Cardinal tetras -- how hardy are they?

[Morainy]

Hi Everyone,

I haven't had cardinal tetras since I was a teenager, but I've always thought they were beautiful. I'm thinking of getting some for a tank and I wonder how hardy cardinal tetras are these days?

Because tetras and guppies are so widely available and popular, it seems that when I see a neglected tank with sick fish or friends tell me that they lost all the fish in their tank, the fish are usually neons, cardinals or guppies.

How confident can I be in buying cardinal tetras these days? Would you recommend farmed or wild? I'm particularly worried about things like TB, neon tetra disease, weird worms, and not things like ich.

Thanks!
Maureen

[crazy72]

I got mine from Charles (so they're wild, I presume), and I'd say they've been hardy-ish. I had a brief ick outbreak at some point for instance, and I lost about 6 of them but I didn't lose any of my lemon tetras that were in the same tank. Then I lost another two at two separate points in time, without any obvious reason. Again, my lemons were fine the whole time.

I agree with you though. They are beautiful. To me there's really something magical about cardinals.

[AWW]

I would say they are a healthier fish than neons. Cardinals have better bloodlines. Neon's are rarely pulled from the wild anymore. Cardinals regularly wild caught. Just make sure you get them in a cycles aquarium. As stated above, ick preys on these guys.

[neven]

It depends on the source, i've had them only die from the 3 times i've purchased them from King Eds, but they all lived when i bought them at IPU. It could be the quarantine practices of the shop or the actual source where they get them. Being as all my tanks were planted tanks that were cycled, i doubt it had to do with my water quality.

[Morainy]

Thank you Neven, AWW and Franck. Very helpful!

[Luke78]

Maureen,

If you have any doubts about the source,ask whom you get them from if they have been quarantined properly-what they have been feed-conditions of their setup-wild or farm raised(i am assuming there's not much difference between the two seeing wild sources have made their way to farms to them going one way or the other) etc.Once you get a few, run your own quarantine and observe them carefully to see if all is well, then introduce into your setup of choice.In large schools they look amazing,and if you are experienced run them in even lower PH/GH&KH to get them breeding for you but this for the advanced aquarist as they say.Biotope surroundings really bring out their true behaviour and is quite the scene to see.As mentioned already in a few posts, a seasoned and properly cycled aquarium will go a long way for them without suffering any losses.

Hi Everyone,

I haven't had cardinal tetras since I was a teenager, but I've always thought they were beautiful. I'm thinking of getting some for a tank and I wonder how hardy cardinal tetras are these days?

Because tetras and guppies are so widely available and popular, it seems that when I see a neglected tank with sick fish or friends tell me that they lost all the fish in their tank, the fish are usually neons, cardinals or guppies.

How confident can I be in buying cardinal tetras these days? Would you recommend farmed or wild? I'm particularly worried about things like TB, neon tetra disease, weird worms, and not things like ich.

Thanks!
Maureen

[April]

I never have trouble with cardinals.
Cardinals need clean tanks. I get both. Wild and farm raised.
Even neons. I don't lose neons in my tanks. Keep the water and substrate clean and cycled and vacuumed and no reason you should lose them.










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[Rastapus]

Cardinal tetra are far more susceptible to Columnaris then Neons. I agree with April that maintenance has a lot to do with it but again they are susceptible. Virtually all our Cardinals are farmed making a more disease resistant fish.

[Elle]

The only problem I've had with cardinals has been them being eaten by other tank inhabitants.

[Rastapus]

The following post is not directed at how anyone keeps their Cardinal tetras in store, to be honest I have no idea how other stores do regardless. The one point I want to make on Cardinals is if wild ones are imported and kept in high tannin conditions with leaves etc, they arrive in better condition. However if these fish are maintained in those conditions and sold to hobbyists keeping them under regular conditions the odds of them breaking down is high. They should be acclimated to regular conditions in order to have the best survivability to the end buyer, the hobbyist which is my greater concern. If they are going into high Tannin conditions then fine but the majority of hobbyists do not keep them like that.