What Food To Get The Best Colours Out Of Neon/cardinal Tetras?

[ey2006]

I'm just wondering if there are any foods out there that can be fed to neons and cardinals so as to get their best colours?

I noticed at many LFS, the cardinals/neons they sell have much duller colours compared to the cardinals/neons they have in their display tanks.

Would I be able to get the bright and sharp colours by just feeding them a balanced diet and wait a few months after getting them? I read somewhere that after a few months, their best colours will naturally come.

 

[Neal]

Mine seem like a nice colour, I feed them a range of floating pellets, blood worms, tropical flakes and sea monkeys. They gobble them up quickly, so I take it they enjoy it too!
All these foods are easy to find and inexpensive!
Neal

 

[Dorkhedeos]

i just feed them live blackworms and they are a nice neon blue and crimson color

 

[blitztidus]

I really don't think it matters. I had some and their color never changed, even if I changed their diet.

 

[ey2006]

Thanks for the replies. It appears that for some cardinals, it may be a matter of waiting a few months and letting the cardinals setting into your tank, before their best colours come out.

 

[civicr]

my cardinals are the same sum days they look more brighter than other,i guess its about how much they are stresses,i hav 4cardinals an 10 neon tetras they all scholl together or do u think if i get a few more cardianls they will scholl in there of breed?but at £2.50 a cardinal i find this a bit pricey lol

 

[Dorkhedeos]

i think neons and cardinals will school together

 

[IovaykInD]

The neons or cardinals in pet stores were probably under a lot of stress. Their display tanks have nice cardinals because they were not under stress, probably because they actually take care of that tank. The other tanks are only for selling fish so they don't take good care of the fish, so they are under stress. After you buy them, and they settle in, they will start to show their true colors

 

[ey2006]

How long would it usually take for the cardinals to settle in to our new tanks? I've had my cardinals for a month now, and their colours seem to be the same as when I got them a month ago.

They are still no where near as bright coloured compared to the cardinals in the LFS display tanks or other people's (from this forum) cardinals.

Apparently there are some fish food out there that is colour enhancing as well, but its also very expensive.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

do you have a light above your tank? the light makes them look alot better

 

[Jules H-T]

do you have a light above your tank? the light makes them look alot better

Moreover, what type of bulb do you have? You can get standard, and specific tropical bulbs-the tropical ones do a hell of a lot for blues, and particularly, reds.

 

[Themuleous]

Doesn't pH affect the colour quite a bit. i.e. the higher it is the less 'stunning' they are? Just what I've heard anyway

Sam

 

[metfan581]

a variety really does the trick

 

[IovaykInD]

Tetras like a lower pH, around 6.5. Fish such as guppies and swordtails like their pH around 7.5, so I guess it will make a difference what the pH is. It's really four things, pH, Diet, Lighting, and Stress. Those four things will determine how colorful your cardinals or neons are.