Question about NEONS and CARDINAL TETRAS....

[shell196]

Hello,
I'm new to the forum, I have a 45 gallon freshwater setup and I'm a big Tetra fan. I have 3 Neon Tetras right now(and 6 Serpae). I actually prefer the Cardinal tetras due to the longer red stripe. I was wondering if the Cardinals are as bright as the Neons? And if I added Cardinals to my tank do you think they would school with the Neons? Thanks!

Michelle

[Wulfy]

Cardinals are more robus than Neons.
They have better constitution.

My *GUESS* is that they would school together since
they look pretty much the same.

However, if you can get a Cardinal to get old they look really
splendid. THey are as fat as a pencil and over an inch long.
THey look great.

The stuff you get at the LFS are usually very young.

[ChilDawg]

And they are often pretty sick as they are pretty much wild-caught...but they are beautiful fish if they survive!

[Skittyfish]

I think I have some pics of mine...you can look. My experience with Neons isn't very good. I have always heard they do better in an established tank. I put 30 cardinals in my one year old planted tank...I only have 8 that survived. They are very vibrant and sometimes school, but most of them don't live. The ones that make it seem to be very hardy. I also have Serpae's. They tend to pick on each other...and out of 15 I have 5 left, they were wiped out by a mouth fungus that I didn't catch because I was away for four days, same happened to my head and tail lights, 5 out 15 survived. Good luck with your tetras. I have my pH at 6.6 and their colors are wonderful.

[Tim Bo]

yes, they will school together. IMO the cardinals seem brighter but that could very well just be because of the longer stripe. IME they do better in schools of atleast 6 and up. Well established tanks increase the chance of success, and a reasonably low pH.
Dark gravel with plants wll bring out their color.

[Botiadancer]

The trick to bright, big, active cardinals is low pH (as low as you can keep it stable), soft water, and high heat (84 degrees works well). The same can be said for rummynoses too.

[Jackster]

The key to having success with Cardinals (besides the proper water parameters)
is to make sure you are buying healthy fish to begin with. Personally I buy
from sellers who I know quarantine their wild stock before I will even think
about buying them. In my last 2 orders I didn't lose a single fish and the size
of both batches was amazing compared to a lot of what other sellers call jumbo
size. Another hint is to make sure you give them a very good quality food.
I basically power feed any new arrivals for the first couple weeks and I also
watch them closely for ich which will wipe out a tank of these beautiful Tetras
real quickly.

http://webpages.charter.net/fishdude/dp.jpg

[tanker]

I am not sure about schooling---I have cardinals and neons together and not only do they not school together, they do not even school at all!!! I even have 4 angels (2 of them very large) in the tank with them.

[fishycat]

I had to spot-pick my neons for the healthy chubby ones - first time I didn't and lost 50%, second time around I only lost 1. I love my neons, they school off & on and they're very pretty. Cardinals are nice, but I've heard they can be sensitive. I guess part of it is healthy stock...

[SubRosa]

Cardinals are easier to simply maintain. If you can maintain Neons you will find them much easier to breed than Cardinals.

[excuzzzeme]

I find that my cardinals (via MSJINKZD) are very healthy and my few neons shoal with them. Cardinals like a higher Ph than neons do and also prefer slightly warmer water so to keep both together you will sort of need to be careful on both.

[Slappy*McFish]

2003 blast from the past!

[fishycat]

Holy heck, I did not notice how old this was!!!
:omg: