Cardinal Tetras-Are they still as fragile as they once were??

mykidsmylife

mykidsmylife

Princess of Peons
Aug 26, 2005
925
0
0
Indiana, U.S.A.
I haven't really bought fish in several years. When I was stocking my 125 I wanted a large school of cardinal tetras in it but after buying 10, QT'ing them, only 3 lived. Purchased 10 more, once again, only 3 lived. This was about 3-4 years ago and I still have the original 6 but would love to bump the school up to about 20. I had discussed it with many people at the time and the info I got was this "They are all wild caught and therefore fragile. They never live long once they are shipped to stores"..now, I do not know how accurate this is..lol, but would like to know what kind of luck others have had with them. I never really noticed disease on the others, just started dying off. Is there any tricks with the QT that would help? Does anyone know of a good reliable source to purchase 20+ where they aren't nearly $5 a piece like there are in my LFS?

Thanks!!
 
In my opinion, it all depends on the supplier and your water chemistry.

If buying from a non-chain store, you might want to ask what kind of water chemistry they are keeping them in. (You could ask at a chain store too, but don't expect everyone to know since often times you will be helped by a random sales associate, not a dedicated fish department person). My Petsmart that I've gotten them from (when they have their $1 sales, I can't really afford a school of $4-5 fish) keeps their pH at 6.8, not because they want to but because that's what it ends up at since they are starting off with 7.0 pH city water.

My well water is 7.8 pH, I feel like that's why they have never done well for me. Of course, they probably aren't kept optimally at Petsmart either, definitely no QT period or anything, shared systems vs. individual air powered filtration...

It is a common misconception that wild caught fish can be acclimated to very different water chemistry than they are used to. Really, they can't. You need tank raised specimens that have been bred for generations in water more like the U.S., instead of the Amazon.

MG, if they are mostly tank raised now, how come they are still so expensive? Neons (all tank raised now, pretty much) are only $1-2 regular price.
 
Mgamer20o0 said:
there are a ton that are tank raised now. i have had thousands here with very few deaths. if you want a group of 20+ pm me.
Click to expand...

Awesome. PM sent.

Thanks all. I really don't think it was a matter of water chemistry or acclimation at the time. It did make me just give up on them but now knowing they are tank raised I have hope!!
Thanks again for the responses and help from everyone. It is much appreciated. I'm excited now to finally have a large school of them in my 125. I know they are a bit flashy but I like 'em! :D
 
I bought 13 two weeks ago and I have 10 left, the first one was damaged during being netted out of the lfs tank. The other two didn't look very well from day dot one, however the others have coloured up amazingly and look incredible. They are growing so fast too! I got some rummy nose four weeks ago and didn't loose a single one and they are also growing so fast so the cardinals do seem to be a lot more delicate in that respect, however, I recently noticed my rummys had ich and it hasnt affected the cardinals at all.....


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platytudes said:
In my opinion, it all depends on the supplier and your water chemistry.

If buying from a non-chain store, you might want to ask what kind of water chemistry they are keeping them in. (You could ask at a chain store too, but don't expect everyone to know since often times you will be helped by a random sales associate, not a dedicated fish department person). My Petsmart that I've gotten them from (when they have their $1 sales, I can't really afford a school of $4-5 fish) keeps their pH at 6.8, not because they want to but because that's what it ends up at since they are starting off with 7.0 pH city water.

My well water is 7.8 pH, I feel like that's why they have never done well for me. Of course, they probably aren't kept optimally at Petsmart either, definitely no QT period or anything, shared systems vs. individual air powered filtration...

It is a common misconception that wild caught fish can be acclimated to very different water chemistry than they are used to. Really, they can't. You need tank raised specimens that have been bred for generations in water more like the U.S., instead of the Amazon.

MG, if they are mostly tank raised now, how come they are still so expensive? Neons (all tank raised now, pretty much) are only $1-2 regular price.
Click to expand...

well i didnt use most. it has to do with supply and demand. 2 stories here.... had a friend in peru and the guy was showing him this cory saying how he gets $1-$2 for them which is a lot since most are cheaper then that its the air fair that tacts on a lot to the price of fish. asked if they were rare... no i have 10,000s of them... its because thats what i can get for them not that they are rare. cardinal tetras are also a renewable resource. very few of them make it past a year in the wild. they spawn in theend of the rainy season/start of the dry season. once the dry season its most are wiped out until the rain starts and the eggs hatch.

the tank raised ones also sell for a lot more. the one wholesaler here wants almost double for the tank raised ones.
 
Wow, thanks for sharing! I can't imagine anyone paying upwards of $7 or so for a cardinal tetra...but hey, you know what red cherry shrimp go for in some places :crazy:

I imagine you have spawned a bunch, keeping that kind of number...?
 
I've got about 18 or so in my 75 and they do really well. Surviving the first few days seems to be the rough part. Once they're happy I rarely lose one.
 
platytudes said:
Wow, thanks for sharing! I can't imagine anyone paying upwards of $7 or so for a cardinal tetra...but hey, you know what red cherry shrimp go for in some places :crazy:

I imagine you have spawned a bunch, keeping that kind of number...?
Click to expand...
i cant keep up. i try to breed them but sell them too fast. i am often importing large numbers to help me keep up.
 
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