Talk:Cardinal tetra

Untitled

Reverted pasted text from neon tetra article -- there's no need to duplicate text exactly between articles, and such cut & paste looks unprofessional... Tkinias 03:53, 21 Mar 2004 (UTC)

possible bias

The section talking about the reasons some support the trade of wild-caught tetras sounds like it came from an opinion article, there has to be a better way of conveying that information--71.75.112.35 18:06, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

Edit Abuse

Someone has irresponsibly edited this article so that it now only says

"The pikachu, electric, is a forest mouse of the characin family (family Characidae) of order Characiformes. It is native to the upper Orinoco and Negro Rivers in South America.

he eats".

I do not know enough about Cardinal Tetras to completely recreate this article, and so I just wanted to make anyone who did, or at least could recover the previous article, aware of this so that this article can return to its formal state. Whilst I am a devout fan of the Pokémon franchise, this article now makes no sense, and is completely irrelevant to the subject of Cardinal Tetras, not to mention that the grammar is appalling! Thank you for your time.--Aquakeeper14 (talk) 21:56, 10 November 2013 (UTC)

Prefering captive bred

Where does this statement come from, especially because you indirectly state this to be global? As an aquarist myself I know many breeders who actually prefer wild caught. And most of my my colleagues prefer wild caught cardinal tetra's because of low quality captive-bred specimens. If there is no good reference added soon, I will remove that part.Jarne Colman (talk) 20:10, 8 April 2018 (UTC)

I agree and am going to change it now. --Tryptofish (talk) 20:19, 8 April 2018 (UTC)

Commented-out content

I have moved a large swath of commented-out mostly-unsourced "how-to" content here, for future reference if any of it can be salvaged to comply with WP:NOTHOWTO:

"How-to" content removed from article

Aquarium maintenance

Perhaps due to their wild-caught origins, cardinal tetras tend to be somewhat delicate in captivity. In the wild, these fish inhabit extremely soft, acidic waters, but seem to be tolerant of harder, more alkaline water conditions; a greater concern is probably polluted tank water (including high nitrate levels). They prefer warmer water temperatures [above 24 °C (75 °F) or warmer], and will readily accept most forms of dry food. Captive-bred cardinals tend to adapt to hard water better than wild-caught cardinals.

Given the origins of the cardinal tetra, namely blackwater rivers whose chemistry is characterised by an acidic pH, low mineral content and the presence of humic acids, the species is adaptable to a wide range of conditions in captivity, though deviation from the soft, acidic water chemistry of their native range will impact severely upon breeding, fecundity, and life expectancy. The preferred temperature range of the fish is 26 to 28 °C (79 to 82 °F). However, if necessary they will live at 24 °C (75 °F). The water chemistry of the aquarium water should match that of the wild habitat – filtration of the aquarium water over peat is one means of achieving this, as is the use of reverse osmosis water.

As the species is a shoaling species in the wild, groups of six or more individuals should be maintained in an aquarium although bigger groups are preferred. They will shoal with their close cousins neon tetras, though, so a combination of these two species totalling at least six should suffice (again, larger groups are preferred). Tank currents can help encourage shoaling behavior. The larger the numbers present in an aquarium (subject to the usual constraints imposed by space and filtration efficiency), the better, and large shoals in any case form an impressive and visually stunning display.

The species will feed on a wide range of aquarium foods, though again, conditioning fishes of this species for breeding will usually require the use of live foods such as Daphnia.

Aquarium furnishings should be planned with some care. Live aquatic plants, as well as providing additional biological filtration components to assist with nitrate management, provide an environment that resembles at least part of the wild habitat, and fine-leaved plants such as Cabomba are usually the plants of choice, though other plants such as Amazon swordplants and Vallisneria are equally suitable for an aquarium housing them. Floating plants providing shade will also be welcomed by the species; this is connected with the breeding of the fish. A perfect biotope to promote breeding would be bogwood, a few live native plants, dark substrate and subdued lighting with floating plants.

Captive breeding

In the aquarium, a single pair can be conditioned for breeding, but the breeding aquarium not only needs to contain water with the correct chemical parameters cited above, but the breeding aquarium also needs to be heavily shaded to mimic the low light conditions of the fish's native spawning grounds.

Parents need to be removed after the eggs and sperm are released, otherwise they will eat the eggs. Apart from the stringent requirements with respect to water chemistry, one of the major difficulties in captive breeding of the species is the photosensitivity of the eggs; they will die if exposed to bright light. Consequently, after spawning, the fishes should be removed and the aquarium covered to darken it, thus providing the developing eggs with the conditions necessary for development.

If the eggs are fertile, and kept in darkened surroundings, they hatch in about three days at 28 °C (82 °F). Free-swimming fry remain photosensitive for at least the first seven days of life, and need to be introduced to increasing light levels on a gradual basis. During this time, they are approximately 4 mm in length, and require infusoria or liquid fry food. Newly hatched brine shrimp and other similar live foods, such as sifted Daphnia, can be fed to the growing fry at between seven and 14 days of age. Growth continues at a modest rate, and the fishes assume full adult coloration only after a period of around eight to 12 weeks, depending upon quality of food and aquarium water.

References

~Anachronist (who / me) (talk) 01:04, 24 January 2026 (UTC)