Cardinal Tetra

You may have bought home a Neon tetra, the same fish that has a red stripe running through half its body length (in picture). If you have enjoyed this member of your fish tank, you will love its cousin, the cardinal tetra. This fish is a peace-loving, freshwater fish. It is great for a community tank and will add delicate beauty to your fish tank. As they have a somewhat family resemblance to the neon tetra, many people get confused between the two. It can be differentiated from its cousin with the help of the lower body length red coloration. This bright red color of the lower body gives it its name. The neon tetra fish on the other hand, has red coloration that extends just halfway to its nose, and the blue stripe is less vibrant in color. If you are thinking of bringing home this fish, then you need to understand the requirements for its care.

Caring for the Fish

These fish are a beauty, but less popular than the neon tetra. The reason being they are said to be hard to breed in captivity. Also, these aquarium fish are an annual species that have a life span of about 1 year. This is true for fish that live in their natural habitat. Fish will live on for several years when bred in captivity. Let us go through some easy pointers that will help you with proper care.

It is about 3 to 5 centimeters in length. They need an aquarium tank that is no more than 20 liters (5 gallons) in size. They are top and mid dwellers and live peacefully in community tanks. They are omnivorous in nature and will eat most food types like flake food. You can feed your tetra with freeze-dried bloodworms, tubifex, brine shrimp, daphnia, etc. The water temperature should be about 73 to 81 C or a bit higher. The water pH should be maintained at about 4.6 to 6.2. These fish can adapt to hard water and even alkaline water pH. However, this will make the fish more sensitive to change. You should provide a lot of plants along the tank borders. The fish needs a lot of open space to swim in the center of the tank. You should not bring home a single cardinal as these fish love swimming in schools. You should bring home at least 10 fish that boost the spirit of one shy individual.

If you are thinking of breeding your fish, then you need to exert some extra care. It is difficult to breed them in captivity. However, you can try by feeding them live food. Even if the fish do spawn, the death rates are really high among fry. A female will lay about 500 eggs in a single spawning. Once the eggs are laid, it will be a better idea to separate the adults from the eggs. This is because the adults have a tendency of eating up the eggs. The fry should be given very tiny bits of food as they are miniature in size. You can feed them newly hatched brine shrimp.

Diseases that affect the fish includes the white spot disease, Ich. This is a common parasite affecting aquarium fish Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. When kept under good and favorable conditions, they becomes resistant to many diseases. However, they are also prone to many intestinal parasite diseases.

It is a docile fish that will mind its own business in a tank. They are small in size and therefore should be kept with similar sized, docile fish. They tend to get eaten up by other large fish, so be careful about their tank mates. Cardinal tetra may cost more than the neon tetra. This is because they are hard to breed in captivity and most of them are captured from the natural habitat. They are commonly seen inhabiting the bank of Rio Negro in Brazil. These are beautiful fish that will add a delicate streak to your tank. I am sure you will love them as tank mates for your community fish.