Just got me some Cardinal Tetras, Need some info!

[Knight~Ryder]

I just bought 3 cardinal tetras, I noticed 1 really changed colour when he went into the bag, is this normal?

Also is there any special treatment I need to give these glowing bad boys?
Or just any info in general?

[oliesminis]

they sometimes lose there color out of stress so it may well be normal

however they do need to be kept in groups of at least 5 so do all your other types of tetras, i would reccomend you take bake one type and get at least 2 more of each

i would also take back your danios as they need to be in groups of 5 or each type and doing that will seriously over stock your tank

Stocking suggestion

2 dwarf blue rainbow fish
2 schools of 8 tetras of the same breed
2 ottos
perhaps something like 4-5 corydoras

not trying to be nasty here but your fish wont be happy as it is

oh and here is some info on cardinals

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_C...n_axelrodi.php

http://www.tropicalfishdata.com/tetr...nal_tetra.html

http://elmersaquarium.com/10tetra_cardinal.htm

-olie

[Knight~Ryder]

I DON'T BELIEVE IT!

The rainbow fish kept chasing one over and over, (I bet you anything because of the glowing effect the cardinal has)?

I looked back about 20 minutes later, and the fish were eating 1 cardinal!!! Now it's gone. WHAT ON EARTH is that all about? They savagely ate him?

So I bet the other ones will be attacked too?

I don't believe rainbow fish are so peaceful now!



What's going on?

[oliesminis]

go on google, type in rainbow fish and read up on them, however you will need to consider what i said earlier pretty soon.

[Blue Cray]

What did you expect rainbows are not a community fish, you would know that if you did more research.

[Knight~Ryder]

Originally Posted by Blue Cray

What did you expect rainbows are not a community fish, you would know that if you did more research.

Thanks for the advice.

I did my research on the blue rainbow, and I was told they are the most peaceful fish out there, if I find the links again I can show you. I got that from about 5 sources..saying that they are hardy and very peaceful and that they will shoal with other fish as well.

I saw their behavior before as well, never nipping at other fish or anything. Now all of a sudden they attack these cardinals. If anything I would have thought the blackskirts would do something, but no, it was the rainbows!

Pisses me off!

I want to know why they attacked them. They werent even really tiny. Are these rainbows going to be a problem?

[Gourami Swami]

You cant have done much research on your fish, as the first thing that will come up for cardinal, black skirt, rummynose, and headtail tetras, as well as both of your danio types, is that they are SCHOOLING fish... which wouls mean they need a school. 3 isnt a school. Your stocking is far from optimal.

[Blue Cray]

Rainbows are agressive all around (mostly) theres not much exceptions. With most fish the rule is if the fish can fit in its mouth it'll eat the fish.

Advice: Many fish are labelled "community fish", but it
really depends on what kind of community you have.

Most of us have had the same problem anyways when we start out, mostly trial and error until we do research. I'm not saying youre a newbie at this but from the ratio of fish in your tank you need to do more research almost all those fish should be in schools.

[trashion]

Agreed with everyone else. Beef up your schools, or you're going to only have more problems with aggression.

[JustOneMore20]

Originally Posted by Blue Cray

What did you expect rainbows are not a community fish, you would know that if you did more research.

Actually, Rainbows are community fish and I find it hard to believe that a Rainbowfish ate a Cardinal. Maybe the Cardinal died first and then then Rainbows ate them. Rainbowfish are peaceful and I have NEVER heard of them killing anything. If you truly have a Dwarf Neon Rainbow, their mouths are not large enough to eat a Cardinal tetra.

Originally Posted by Knight~Ryder

I did my research on the blue rainbow, and I was told they are the most peaceful fish out there, if I find the links again I can show you. I got that from about 5 sources..saying that they are hardy and very peaceful and that they will shoal with other fish as well.

You should have read that Rainbows are schooling fish and need more than 3 to be happy. You should have started with 6-7 Rainbows and not 2-3.

Originally Posted by Gourami Swami

You cant have done much research on your fish, as the first thing that will come up for cardinal, black skirt, rummynose, and headtail tetras, as well as both of your danio types, is that they are SCHOOLING fish... which wouls mean they need a school. 3 isnt a school. Your stocking is far from optimal.

Agreed. I've told Knight~Ryder that before when his/her tank was new that they needed schools.......and now you just keep adding trios of fish to the mix and not taking advice given to you.

[Knight~Ryder]

I just noticed that the rainbows were the ones chasing non stop. The black skirts checked them out a bit and swam away without doing a thing, but the rainbows were the ones nipping and nipping. The rainbows were searching for the cardinals when they couldnt see them. It's like they were on a mission to kill them?

Was it their colour?

It couldn't have been the size, no fish in my tank was THAT much larger then them. I have a pearl danio just as small as the cardinals, and he is fine.

Im really interested in what made them do that? Did they feel invaded? They didn't want more fish in their tank?

WHAT?

[oliesminis]

it is hard to tell as each fish is different and therefore they do different things

it could be anything from them being bored to them being hungry to them not liking them, anything that fits could be a explanation

-olie