"NetMax" wrote in message
.. .

Generally speaking, it is much better to match the fish to the water than
the reverse. I suggest you leave your water alone. There is nothing
wrong with 7.8pH that Guppies and Platys will not adapt to easily. Whether
Neons do as well will have more to do with how hard the water is and
whether they are wild caught or farmed fish (which you probably cannot
determine).

Apparently reared neons can be spotted by observing whether the youngsters
and juveniles are fully coloured up. It's the testosterone in the rearing
tanks. Only adult Neons have the full colour, but then again how do you know
if it's an adult?

There is also an article I read recently about the successful rearing of
Neons and Cardinals in America (Florida) without using hormones, and
apparently, 60% or more of US LFS Neon and Cardinal stock comes from this
source now.

Personally, I do two things when considering Neons - 1) I see if they are
big or not (if they are less than 3/4 inch and fully coloured I get
suspicious) 2) if they are bigger I wait for at least a month and check them
every week or so to see how robust they are in the stress of a shop
environment.

I just got 11 from LFS#1 which were all about 1" long, but I had to put them
on hold over the month because they sell like wild fire here - a very
popular fish with children it seems.

Oz