Cardinals online or Neons from LFS?

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staygreen

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Mar 10, 2004
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I want to stock my 15 gallon planted tank with some type of small schooling tetras. Some people suggested that I do cardinals. Unfortunately, my local fish stores have not had these lately. However they do have neons, golden tetras and "black neons"...

My tank has a pH of 7.5, GH of 11 and KH of 5. Right now there is only a dwarf honey gourami in there.

So, is it safe to get neons from the lfs? Or should I try to buy somewhere online?
 
I like Cardinal Tetras better. Mine seem hardier than any Neon Tetras I've had in the past. My opinion is they look better too..
 
Nice tank joe!

Where can I get some cardinal tetras online? How many do you think I could put in my 15g?
 
Both of these fish have 'form' for being fragile, so I'd go for the fish you can visibly ok, the neons.
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This is a good point, Cardinals seem to be thought to be hardier, but IME they are about the same, visuals would make your chances better, but that doesn't mean you can't do well with online fish.
 
If this is only for a 15gal tank, I'd go with the lfs neons. The shipping costs for online fishies (especially the ones that can be had for a few bucks each) is pretty prohibitive unless you're buying in bulk.
 
I think it would be risky to have a delicate fish like cardinals shipped. I personally would go with fish from a local store. Also consider rummynose tetras and harlequin rasboras, they are nice little schooling fish too.
 
I have both harlequin raspborra and neon tetras. If I had to go with just one I'd probably stay with the raspborra myself. Much more outgoing then my neons.
 
The choice for me would be based on the source of the fish in both cases. If the neons are SE Asian bred, I would not consider them under any circumstances. If they are Florida bred, I would with QT. If the Cardinal are wild caught, fine w/QT again. If the store or distributor does not know or will not say, I would not buy.
 
Just a thought, in my experience cardinals have been much better suited to additional stress or heartache than the neons. On the other hand, I have always had cardinals close by for purchase if I wanted some more, so I cant say that I'd pay extra S&H charges for the fish.
 
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