Cardinal Or Neon

[Rorie]

Hi,

So i have 3 cardinals and 3 neons. I know the difference in what they look like, but i was hoping for some more info...

I am soon going to have my 360L tank set up, and i am thining about just sticking to either Neons, or Cadinals, in a big school....but which one?

From what i understand, Cardinals tend to be more expensive....£2 compared to about £1.20?

Cardinals are more difficult to keep as they are a bit more demanding about water conditions?

Cardinals (IMO) are much better looking!

Are they the same size when fully grown?

What other things should i know?

Thanks

 

[Thedoctor]

I'm sure Cardinals are a bit larger when fully grown.

But if you going to commit to a larger tank you should defo commit to the fish you actually want. So go with Cardinals...they are much much prettier. I have both Neons and Cardinals.

I think them being hard to care for is a myth. Just add water.

 

[nmonks]

Neons and cardinals are very different.

Neons are somewhat more tolerant of hard water, and can thrive up to about 15 degrees dH; cardinals rarely do well above 10 degrees dH.

On the other hand, neons need cooler water, 22-24 C, whereas cardinals need to be kept much warmer, 26-28 C. There's no real middle ground here, so you either have neons or you have cardinals; you can't really keep both. Note that many fish share the same preference for cool water: danios, platies, Corydoras, whiptails, black phantom tetras, among others, so neons are ideal tankmates for these.

Cardinals tend to be hardier, assuming soft water. They rarely catch neon tetra disease, and being wild-caught rather than farmed, the quality of stock offered is much, much better. Cheap neons are not worth buying, in my opinion.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Rorie]

Thanks for the replies

I have a community tank with most of the fish you mentioned (dannios and the like) and my Cardinals have been doing great! The Neons have just been added, but as they require similar conditions to the rest, i figured they'd be fine. I guess this shows that cardinals are pretty happy with water a little cooler than that stated online.

The new aquarium is going to be a planted one, so i know already that the water is going to be a bit softer than what it is just now. I think i'll end up with Cardinals, though they are not stocked as much as neons. but as i'll be getting about 80 of them (we'll see how the stocking goes) i am sure i can sweet talk them into getting stock!

 

[nmonks]

There's a difference between "happy now" and "living for 4-5 years". I'm glad they're settling in nicely, but do please review the needs of these fish -- their requirements are very well understood now, and most failures with cardinals come down to keeping them either too cold or in water that is too hard.

Cheers, Neale

 

[james_fish]

I've also found Cardinal's to be more expensive usually £2 a piece like you said.

But i've got a shoal in a South American setup and they look gorgeus. I also have a smaller shoal of Neon's in a different tank which are nice, but personally prefer the Cardinal's

Either way, each Tetra would look brilliant in a nice big shoal.

James