Cardinal tetras in a BB tank

[roydooms]

I know that it is ideal to have a planted tank if you want to keep cardinal tetras. I'm almost done setting up a 55g BB discus tank. I'm thinking of adding 10 cardinals. Are they going to be fine with no plants? Or are they going to be stressed out with the big discus and no place to hide? Thanks.

 

[HalfMoon B]

I have mine in a decorated tank and they STILL hide....

 

[roydooms]

I have some(30) in my planted tank too. They used to hide but now they are comfortable enough that they spread out all over the tank. How long have you had them in your tank? Mine stayed at the back part of the tank for almost a month.

 

[mfdrookie516]

You can still do some plants if you want Roy... I've seen several BB tanks, discus, angels, etc... with pots of tall stem plants to break up the line of sight, and provide some cover.

 

[HalfMoon B]

That is about where they are, and I need to bump up their shoal numbers too, could be another reason.
They are starting to get more active though

 

[roydooms]

You can still do some plants if you want Roy... I've seen several BB tanks, discus, angels, etc... with pots of tall stem plants to break up the line of sight, and provide some cover.

I actually thought about doing this. It will also help with hiding the sponge filters but then I'll have to dose ferts. I'm thinking 2 swords. 1 melon and one amazon sword. Plant substrate + root tabs should be fine, right? No ferts needed? I'll be doing a small PWC everyday. It's going to be wasteful if I have to dose.

 

[roydooms]

That is about where they are, and I need to bump up their shoal numbers too, could be another reason.
They are starting to get more active though

How many do you have?

I also pointed my filter outflow towards the back glass and that made them move to the front of the tank.

 

[mfdrookie516]

You could do some low demanding plants like anacharis, or toss in some swords with root tabs... of course, in a BB tank, usually that's done to keep nitrates at a minimum, which would be countered by the ferts, effectively making the whole BB idea a waste of time... IMO... so the root tabs would be your best bet

 

[HalfMoon B]

I ordered six, but one didn't survive the trip, so I am down to 5. But getting a lot more soon.

 

[roydooms]

You could do some low demanding plants like anacharis, or toss in some swords with root tabs... of course, in a BB tank, usually that's done to keep nitrates at a minimum, which would be countered by the ferts, effectively making the whole BB idea a waste of time... IMO... so the root tabs would be your best bet

I'm not really a fan of anacharis. I'll do one sword on each side. So the tetras will have a hiding place on both sides. Thanks Jonathan.