Neon/Cardinal tetras
- Thread starter Twinbot
- Start date
heh um should this be in the rate my tank section?
As for the tetras...they are a little more picky with water conditions than some fish...but overall the rules with ph stay the same. If your ph isn't incredibly hard, the fish will adjust to your ph and live happily in it. Fluxuations in ph are liable to kill them faster than anything else...
If you're trying to breed them (not just keep them alive) then they do require soft/acetic water.
having them all die in a week must have sucked...what kind of conditions did you have them in? (tank size, ph, chemicals, other fish etc) Apparantly something didn't agree with them
As for the tetras...they are a little more picky with water conditions than some fish...but overall the rules with ph stay the same. If your ph isn't incredibly hard, the fish will adjust to your ph and live happily in it. Fluxuations in ph are liable to kill them faster than anything else...
If you're trying to breed them (not just keep them alive) then they do require soft/acetic water.
having them all die in a week must have sucked...what kind of conditions did you have them in? (tank size, ph, chemicals, other fish etc) Apparantly something didn't agree with them
Everything was as normal as they could be. The tank was over 3 years old, with at least three of the locals already as old as the tank. They just began dieing off one by one. At the time I had three green cories, four white-skirt tetras, three rosey barbs, two gold barbs and a red-tailed shark. Other than my heater going nuts which killed all but one of the barbs last month, everything is/was hunky-dory.
i have seen the same cardinals in the display tank at FISH for a long time now i don't think it was water hardness.i've also had my school of neons for a years and other that than the occasionaly die off they look fine.when you go to buy neon/cardinals try to check the school for about a week.i have seen some that die en mass within two days and i have seen a whole shipment with maybe 50 losses out of a thousand fish.
so what lfs did you get this info from anyways?i can't see any way to soften the water here ona cost efective level,so i don't know why they would tell you something dumb like that.anyways i you did soften your water then how are you supposed to add more fish?that would be some wicked ph shock unless you took a looong time to acclimate.
so what lfs did you get this info from anyways?i can't see any way to soften the water here ona cost efective level,so i don't know why they would tell you something dumb like that.anyways i you did soften your water then how are you supposed to add more fish?that would be some wicked ph shock unless you took a looong time to acclimate.
I bought them at Petland, which has a good and seemingly well-maintained selection. But, lately, their employees are getting younger and dumber (last guy I talked to was completely clueless about the fish dept.).
FISH didn't know what happened either. I'm hoping it was just a bad batch. Now that I've got a quarantine/standing-water tank, I'll just toss 'em in it for a while and hold onto the receipt.
By the way, what do you know about pot-bellied mollies/platies? I've seem some lately at Petsmart and Petco. I'm wondering if they're some sort of doomed cross-breeding experiment or a legitimate line. They look kind of cool ... almost like a midget oranda goldfish.
FISH didn't know what happened either. I'm hoping it was just a bad batch. Now that I've got a quarantine/standing-water tank, I'll just toss 'em in it for a while and hold onto the receipt.
By the way, what do you know about pot-bellied mollies/platies? I've seem some lately at Petsmart and Petco. I'm wondering if they're some sort of doomed cross-breeding experiment or a legitimate line. They look kind of cool ... almost like a midget oranda goldfish.
i don't like the ballon/pot belly mollies as much as the standard,the ballon is a deformity that has been breed out for show and i find it interfers with the fish and their normal fiunctions plus regulag mollies look more regal and commanding not like the ballons wich always have this pathetic look to them IMO.
make sure when you buy them that none of them have any pale patches, this could indicate neon tetra disease (NTD) which rapidly infects and kills off entire neon populations. i've had it happen to me a few times throughout my 10year experience but i've got one (looking after it temporarily for a friend) and i just tested my ph and it was at 8+ (argh) but it was fine and happy.
did any of the neons show any signs of illness at all twinbot?
just try to keep their parameters stable as they are sensitive to water changes, try to get the same kh, dh, ph and temperature when adding fresh water.
goodluck.
did any of the neons show any signs of illness at all twinbot?
just try to keep their parameters stable as they are sensitive to water changes, try to get the same kh, dh, ph and temperature when adding fresh water.
goodluck.
