Cardinals

[sanj]

I just bought 13, the LFS receive them from their supplier acclimatized to our coventry water which is quite hard.

Well I have read mixed information some saying they are hardier than neons,

My water is Ph 7.0, Kh 7.0, GH 14

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0

Any thoughts/advice?

 

[ryan]

Neons have been so inbreed for ease to satisfy the commercail demand that their ability to combat diseases etc has been lowered. However, Cardinals are still wild caught so IMO are hardier than the commercailly breed neons.

 

[sanj]

so do you think they are adaptable to harder water?

i.e mine ?

 

[Heyjeyniceid]

yes.

We sell Neons at my store and theyre swimming in water that is extremely hard and high PH. All Arizona water is like that. The neons do fine until people take them home.

Ive seen Cardinals at other fish stores and seem to do quite fine as well.

I dont know about other people, but it seems to me that alot of folks make too big a deal out of PH and Hardness. I figure, as long as the Ammonia and Nitrate lvls are low and you put the fish in the same water conditions as the stores(reputable one), everything should be ok.

 

[mrV]

If you think that pH or GH aren't so important factors, how do you explain that fishes are much often sick when their are kept in wrong water? And what about fish physiology?

Sure, they are kept in different kind of water in stores. But, they are kept only short time in those stores -rest of their lives they live with new owner. Do you want to keep them in water where they need energy to evenly osmotic pressure or to keep them in water where osmotic pressure is ok and fishes don't need to extra energy to keep o-pressure good. When it takes more energy to survive in e.g. wrong osmotic pressure, the energy is taken from somewhere else, e.g. from fish health. Soft/acid water fishes can tolerate better harder water than basic/hard water fishes can tolerate soft/acid water.

And what comes in breeding... How many years, decades and generations it takes that you have breeded a fish that can tolerate different water than it's great-great...-great-great parents? And how do you managed to do that? Changing osmotic pressure just a little units-by-units when new generation is born? And avoiding in-breeding you need lots of different generation. It's a big question to where I haven't found an answer yet..

So, it's much easier to hobbiest (and fishes are heath too) to choose fishes that can tolerate easily water that you have. Then you don't need to make any changes to water either, softening or hardening etc...

 

[sanj]

I dont think I am going to play around with chmistry too, much because then there is the potential to upset a whole chain of factors.

The only think in that sphere is the use of Co2, at the moment I am using three basic yeast type JBLbio Co3, but will upgrade to a more sophisitcated sytem (pressure cylinders), but they cost a bomb!!.

The co2 will be maintained around ph 7.0. like now and so kH should reduce to 6-7 although i do not think Gh is afftected much by co2???

I just hope these guys will be ok, they seem so at the moment.


So far I get the idea from you guys think they are adaptable to a degree at least?
Thing about cardinals is that they are mostly wild caught, but these had been in the lfs for two weeks or s oand are healthy and they seem so at the momentin my aquarium, the only thing i havent seen them eat yet, but they are fairly new.