cardinals or neons

[saffa-man]

now ive read and heard that neon tetras anrent very hardy but i was wondering if cardinal tetras are any hardier
thanks

 

[James_in_MN]

I'm partial to cardinal tetras. I like the added red on the bottom of the fish instead of the white in front.

I've read in many places on the web that cardinal tetras may actually be hardier than neon tetras. If it's true, one reason could be the over breeding of neon tetras, which IMO is the downfall of quite a few popular aquarium fish (dwarf gouramis, GBRs, etc).

I also don't think that cardinal tetras can get neon tetra disease, despite being a similar fish, which may be another reason that cardinals are thought to be hardier.

 

[EndlersEatGuppies]

This may help Cardinal Tetra vs Neon Tetra

 

[Mr. Limpet]

now ive read and heard that neon tetras anrent very hardy but i was wondering if cardinal tetras are any hardier
thanks

I like my Cards, but found that farm raised are much hardier than wild caught.

 

[AquaOne]

Don't like to throw in a spanner, but I was told cardinals are not as hardy !
Neon's are a very good starter fish, I don't imagine them being so unless they are a hardy species. It could be that they are one of the cheapest fish around, and quite colourful for a low-cost addition to any community tank.

 

[saffa-man]

ive got about 7 different lfs to choose from and the cheapest that i found neons for were 1.95 each, wheareas the cardinals were 8 each.
so i could buy 4 neons for each cardinal.

 

[Fishbone13]

I've always been partial to the cardinal. Mainly for the look with the solid red underside but they also get a little bigger I think.

 

[AquaOne]

Saffa, just guessing, but with 7 different sources, do you mean you actually buy your stock from anyof these ?
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm inclined to buy from only one reliable source, the advice is a constant, as is the quality so no worries about what I might be about to get. 6x neon's £7.50 in Bristol (UK), or 3x cardinals same price. If it's tetra's you want, don't rule our congo's, I reckon they're top, but not as 'hardy' perhaps.

 

[saffa-man]

some of the stores have healthier looking types of fish while some of th e others have healthier looking other fish

 

[Tropical]

I personally like the silver on the neon tetras. They are also smaller, which makes them seem cuter IMO. Plus, smaller fish = bigger school There are some bad batches out there, but at local petstores they should be good quality.

 

[Crepe]

Cardinals look more slender than neons. My neons are pretty tall but they're definitely as long as a cardinal.