Gold neon tetra

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  Longfin

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  Diamond

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  GoldThis page

Care at a glance

Overview

Gold neons look washed out next to standard fish, with a pale cream to yellow body that still carries the blue and red stripes. Aquatic Arts sells USA bred stock, and the form turns up on most online stock lists. Depth of gold varies between suppliers, so it is worth looking at the actual fish rather than the stock photo.

In the wild

A leucistic form fixed in captivity rather than a wild variant. Seriously Fish lists golden, described as leucistic, among the established neon strains alongside albino, short-bodied, long-finned and diamond. No breeder, country or decade is recorded for it, and US sellers describe the fish simply as tank-bred or USA bred.

Good to know

Leucism is a broad reduction in pigment cells rather than the missing melanin of albinism, so the fish pales without becoming a true albino. Leucism also spares the eye where albinism does not, so a gold neon keeps a dark eye while a true albino shows red. Seriously Fish lists albino and golden as separate neon strains, so the two are not the same change.

Common questions

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