tips for cardinal tetras please!

[discuspaul]

Have you looked up the term 'semi-weekly' as well?
There is no doubt as to the definition of that term.

The term bi-weekly has generally been accepted by the academic domain as meaning once every two weeks, and if any particular dictionary qualifies that by offering 2 distinctly different definitions of that term, it is no doubt due to the fact that many people in many parts of the english-speaking world today erroneously interpret it to mean twice in a one week period.
That's my take on this matter.

 

[dereks]

Bi-weekly is an erroneous term as it could mean twice a week or every other week, so that needs some clarification. You should check the pH coming out of the tap. I believe that one should pick fish based on the characteristics of the available water; it'll cause much less stress and both the fish and the owner. Fighting the pH can become too great a battle to keep up with. If you have hard water with a high pH, then maybe you should consider african cichlids or other varieties that thrive in high pH water. If you're set on cardinal tetras, then you should find out the water parameters (pH, hardness, etc.) of the water that they're kept in at the store. They may already be adapted to a pH similar to yours and putting them in low pH water may do more harm than good. If they are adapted to a low pH, then gradually increasing the pH to that of your tap water is a good idea.

By "bi-weekly" I mean twice a week, not sure if I'm using it correctly or not.

I also probably should have worded my post differently, I plan on buying RO water, not "altering" the PH of the tap.

I'm assuming if I'm buying from breeders they're already in soft water, don't they need soft water to breed them? Then that way I would just acclimate them with less stress.

 

[dereks]

Why are my threads getting separated into different pages?

 

[funkman262]

Try just asking the breeder for the water characteristics that they're being raised in. I don't know anything about breeding them so you may be right about them being bred in soft acidic water, but the breeder may not keep them under those conditions after they've become a certain size. If they are being kept in soft acidic water, they yes, duplicating that environment to start with then slowly acclimating them to your tap should work fine.

 

[dereks]

Well I'm going to use the RO water because they keep dying in my tap water. No sense in trying the same thing again. Something is stressing them out.

 

[Star_Rider]

Dereks,
Cardinal Tetra's are usually associated with difficult fish.
it is correct the species does come from very 'clean' acidic water..very low TDS.
They are commonly found in waters that support Discus and Altum Angels.

That said,it is difficult to determine if the LFS where you get them has had them long enough to get them acclimated properly to their water. Inappropriate water conditions do not always translate to a quick death for the fish.
it would be nice to know if the fish are captive bred or wild caught.
using RO to compensate for your tap may be the correct way to go.
I can safely state that , when I recieved my Altums(wild caught) they came from a pH similar to mine(importer) but wild caught Altum are notoriously prone to bacterial infections(columnaris) and lowering the pH is a typical way to get the Altums in a more friendly water for the fish and less so friendly for bacteria.
oveer time I am slowly raising the pH giving the Altum time to beef up their immune system and adapt.if the cardinal are wild caught this same method may prove beneficial.

Good luck
BTW, if you are planning to do 2X week water changes you may want to consider a tub or containers for 'aged' water

 

[discuspaul]

Great post and good advice !

Dereks,
Cardinal Tetra's are usually associated with difficult fish.
it is correct the species does come from very 'clean' acidic water..very low TDS.
They are commonly found in waters that support Discus and Altum Angels.

That said,it is difficult to determine if the LFS where you get them has had them long enough to get them acclimated properly to their water. Inappropriate water conditions do not always translate to a quick death for the fish.
it would be nice to know if the fish are captive bred or wild caught.
using RO to compensate for your tap may be the correct way to go.
I can safely state that , when I recieved my Altums(wild caught) they came from a pH similar to mine(importer) but wild caught Altum are notoriously prone to bacterial infections(columnaris) and lowering the pH is a typical way to get the Altums in a more friendly water for the fish and less so friendly for bacteria.
oveer time I am slowly raising the pH giving the Altum time to beef up their immune system and adapt.if the cardinal are wild caught this same method may prove beneficial.

Good luck
BTW, if you are planning to do 2X week water changes you may want to consider a tub or containers for 'aged' water

 

[funkman262]

That said,it is difficult to determine if the LFS where you get them has had them long enough to get them acclimated properly to their water. Inappropriate water conditions do not always translate to a quick death for the fish.
it would be nice to know if the fish are captive bred or wild caught.

I would assume the fish are captive bred and fully acclimated to whatever water they're in since the OP said he'd be getting them directly from the breeder.

 

[Star_Rider]

I would assume the fish are captive bred and fully acclimated to whatever water they're in since the OP said he'd be getting them directly from the breeder.

depends on the breeder..some also bring in wild stock to add to the mix. Many breeders will import stock while still breeding their domestic fish and often sell fish they do not plan on keeping . still others add some wild fish to sell to help support the business while supplying stock for folks who have difficulties finding wild stock.I have seen this in particular with Discus and Angel breeders.

That said, the breeder should be able to supply the needed information.

 

[yonderway]

The old trick of putting a bag of peat in your filter still works. Or a layer of it beneath the gravel. Either way you end up with "blackwater".

I've never understood the aquarists' fascination with RO water when nature gives us plenty of good water for free from the sky. Is a rain barrel an option for you?