Cardinal Tetra's

[Jay1983]

Hi!

How many Cardinals could I stock in a 70l tank? I will be transferring my Tiger Barbs to their new 100l tank and would love to get some Cardinal Tetra's in place of the Barbs. Also any specific advice on this stunning fish! thanks

Jay

 

[KittyKat]

What are the dimensions? Probably 10 would be a good start, if the tank is at least 2 ft long.

 

[leviethan]

kat's right, about 10 to start, then build from there. could easily have 30+ if it is a species only tank.

 

[Humanist]

Cardinals are an excellent choice. Mine play a game which I call 'the bubble game'. I have an airstone at the centre back of my tank, and every now and again they line up on one side of the bubbles, then cross through them one at a time. Sometimes they are lifted almost to the surface by the bubbles, sometimes not. When they get through, they wait at the other side until all of them are through, then do it again the other way. I would never have believed that these little fish would play in this way, but they do. It is a joy to see!

 

[Rynofasho]

Remember - be sure you have an adequate level of bacteria in your filter. Not sure how many barbs you have in there now, and I'm sure theyre messier than Cardinals, but if you only had like 4 barbs and are going to tetras, to be safe I wouldn't introduce all 10 in one purchase. Buy 6, wait a week, buy 4.

 

[Jay1983]

hi thanks for the replys yeah its 2 foot long.... had 7 barbs in it for about 2 months plenty of good bacteria....will get 10 on weekend then cheers and it will be just the Cardinals and 6 peppered corys which i'm going to eventually move to another tank.

Jay

 

[KittyKat]

Because there were only 7 barbs in the tank, I would recommend 6 fish this weekend and 4 again next weekend. Also, if the barbs have been out of the tank, then the bacteria area already dying back.

To be honest, I would personally prefer to have neons for a 2 ft tank, but apparently they can be a bit unhealthy sometimes.

 

[Jay1983]

Hi Kat have heard Neons can be a bit funny... everywhere i've read seems to say Cardinals will be ok in a 70l do you think there will be a problem!?

Jay

 

[Jay1983]

oh sorry and I haven't moved the Barbs yet will be doing that tomorrow also

Jay

 

[KittyKat]

Hi Kat have heard Neons can be a bit funny... everywhere i've read seems to say Cardinals will be ok in a 70l do you think there will be a problem!?

Well.. I've found both to be equally funny/ok.. they just have different quirks. I think 2ft is on the sort side for them, some people think it is ok.. you need to make up your own mind

oh sorry and I haven't moved the Barbs yet will be doing that tomorrow also

Best to move them only on the day you get the replacement fish!

 

[Jay1983]

Thanks again Kay yeah I will move the tigers then get the Cardinals the shop is only 15 minutes away. If it's a case of them not having enough room I wont bother... I don't want them to be unhappy. Its a 70l with a fluval 105 external filter and I do almost daily 10l water changes.

Jay

 

[Jay1983]

Kat* sorry

 

[KittyKat]

Thanks again Kay yeah I will move the tigers then get the Cardinals the shop is only 15 minutes away. If it's a case of them not having enough room I wont bother... I don't want them to be unhappy. Its a 70l with a fluval 105 external filter and I do almost daily 10l water changes.

Well.. like I say, it is down to personal preference: I once recommended them to a friend with a 2 ft tank (slightly shorter than yours), but after seeing them grow in that, I would not recommend again. I would, on the other hand, recommend ember or ruby tetras, Boraras, dwarf danios.

 

[Jay1983]

Thanks aagain for the reply... maybe I could try them and see how they go? if it doesn't work out I could maybe upgrade... do they show signs of stress/unhappiness? kinda had my heart set on these fellows!

Jay

 

[KittyKat]

Thanks aagain for the reply... maybe I could try them and see how they go? if it doesn't work out I could maybe upgrade... do they show signs of stress/unhappiness? kinda had my heart set on these fellows!

Of course you can try, especially so if you can upgrade.

Keep in mind that this is comparing fish which are currently alive to ones which were 5-10 years ago: they're not as large or healthy looking as the ones I used to keep in a 4 ft tank and they tend to hover in a group, instead of swim about in a school.