# alternative to cardinal tetras



## deadlus3d (8 Aug 2020)

Hello,

Does anyone have any suggestion for a colorful
alternative to cardinal tetras that is hardier?
Are lemon or black tetra any better?

Regards


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## Zeus. (8 Aug 2020)

Green Neon Tetras, they are cheap colourful and dont get as big  as the  cardinal so make your scape look bigger


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## Conort2 (8 Aug 2020)

deadlus3d said:


> Hello,
> 
> Does anyone have any suggestion for a colorful
> alternative to cardinal tetras that is hardier?
> ...


Lemon tetras are a good choice, very hardy. Another good one are black neons, not sure if that’s what you mean when you say black tetras? Cardinals should be pretty hardy however I believe they do prefer water that is abit softer.

Cheers

Conor


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## deadlus3d (8 Aug 2020)

lost them all to itch


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## sparkyweasel (8 Aug 2020)

deadlus3d said:


> lost them all to itch


Sorry to hear that. I saw your other thread abut the white spot.
You might think about an alternative supplier instead of (or as well as) an alternative fish.


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## Conort2 (8 Aug 2020)

deadlus3d said:


> lost them all to itch


That’s a shame, try and find a supplier that quarantines if yours doesn’t already. Cardinals can come in a bit fragile but should be pretty hardy fish once settled. They’re a fish that prefers softer water however I’m sure there are plenty of members on here that keep them in harder water no problem.

Cheers

Conor


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## sparkyweasel (8 Aug 2020)

Yes, they can be healthy and long-lived with (at least) 17°DH tapwater. Another advantage of quarantined fish is that the dealer will have acclimatised them to tapwater, and  if the shop is local it will be the same as your tapwater.
If you post what region you live in some-one might be able to recommend a shop in your neck of the woods.


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## alto (9 Aug 2020)

Zeus. said:


> Green Neon Tetras, they are *cheap* colourful and dont get as big  as the  cardinal so make your scape look bigger


I wish!
Locally, even tiny P simulans are 2-3X the going rate for Cardinals - and they often have poor _Ichthyophthirius_ _multifiliis_  survival rates 
(I lost 2 substantial groups - that came in harbouring parasite (they went into clean quarantine tanks etc) - both groups went from no visible ich spots, to “infested”, treatment started, poor response, went through various treatment options ... disease progress slowed but fish did not recover, instead new deaths every few days: after 90% mortality, I euthanized the remaining fish)

Black neons are definitely a more sturdy fish than many other species, but ich must be treated as soon as possible (even when fish display only a few spots, internal parasite levels are very high)

If these fish were in your main tank (vs a quarantine tank that can easily be broken down, sterilized, reset), I recommend waiting 4-6weeks before re-introducing  new fish


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## Driftless (9 Aug 2020)

At least in the US almost all of Cardinals are wild-caught while almost all of the Neons are tank-bred.  I have only 5 Greens and at some point, I will purchase more; I have them in a 60cm tank with Embers and shrimp.  Love them, they appear to be hardy.


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## Driftless (9 Aug 2020)

Post-Script: I would not overlook Red Beckford's Pencilfish.


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## Luketendo (9 Aug 2020)

Had green neons before and they were good. Had tried cardinals and had the ich problem if I recall correctly. Getting cardinals again this week so fingers crossed.

Pencilfish prone to jumping I think if you have open top.


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## jacquieb (9 Aug 2020)

From my experience of South Downs's hard water, for hardiness and easy of keeping I can recommend Lemon tetras, Harlequin rasboras (they might look like nothing in the shop but they have a beautiful shimmery copper when kept well) and Neon Dwarf rainbowfish.


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## Melll (9 Aug 2020)

deadlus3d said:


> lost them all to itch




That is a shame, did you lose all the fish in your tank or just the new ones you bought?


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## Luketendo (9 Aug 2020)

jacquieb said:


> From my experience of South Downs's hard water, for hardiness and easy of keeping I can recommend Lemon tetras, Harlequin rasboras (they might look like nothing in the shop but they have a beautiful shimmery copper when kept well) and Neon Dwarf rainbowfish.


Have to agree used to live in the same area and Harlequins liked the water.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk


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## Conort2 (9 Aug 2020)

Driftless said:


> At least in the US almost all of Cardinals are wild-caught while almost all of the Neons are tank-bred.  I have only 5 Greens and at some point, I will purchase more; I have them in a 60cm tank with Embers and shrimp.  Love them, they appear to be hardy.


