Anyone have luck with cardinal tetras?

I have to put a couple of cents in here, although salt and heat can effectively treat and rid ich, I think each ich case should be looked at individually. It will take a bit longer to eradicate the ich with heat and salt. Personally I would only use this with a mild case and on fish otherwise healthy enough to withstand the battle with the parasite. It's not just a matter of the parasite on the skin, those parasites make the fish look, feel and act sick. Ick can take a toll very quickly if there's a lot of it. Smaller more delicate fish, or fish covered in ich would get treated with ich meds Aquarisol has been around for many, many years and is one of the more gentle treatments, yet effective. Tetras are one of the fish more sensitive to meds so some meds recommend a safer treatment for tetras at half the normal dose. Sometimes we need to remember that it can't be looked at as we're just adding chemicals to the fish's tank. They are meds designed to treat the ailment. Human meds are chemical combinations as are vitamins. Very, very little of it grows on trees, in fields or really gets squeezed out of oranges.
 
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Thanks, Pinkertd. I have used salt and heat in the past and still lost many fish during the long process. This is why I decided to try meds when the ich came on so fast and heavy. I am just glad they were in the qt tank, although they took out a beautiful mystery snail and a resident otto as well. I really wamt to try the tetras again but I am feeling slightly gun shy!
 
Neon Tetras don't handle temperature changes or stress well and by the time they reach most fish stores, they've been through a lot and they're sick. It's tough to find healthy ones. All I can say is don't give up. Consider checking out other stores. Find out when the stores get their stock delivered. Take a look at them right after delivery and then a few days later. See if they have bright colors and are active. A lot of us have gone thru this with fish store cories and trying to get them to live. It's enough to make you gun-shy, but I don't give up easily! Good luck to you!
 
I feel the same way. I want to get Neons but have heard bad stories so I am really not sure if I should go out and get them or get something else.
 
Take a look at the black neon tetras. They're a little bigger than neons, have a lot more personality, are a million times hardier, look very nice in the tanks, tolerate a wider range of tank temperatures, not as shy, are peaceful and may even reward you with some tank spawning! They're not as brightly colored but I can tell you than their colors will be richer and deeper once in your own tanks. I've had neons, cardinals, bleeding hearts, black skirts, rummynose and the black neons and I'd get black neons over all of these. I just got some ember tetras for the first time and I can tell you I'm liking these little guys a ton too! And they are small!
 
My water is very hard, 8+. Do any of the peaceful tetras tolerate hard water?
 
All of them. My water is hard too, ph 7.6-7.8.
 
pinkertd said:
Take a look at the black neon tetras. They're a little bigger than neons, have a lot more personality, are a million times hardier, look very nice in the tanks, tolerate a wider range of tank temperatures, not as shy, are peaceful and may even reward you with some tank spawning! They're not as brightly colored but I can tell you than their colors will be richer and deeper once in your own tanks. I've had neons, cardinals, bleeding hearts, black skirts, rummynose and the black neons and I'd get black neons over all of these. I just got some ember tetras for the first time and I can tell you I'm liking these little guys a ton too! And they are small!
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Are all these guys peaceful? I am looking to add to my 55g (see tankmates listed below). We only have a Petsmart here so I am limitted to what they stock.
 
Some reading for you:
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile40.html
http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile71.html
(and bleeding heart tetras are not sensitive, I kept them when I was a newbie doing all kinds of things wrong!)
http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile51.html
http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile8.html
http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile38.html
I would imagine that you could find these at some time or another at Petsmart. I would at least ask if they ever get them in. In my area Petsmart stocks a lot of different, nicer fish than Petco does. Petco doesn't seem to waiver much from the everyday ho-hum fish. Never a loach except for clowns. I was shocked the first time I went into a Petsmart and found a few varieties of loaches! And remember, the stats listed are just one sites suggestions.
http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile25.html
They also say harlequins ph preference is 5-7 and we know they can be kept in higher ph than that.
 
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