I Know what you meant by petland, they're just getting lame every time I pay a visit to their fish department, the first time I went there, they had incredibly wonderful marine tank, and last time ( 1 or 2 months ago) they don't have it anymore, I don't know what happenned, I don't bother to ask anyway, judging from their limited knowledge. I would say that hardness is not necessarily important in keeping cardinal tetra, My GH is around 8 to 9 and KH is around 3), as long as they are acclimated well they will adapt to whatever hardness you water is, things that will make this fish thrive is completely cycled (no ammonia or nitrite) tank, low ph preferable, can't tolerate big ph swing, they'll surely die. they need to be acclimated every time you transfer the to another tank, and since they are little fish, they are prone to ich, so becarful when changing water, use the same temp water or warmer. if there is a sign that they are dying (gasping of the water, floating aimlessly, discolouring, etc..), try some AQ salt, it works for when the first time I try to keep this fish.My Gallery
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Neons and cardinals have very different sources that you need to remember to keep them alive. First of all remember they both sometimes come in batches that are doomed - I bought my cardinals in 2 groups - all except 1 of the first dies, all except one of the second lived, in exactly the same conditions. Also , try to buy ones that aren't too small - some I see can't be more than 6 weeks old, and these always struggle.
Cardinals - still largely wild caught - pluses - they're pretty tough, and have seen/survived lots of dieseases, no chance of inbreeding. Definitely prefer higher temperatures, soft acidic, water, but can be acclimated to 'normal' conditions. High kH and pH are associated with long term health problems and no chance of breeding. Caught from drying up pools in the forest, then stored in vats till they're sent out as an order, this means you could be getting fish that are over a year old.
Neons - farmed. Better adapted to 'normal' kH, pH BUT typically they're heavily dosed with antibiotics. Problems arise when they hit your tank with a deficient immune system. Also some chance of inbreeding. Do better at temps in the mid 70's. Typically sold at a very young age.
For my money I go cardinals everytime, and the larger , the better.
Cardinals - still largely wild caught - pluses - they're pretty tough, and have seen/survived lots of dieseases, no chance of inbreeding. Definitely prefer higher temperatures, soft acidic, water, but can be acclimated to 'normal' conditions. High kH and pH are associated with long term health problems and no chance of breeding. Caught from drying up pools in the forest, then stored in vats till they're sent out as an order, this means you could be getting fish that are over a year old.
Neons - farmed. Better adapted to 'normal' kH, pH BUT typically they're heavily dosed with antibiotics. Problems arise when they hit your tank with a deficient immune system. Also some chance of inbreeding. Do better at temps in the mid 70's. Typically sold at a very young age.
For my money I go cardinals everytime, and the larger , the better.
you should find out what the water parameters are from the place you buy the fish and then compare them to yours. If they are radically different then youre going to have problems but if not then i recommened doing the 1 week of watching thing to see if they come up with any diseases or sudden multiple deaths. Remember to slowly - very slowly add them to your tank. The longer the better. Hope all goes well with this lot.
Yah but when you get cardinals that survive they look awesome! I have kept both for years, always have the occasional death (from age I hope!), but both seem pretty sturdy if you are careful.
Like it has been said, acclimate very slowly and most of them should be okay. The seasonal thing is pretty accurate, so try to find a LFS that keeps the cardinals separate and treats them better. They tend to have a better chance at surviving the change.
Have fun!
Like it has been said, acclimate very slowly and most of them should be okay. The seasonal thing is pretty accurate, so try to find a LFS that keeps the cardinals separate and treats them better. They tend to have a better chance at surviving the change.
Have fun!
In my experience with both of these species is acclimation. If you take from an hour to like an hour and a half to acclimate them to the tank they should be fine. Pour in a little bit of tank water to the bag they came in every couple of minutes until the volume of water doubles. Then give them a little while longer, and net them and put them in the tank. This has worked flawlessly for me, since I've started doin this I haven't lost a fish.