You might be getting green neons mixed up with normal neon tetras. As far as I know all green neons are wild caught with a lot of cardinals also being wild caught. I think in Europe we also get a few tank bred cardinals from the Czech Republic and the Far East. 

A lot of people mention green neons being hardier which is strange as they seem to be more specialised than cardinals. In the wild they’re found in really warm acidic water where most other fish couldn’t survive, maybe this is more out necessity than choice which may be why they are more hardier?

Cheers

Conor


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## Luketendo (9 Aug 2020)

Conort2 said:


> You might be getting green neons mixed up with normal neon tetras. As far as I know all green neons are wild caught with a lot of cardinals also being wild caught. I think in Europe we also get a few tank bred cardinals from the Czech Republic and the Far East.
> 
> A lot of people mention green neons being hardier which is strange as they seem to be more specialised than cardinals. In the wild they’re found in really warm acidic water where most other fish couldn’t survive, maybe this is more out necessity than choice which may be why they are more hardier?
> 
> ...


Yeah green neons seemed to go ok for me in moderately hard water. 

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## deadlus3d (9 Aug 2020)

thanks for all the responses.
lost all cardinals to white spot. the treatment i got from pets at home failed so i am now treating the tank with king british ws3. i am a little bit worried how my corys and catfish will react to this treatment. so far these fish don't seem to have white spot but i am treating them anyway.

so i was after a sturdy colorful alternative to the cardinals.


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## deadlus3d (9 Aug 2020)

sparkyweasel said:


> Yes, they can be healthy and long-lived with (at least) 17°DH tapwater. Another advantage of quarantined fish is that the dealer will have acclimatised them to tapwater, and  if the shop is local it will be the same as your tapwater.
> If you post what region you live in some-one might be able to recommend a shop in your neck of the woods.



hi i live in manchester


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## Onoma1 (9 Aug 2020)

Tropco were selling tank bred Green Neons. Lovely fish but quite skittish.  Dwarf Pencils are always out and about, very calm and so far mine haven't jumped! Purple Emperor Tetras may be worth a look.  They are always foraging, fearless and have lots of 'personality'. They are not, however, shrimp safe.
 TA Aquaculture have some lovely rare micro Tetras in stock. They weren't able to deliver for me because of problems with APC (their courier). They may have resolved these problems now.


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## Onoma1 (9 Aug 2020)

deadlus3d said:


> hi i live in manchester



The Abyss seem to have good quality fish and seem to know what they are doing. Have you tried them?


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## Luketendo (9 Aug 2020)

Onoma1 said:


> Tropco were selling tank bred Green Neons. Lovely fish but quite skittish. Dwarf Pencils are always out and about, very calm and so far mine haven't jumped! Purple Emperor Tetras may be worth a look. They are always foraging, fearless and have lots of 'personality'. They are not, however, shrimp safe.
> TA Aquaculture have some lovely rare micro Tetras in stock. They weren't able to deliver for me because of problems with APC (their courier). They may have resolved these problems now.


I have the emperor's no problem with NQ Algae Shrimp, which like Amano's don't breed well in fresh water. They are quite aggressive against each other but nothing life threatening. This will also chase my ember tetras but again not serious.

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## Conort2 (9 Aug 2020)

deadlus3d said:


> thanks for all the responses.
> lost all cardinals to white spot. the treatment i got from pets at home failed so i am now treating the tank with king british ws3. i am a little bit worried how my corys and catfish will react to this treatment. so far these fish don't seem to have white spot but i am treating them anyway.
> 
> so i was after a sturdy colorful alternative to the cardinals.


Did you get the fish from pets at home too? They’re not the best when it comes to healthy livestock.


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## deadlus3d (9 Aug 2020)

Conort2 said:


> Did you get the fish from pets at home too? They’re not the best when it comes to healthy livestock.



got fish from another store in manchester.
i sudpect tne white ich came from some plants i ordered via ebay.


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## Melll (9 Aug 2020)

deadlus3d said:


> i sudpect tne white ich came from some plants i ordered via ebay.




A good reason to quarantine new plants as well unless you know for sure they have not been kept with fish/livestock.   Give @Aquarium Gardens a go for plants, I have only ever had healthy, clean plants from them.


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