Sinking Pellets

    Food Form: Pellets
    Type: Sinking
    Size: 4.2-ounce container

    The premium choice is the Omega One super color pellets, which are specifically formulated for small tropical fish. This fish food has small pellets that sink, with each pellet containing a variety of nutrients such as omega-2 and -6 fatty acids for immune health, along with beta-carotene which helps to enhance and maintain a vibrant coloration in fish. Beta-carotene is naturally found in the skin of salmon.

    Salmon is the main ingredient in this food, meaning it is excellent to feed to your Neon Tetra for color enhancement, followed by herring, shrimp, and pea protein. The total amount of protein in this food comes to 42%, making it an excellent fish food that is high in both animal and plant-based proteins.

    Pros
    • High in protein
    • Color enhancing formula
    • Rich in omega-3 and -6 fatty acids
    Cons
    • May cloud the water

    4. Hikari Micro Pellets

    Hikari Fish Food

    Food Form: Pellets
    Type: Semi-sinking
    Size: 1.58-ounce packet

    Hikari is a well-known brand of fish food that offers balanced and scientifically researched nutrition to small tropical fish. This is a slow-sinking micro pellet that is made with both marine and vegetable proteins, giving the food a total of 45% protein. The krill and spirulina in the food are created to help your neon tetras maintain a vibrant coloration as they are a source of beta carotenes.

    This fish food does not cloud water as it contains a micro-coating to prevent the pellet from dissolving in the water. If it is fed correctly, you should not notice any changes in the ammonia levels of the fish tank. These micro pellets sink more slowly than others, and they will float at the top of the water for a while before slowly sinking. This ensures that your neon tetras will be able to reach the food in time before it sinks to the bottom.

    The packet that this food comes in is resealable, so you can keep the food fresh for longer. However, in comparison to other foods, the number of pellets inside is less while the food is slightly more expensive.

    Pros
    • Maintains vibrant fish coloration
    • Does not cloud water
    • High in protein
    Cons
    • Small capacity of food for the price

    5. Fluval Bug Bites Tropical Formula Granules

    Fluval Bug Bites Tropical Fish Food

    Food Form: Granules
    Type: Slow sinking
    Size: 1.6-ounce container

    The Fluval bug bites granules are formulated with a mixture of vitamins and minerals suitable for small tropical fish like neon tetras. The first ingredients in this food are insect larvae from a black soldier fly, along with salmon which is a beta-carotene-rich food. The fly larvae add variety and protein to the food, while the salmon helps enhance your neon tetras coloration.

    This food seems to have no or limited amounts of artificial fillers, preservatives, and colors in the food, which is great if you are looking for healthier fish food. The granules are quite small, so it is easy for neon tetras to eat the granules as they slowly sink to the bottom.

    These granules contain omega-3 and 6 fatty acids, along with plant-based ingredients such as green peas. The amount of minerals and vitamins in this food is impressive, and it will make a great staple food for neon tetras.

    Pros
    • No or limited artificial preservatives, colors, or fillers
    • Balance of vitamins and minerals
    • Easy to eat
    Cons
    • May cloud water

    6. Seachem NutriDiet Tropical Flakes

    Seachem NutriDiet Tropical Flakes

    Food Form: Flakes
    Type: Floating
    Size: 0.5-ounce container

    Seachem is a well-known brand, and their tropical fish food flakes are worth looking into for Neon Tetras. It is a flake fish food that is fortified with beneficial ingredients such as garlic and chlorella algae and other essential nutrients that can benefit your neon tetra. The Seachem GarlicGuard has been added to entice your neon tetras to eat, as garlic can act as an appetite stimulant. This makes it a good option for picky neon tetras.

    Certain ingredients in this food help to enhance your fish’s color while aiming to maintain a vibrant coloration. The only downside to this flake food is that it dissolves quickly in the water, which can lead to cloudy water and leached nutrients that the fish miss out on if they do not consume the food quickly enough.

    Pros
    • High in protein
    • Ideal for picky eaters
    • Appetite stimulant
    Cons
    • May cloud water
    • Flakes dissolve quickly in water

    tropical fish 1 divider

    Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Right Food for Neon Tetras

    Which Type of Food Is Best for Neon Tetras?

    Three main forms of foods are commonly fed to Neon Tetras, such as:
    • Pellets
    • Granules
    • Flakes

    Pellets and granules are quite similar, with granules being slightly smaller. Since Neon Tetras have small mouths, they need food that they can easily eat without having to spend much time nibbling at the food before other fish get to it. Mini or micro-pellet food is ideal for neon tetras, while granular foods can easily be eaten since they can easily fit into your neon tetras mouth.

    Flake foods are not the most recommended form of food for Neon Tetras because they may cloud the water and dissolve quickly leading to nutrient leaching. This means that some of the nutrients and artificial colors of the flakes will begin leaching into the water as soon as it gets wet.

    However, some people still prefer to feed flake foods because they are the more affordable option. Although there are granular and pellet foods that can be budget-friendly.

    Foods that contain beneficial ingredients like algae, insects, salmon, and fortified vitamins are ideal for neon tetras, and most of these ingredients are easy to digest. Additionally, some Neon Tetra foods will include color-enhancing ingredients known as carotenoids, and they help maintain and enhance vivid colors in fish.

    Choosing the Right Food for Your Neon Tetras
    • Consider the price of the food and determine whether it will be affordable enough to regularly purchase.
    • Look for foods that contain proteins as the main ingredient.
    • Avoid foods that are high in fillers, as some of these fillers have a low nutritional value.
    • Look for granular or pellet foods rather than flake foods if you want to prevent water clouding and nutrient leaching.
    • Ensure that the food contains vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to fish.

    Conclusion

    Now that we have reviewed the best neon tetra foods, let’s discuss the top picks. The first top pick is the Hikari micro pellets because it is a high-quality fish food with small pellets that can easily be eaten by neon tetras. Our second top pick is the Omega One super color pellets, as they help to enhance your fish’s coloration while providing them with plenty of minerals and vitamins.


    Featured Image Credit: Mojpe, Pixabay

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