Cardinal And Rummy Nose Tetra

[Beemeeup]

After one year of tropical fish hobbie, two days ago i have introduced to my community tank 6 cardinal tera and four rummy nose tera
Although i put flakes into the tank they do not seem to feed like the other fish (platies, gourami, rainbow).

As they do not feed on the bottom, is this common for these new fish or is there a special food they need.

Perhaps they are frightened by the other fish. They are not being chased and seem happy swimming about.

Im disappointed now that i did not do my homework as the internet sites say these fish do not like water changes - i do 50% a week so buying these fish may have been a mistake.
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[Kevstir]

My rummys were exactly the same m8, took them about a week to adjust and now there greedy wee buggers lol

My cardinals are another story, apart from blood worms they just don't seem to be interested in anything i put in the tank, i feed terta prima mini granuals, hikari mini granuals and nutrafin flake without success , there not skinny so they must be getting food but i never see them feeding apart from when i feed bloodworms..

Kev

 

[wolfwolf]

After one year of tropical fish hobbie, two days ago i have introduced to my community tank 6 cardinal tera and four rummy nose tera
Although i put flakes into the tank they do not seem to feed like the other fish (platies, gourami, rainbow).

As they do not feed on the bottom, is this common for these new fish or is there a special food they need.

Perhaps they are frightened by the other fish. They are not being chased and seem happy swimming about.

Im disappointed now that i did not do my homework as the internet sites say these fish do not like water changes - i do 50% a week so buying these fish may have been a mistake.
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I have done research myself. I have never seen a site that claimed these fish don't like water changes. That being said my cardinals lasted less than 2 weeks in my tank and ended up with ich. They only ever ate when the flake food was drifting towards the bottom of the tank. I never saw them eat from the surface or the bottom of the tank.

 

[Spooky76]

Ditto. My cardinals / neons / rummys never feed from the top. I crush tetra pro veggie crisps when I add them, which eventually work their way down, then they feed on them, but they dont eat alot...but been alive in my tank over 12months so they must eat at some point.

As for water changes I would NOT agree with that. I have had problems with Rummy nose, I killed more than I have in now. But I do regular 20% water changes and havent lost any neons / cardinals for a long time.

We all use neons at the start, but they arent a very hardy fish really, red eyes etc are a more hardy fish.

I would stick to water changes though.

 

[Silverlady]

Hi Beemeeup, I have Cardinal's and Rummy noses in different tanks. The Rummy's drove me up the wall when i introduced them, as all they did for about 2 weeks was swim from one end of the tank to the other, over and over again. Now they have settled they swim all over the tank, they are the first to eat the food ( Tetra Flake. Prima and Nutrefin Flake ) also they eat off the tank floor a lot.
My Cardinal's can be seen to eat once they have settled in. Although the first lot i had were never seen to eat, but as the didn't die , after two weeks or so i stopped worrying. Carol.

 

[Beemeeup]

Thanks everyone for your experiences - very grateful

 

[Kribster]

ha, uve never met my tetras then. i have a mixed shoal of 10 neons/cardinals, and they push the guppies out of the way to get to the food - on the surface. honstly, its like watching one of those pirhana movies, minus the blood/ketchup.
Still, now i have a morgunda the whole pecking order has changed lol.


K

 

[juwelfan]

Both my Rummy nose and Cardinals feed on flakes. The Cardinals took a few days to 'feel at home', now they are among the first to the top for the flakes.

Maybe yours are fussy, have you thought about feeding them with silver knife and forks and bone china plates?