The cardinal tetra is a beautiful, fun tropical fish. Similar to a neon tetra cardinal fish is a freshwater classic. Gorgeous and relatively easy to keep with the right ph. it is frequently found in the aquariums of both beginners and experts . Just a little basic reading now will give you hours of enjoyment from your fish.
Equipment for cardinal tetra
What you’ll need. Here are some basics to keeping cardinal tetras the right way and saving yourself and the tetras lots of grief in the future.
Tank
You really should have a 10 gallon or larger tank. you can get away with something like an 8 gallon biorb or 9 gallon biube (approx 35 liters). Tetras are beautiful this is necessary for them to show most of their colors (schooling is a defense mechanism for fish) so you want at least 6 of them. A 5 gallon tank is really pushing it, but if you were VERY diligent about the water parameters, it’s possible.
Water Parameters
Whatever it is, try to keep the fluctuations to an absolute minimum. If you don’t currently test for pH, now is a good time to start. It’s more important for cardinal tetras than it is for quite a few other popular freshwater fish. You also should keep nitrates to a minimum with regular water changes or live plants.
Heater
Cardinal tetra requires a temperature of between 73-81°. But the important thing here is to minimize as much as possible the fluctuations in temperature. That generally requires an aquarium heater. A stealth heater (50 watt for a 10 gallon, 100 watt for a 20 gallon, and so on) is ideal.
Filter
You really need a filter for ANY fish, despite the fact people keep bettas and goldfish in unfiltered tanks or bowls. But in this particular case, it is a must have. You simply cannot have a tropical fish tank without a filter.
Lighting
With cardinal tetras, you really want at least some part of your tank with subdued lighting. They’ll be fine with just a standard issue light from an aquarium kit’s hood, but you really want to give them cover somewhere in the aquarium.
Water Conditioner
With cardinal tetras, you have to be diligent about the water parameters. Pick up Stress Coat or Prime- these are two extremely popular water conditioners that will get rid of chlorine so your water is safe to add to the fish tank.
Substrate
You need gravel or some type of substrate to line the bottom of the fish tank. Cardinal tetras aren’t picky here, but if you’re adding loaches or any type of catfish as a tank mate, you should stay away from rough ceramic media as this will scratch their faces.
If you are adding live plants to the tank, then this is slightly more complicated in what substrate would be best. Standard issue aquarium gravel is fine otherwise.
Testing Kit
You will need the ability to test for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. Many people just use test strips, and these are fine for a guideline, but they’re often not the most accurate thing in the world. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals makes a freshwater master test kit. so that is something you may want to consider. No testing supplies available to hobbyists are 100% accurate ammonia especially is a difficult test.
Nitrogen Cycle:
This is a lot simpler than it sounds. Aquariums need to be “cycled,” which essentially means that bacteria in the tank can convert ammonia from fish waste into nitrites and then into nitrates. The fish don’t get sick (or die) from ammonia poisoning. This bacteria, by the way,is not harmful to humans or fish. it merely feeds off ammonia and converts it into less toxic substances.
Here are some ways to cycle
Fishless Cycling
This process involves seeding the tank (a few weeks putting the fish in) with something that will create ammonia like fish food, a piece of shrimp, or even household ammonia (as long as it doesn’t have any other additives, surfactants. You then use a test kit and evaluate the water.it shows zero ammonia, zero nitrites, and any amount of nitrates. You then do a large water change before adding the fish, which can be added all at once. This process takes a few weeks typically, depending on the size of the tank, but it is considered to be the most humane.
Please note that you cannot cycle a tank with cardinal tetras and have them survive. Unlike some other fish, they will simply not make it through the cycling process, as they are too fragile.
Bacteria Booster
You can buy bottled nitrospira bacteria that will jump start this entire cycling process and let you add fish much, much sooner. The currently popular product is Tetra SafeStart, which is not so easy to find in stores, but local fish stores will sometimes carry it. There used to be a product called Bio-Spira, which did the same thing.
Some people also use Stress Zyme. This is occasionally bundled with aquarium kits. It’s very popular and easy to find, but it does not work as well as SafeStart or Bio-Spira.
The internet abounds with information on ‘bacteria in a bottle’ type products. You see people saying, “Well how can the bacteria live in a bottle without oxygen?” The answer is ammonia can be injected into the bottle before shipping, which is why these products often have expiration dates.
Bacteria are not animals and can exist in an exopolymer state for a long time. They don’t need food in the form of ammonia. Ignore anyone who tells you it is impossible for bacteria to live in a bottle.
it absolutely is possible. Whether the product you’re getting will actually work, of course, is a matter of debate and often dependent on the temperature the bottle was exposed to and how long it was sitting on the shelf.
Feeding Cardinal Tetras
Cardinal Tetras are omnivores, and their diet should consist of a staple flake or pellet food with an occasional treat like freeze-dried bloodworms.