# fainting cardinals???



## crispo069 (Mar 13, 2007)

I saw the weirdest thing yesterday.....I've been looking for a good source of healthy cardinals lately and wound up at one of my LFS. I dont really go to this particular shop often because their livestock isnt always up to my standards, however, I havent had good luck finding any cardinal tetras and this spot had some. I was watching the tank for about 5 minutes and noticed that there were about 15 or so that looked to be pretty healthy (about half of what was in the tank). I asked the clerk to feed them to see if they had an appetite. Again, about half of them seemed to react very well to feeding time. I asked the clerk to proceed to gather up 9 specific fish that I could easily pick out from the bunch and watched as he started the process of trying to wrangle them up. Then it happened......the fish started to "pass out" as they were netted....I'm pretty sure that they were actually dying....but couldnt believe my eyes. They seemed healthy just minutes before. Of the 8 or so that he was able to net up, 5 of them went limp....(and wound up in the oscar tank). After seeing this I politely told the clerk that he could "stop trying cause I aint buyin". Has anyone ever seen this happen?????


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## yoink (Aug 31, 2005)

I have had neons and cardinals play dead while aclimating them. I'm not sure if it is something harmful or not, but all my fish ended up making it. I know the cardinals were wild caught and kept in very good conditions, the neons I got from the LFS.


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## mtundu (May 8, 2007)

I can't speak to fainting tetras in particular, but my guess is that the water conditions in the store tank were marginal (low O2 or high ammonia, probably the latter). That seems odd considering most fish stores have major filters and circulation systems. Regardless, in such conditions, trying to net the fish could stress them to the point of respiratory exhaustion (O2 deficit). So they went belly-up. I have seen this a few times when I've neglected crowded fry grow-out tanks, but usually a quick water change and an air stone brings 95% of the fish right back to life, so those oscars got lucky to feed on the expensive delicacy of probably still alive cardinals!


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## Muirner (Jan 9, 2007)

I had a Rasbora play dead on me, my dad saw it happen. I acclimated it for about an hour or so, and when i netted it and put it into my tank it floated upside down. I netted it, put it in the bag and it swam around. Then i netted it put it into the tank and off it swam. I was/am very confused lol.


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

Cardinals & neons are known to do this. Actually makes it easier to catch those suckers after a while. :lol: He wasted money putting those fish in the oscar tank because they would have come back.  I had one in particular that I thought was dead for sure, but left him belly up in the bucket while I continued breaking down the tank. 30 minutes later he was swimming around as if nothing happened.


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

It's normal to see this condition with weak to average cardinals...play dead if you don't have the strength to run. A very good specimen will stay active even after you put the fish in the bag.

I'm glad you declined that batch. They may turn out okay, but the odds are NOT in your favor.


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## crispo069 (Mar 13, 2007)

Thats weird!!!! Actually, even if I had known this before, I would have declined the batch. Since the clerk didnt know that this was somewhat normal, then he obviously doesnt know his fish. And how can someone properly care for something he does not understand??? Thanks for the info folks, I'll take my money elsewhere!!!!


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

crispo069 said:


> Thats weird!!!! Actually, even if I had known this before, I would have declined the batch. Since the clerk didnt know that this was somewhat normal, then he obviously doesnt know his fish. And how can someone properly care for something he does not understand??? Thanks for the info folks, I'll take my money elsewhere!!!!


Please understand that I've been working with cards and neons for decades. Cardinals are very reactive to stress, and most will go into this mode during capture. That's why there are reports about elaborate schemes to keep them alive during the first few days.

A strong cardinal will act like most fish when capture. It will pound against the container to get out. You should keep the temperature above 75F during transport (styrofoam container or equivalent). I always put the fish immediately into the community tank so the fish would have other cards for company. This is the quickest way to reduce stress level in the fish.

Note that you can bring many weak cards back to good health in a few weeks if the fish will survive the stress of transport. As always, you should wait for the right fish to come along before purchase. I've never lost any cardinal if I stick to these rules.


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