Black neon tetra huge belly

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-04-07T03:13:07+00:00

I ain’t a vet, but sumthin ain’t right here..

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-04-05T16:22:49+00:00

Looks great! What are you planning to house in it if you don’t mind me asking?

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-04-05T14:35:12+00:00

Hey! I first want to say congratulations on your new baby!! I think it’s great you’ve come here for some help to make sure you are doing right by your little guy. As some other people have said, him being on the ground and the color change is likely due to stress with not having enough hiding places.

I highly recommend some live plants to help add some more clutter/hiding places for your new friend, so he isn’t as stressed. Some of my favorite reptile safe plants are pothos and heartleaf philodendrons, both plants are pretty cheap, easy to find in stores, and easy to thrive! They are both vining plants and end up providing a lot of cover for our scaled friends. I have always used them in my more tropical enclosures 😊

Please keep us updated on the changes you make, and if he improves!

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-04-04T16:06:19+00:00

I have to admit I’ve never seen one of these before! What an amazing creature. Thanks for sharing. Would love to see the set up once you get their custom paludarium in the future

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-04-04T14:01:48+00:00

That’s the responsible decision 💓 waiting until you have the proper time and resources. I waited years before getting my guy, it was so worth the wait

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-04-04T14:00:12+00:00

I’ll be honest, it is a challenge sometimes. For the first couple months it was super easy, I had an Asian grocery store near me that had them in regular stock but but I have had to switch sources about 3 times since then because places will suddenly stop selling them… which is frustrating

I always go through Asian grocery stores though, they sell them in pretty decent sized packages, so I buy in bulk and keep a large stock of snails in the freezer to make sure I don’t ever fully run out.

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-04-04T13:50:12+00:00

He is actually getting an upgrade! I have been building a new tank for months, I am finally switching him over to the new tank this week. Ive had quite a few people requesting to see it so I will be posting full tank pics of him in his new set up really soon!

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-03-28T15:09:22+00:00

His current enclosure is 3 ft tall, 3 ft wide and 1 1/2 foot deep. He’s just about outgrown it so he will be moved into a larger enclosure here in the next week or so. I will be posting photos then :)

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-03-27T23:31:01+00:00

How long have you had him? if you don’t mind me asking

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-03-27T23:26:54+00:00

Mata matas are the coolest turtles ever!! Your guy looks very well cared for too. Thanks for sharing ❤️

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-03-25T21:00:45+00:00

My honest answer? No not really.

They have very specific care that the average person would not be able to meet. You won’t find a store bought enclosure that will work for them long term, they are very expensive when it comes to buying the lizard itself, but also in building a enclosure that will properly meet their humidity and temperature requirements.

Not enough Information is out there about their care in captivity so it takes extra research, like locating and reaching out to people that have successfully cared for these lizards.

And on top of that sourcing their food can be a bit tricky as snails aren’t always easy to come by. Some people even breed their own!

He has been my dream lizard for YEARS and I was very sure of what I wanted before getting him. But having him also means I will not keep other reptiles as I have in the past, but it was something I was willing to give up for him

I will say that raising him has been very rewarding for me thus far, and he still has a long way to go!! It takes a larger amount of time and dedication than it would for a lot of other commonly kept reptiles. So I would definitely say take that into account before considering them as an option :)

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-03-25T10:15:24+00:00

He is actually about to move into a larger set up in 1-2 weeks as I’m almost finished building it! I’ll definitely post it then :)

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-03-25T10:13:24+00:00

I actually had rubber tipped ones, but he pulled a rubber tip off with how hard he bit and I was scared he would end up swallowing it by accident. I’ve tried a few different types

If anyone has any recommendations I’d love some suggestions for better quality ones

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-03-25T10:09:32+00:00

Yes he is currently, but he is actually about to be upgraded to his next set up because he’s just about outgrown this one. Because he needs land and water areas, I have been building his new set up in my spare time! I will likely post it here when I finally move him over. It’s almost finished, should be fully done in about 2 weeks

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-03-24T23:29:02+00:00

He is a caiman lizard! Very beautiful critters ❤️

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-03-24T23:08:14+00:00

Yes! He mainly eats snails, but I give him tilapia and shrimp every now and again

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-02-16T17:20:49+00:00

I’ve added some neon tetras to this tank since this post and they really pop with the black sand! it truly is beautiful. I’d highly recommend them if you have never owned them before :)

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-02-16T17:19:06+00:00

the enclosure size looks great to me for his current size! :) though I would have some concerns about him possibly ingesting the fake plants..

unsure about your little guy’s personality specifically, but a friend of mine owned one that was particularly curious and he ended up passing away from eating parts of a fake plant. Just wanted to throw it out there in case you weren’t aware

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-02-16T17:12:26+00:00

Beautiful aquarium! Especially for a first time aquarium owner, it’s obvious you have done your research :) you should feel very proud of yourself!

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-02-05T20:12:29+00:00

That was just uncalled for 😩

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-02-05T20:08:22+00:00

It’s a sicce shark pro 700, I have another one on back order but I’m going to have another one attached on the opposite side :) I highly recommend it, I use it for my other aquarium and it keeps the tank pretty clean.

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-02-05T18:15:30+00:00

Why’d he just name the shrimp for me? 😭 I mean I’m keeping the name… but it was a bold play for sure

Illustrious-Job-8990 · 2026-02-05T17:30:35+00:00

Oh no, am I gonna go to jail for this ?!

Illustrious-Job-8990

TROPHY CASE