# Paracheirodon axelrodi (cardinal Tertras)



## RJSimoneaux (Jan 2, 2006)

Hi ya,

Been doing a little google reasearch on these fish. And I am curious about temperature ranges that are listed on many sites.

Some sites say they like the low 70's, Some say they can go up to 84. I would assume that since they are from Brazil area, that they would do well in the 80's. May be even the high 80's? 

What has been your experience with Paracheirodon axelrodi (cardinal Tertras).

TIA


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## ed seeley (Dec 1, 2006)

Mine do very well, and in fact bred, at 26oC (78oF i think?). The high temps are registered at low water when they can get trapped in shallow waters that heat up, along with other amazonian fish. They don't need high temps, but they can tolerate them and they can be used to help treat some diseases.

Some in the tank in my class are at 24oC (about 76oF?) and they are in excellent health too.


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## jeff5614 (Feb 15, 2006)

I've had the same 10 in my 55 along with some other tetras for a few months now and they're quite healthy and happy at 78-79 degrees.


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

Same experience as jeff. 

Just want to mention that cardinals are often put in as a complementary fish in a discus tank. Those tanks are kept around 84 degrees if I remember correctly, and I don't think cardinals appear stressed with those temperatures.

Also, just make sure you drip acclimate these guys slowly since it seems that a rough transition kills cardinal tetras rather easily.


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

I'm running 24-25°C but have had some issues w/ them lately. I started w/ 2 - they're fine, then I added 5 more - most of those have had to be replaced, am down to 4 (total) now. They go fine for a day or 3, then get a light spot on 1 side, weaken & die within hours.

Importation/handling stress, I'm guessing.

Be careful, buy from tanks that have held 'em a while.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

I agree, most of us achieve the best results at around 78 F.

I don't think it would be of much advantage to your fish or plants to raise the temp above that, unless you're dealing with very warm water fish like Discus, as stated above.


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## RJSimoneaux (Jan 2, 2006)

Squawkbert said:


> I'm running 24-25°C but have had some issues w/ them lately. I started w/ 2 - they're fine, then I added 5 more - most of those have had to be replaced, am down to 4 (total) now. They go fine for a day or 3, then get a light spot on 1 side, weaken & die within hours.
> 
> Importation/handling stress, I'm guessing.
> 
> Be careful, buy from tanks that have held 'em a while.


Squawkbert,
Trying using some Peat or Blackwater extract. Lower Ph seems to have been the trick for me.

Climating in a tank over 2 to 4 hours also can help. Try lights out for a couple of days also.

Oh, ya, they get stressed easy in a new tank. One of my first batches really freaked out when my lights came on in the 55gal (four 20watt flourscents). A couple of them actually seem to have fainted. They went belly up and floated around for a second or two, then started swiming again. Strangest thing I seen in a long time.


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

My pH does tend to be up a bit... I did just improve my CO2 diffusion... thet should be good for .2-.5 pH unit. I'll keep that in mmind (about pH).


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## howie (Jan 5, 2007)

I had about 16 in temps of 79F - 80F with 6 Discus. Did ok for awhile then they started to develop some ich. Then some fungus and tail rot. Raised the temp in tank to 89F - 90F and the Discus looked better but I was very concerned about the cardinals. I took them all out and placed into a 90F QT and put in Ich, Fungus, and Bacteria medication. Culled 4 because the tails have rotted off. The Ich is gone and the other are looking better. I am thinking about leaving the temp at 89F - 90F because of the Discus liking it.


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

75 to 78F is the norm for cardinals. I have 22 in a 50 gal tank. One group is about 7 years old (1.6" to 1.8"). The second group is 0.4" to 0.7". These youngsters were purchased about a week ago. They grow very quickly with flakes, pellets, and boiled shrimp as long as the food particles are small enough for them to ingest.

The local water is alkaline hard water. However, I have CO2 so the PH is around 7.6. It's best to keep very young cardinals in an established plant tank along with some larger neons and cardinals to stimulate a sense of security. The new cardinals should feed within 24 hour. I prefer to purchase very young cardinals since these tend to do better with the local hard tap water.

Cardinals do best with clean water. Increase the water change interval and amount (up to 50%) if you see fins deterioration. Also supplement flake food with chopped earthworm or boiled shrimp. I change 20% water 3x per week when raising young cardinals.


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

howie said:


> I had about 16 in temps of 79F - 80F with 6 Discus. Did ok for awhile then they started to develop some ich. Then some fungus and tail rot. Raised the temp in tank to 89F - 90F and the Discus looked better but I was very concerned about the cardinals. I took them all out and placed into a 90F QT and put in Ich, Fungus, and Bacteria medication. Culled 4 because the tails have rotted off. The Ich is gone and the other are looking better. I am thinking about leaving the temp at 89F - 90F because of the Discus liking it.


Raise the tank's temperature to 80F and add 1 teaspoon of salt/gal to cure white spots. Gradually bump up the salt concentration to 3 teaspoon of salt/gal over three days. Note that the life cycle of white spot is about 3 days at 80F. Change 50% water on the 6th day if there is no sign of the disease.

Neons/cards don't like medication, but can accept salt-water treatment up to about 4 teaspoon/gal over a period of one week.


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