Paracheirodon axelrodi
| Common Names: | Cardinal Tetra |
| Synonyms: | Cheirodon axelrodi |
| Family: | Characidae |
| Category: | Characins |
| Distribution: | America - South; Found in slow moving waters in Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil, South America. |
| Main Ecosystem: | River; River |
| Temperament: | Peaceful; Peaceful. It is imperative that the Cardinal Tetra be kept in schools of 6 or more. Species becomes noticeably bolder if kept in larger numbers - even the difference between a shoal of 6 and a shoal of 12 is visibly manifest. Highly recommended for community tanks containing other small, peaceful fish species (other Characins and Corydoras catfishes make excellent companions). |
| Diet: | Ominvore; These fish will eat just about any foods offered them. Live foods are hungrily devoured, and flake foods are also taken. |
| Care: | Feed with flakes. Cardinal Tetras should be kept in tanks either with floating plants or dimly lit. Use soft water only. |
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| Potential Size: | Male: 5cm (2") Female: 5cm (2") |
| Water Region: | Middle; Middle |
| Activity: | Diurnal; Diurnal |
| Gender: | Females are a little larger and have larger stomachs. A female is pictured above. |
| Breeding: | Use an optimal pH of 5.8, temperature 24°C. The eggs are laid on a perlon mat in the evening. Remove the adults after spawning occurs. Cover the tank to stop the growth of fungus and also to prevent losses because the eggs are light sensitive! The fry should hatch after 24 hours. Feed with fry food. Aquarium containing fry should be kept darkened for minimum of 72 hours for optimum results, and fy acclimatised gradually to increasing light levels. |
| Variants: | Occasionally, Cardinal Tetras with gold backs (instead of brown backs) can be found in wild-caught shipments. |
| Comments: | One of the most beautiful aquarium fish, the Cardinal Tetra comes close to the top of the list for the most popular fish of all time. Sometimes confused with the Neon Tetra, but the Cardinal's underside is mostly red, compared to the Neon in which the front half of the underside is white. |
| Main Colours: | Red, Blue |
| Markings: | Striped Horizontal |
| Mouth: | Normal |
| Tail: | Concave |
| Search: | Show similar species Find compatible species |
| Image Credit: | © FishProfiles.com |
| Submitted By: | Adam |
| Contributors: | Natalie, Calilasseia |
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