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Hello all. I was wondering if anyone has kept cardinal tetras in with harlequin rasboras? I'm just wondering as I can't remember if I heard once that they don't get along. I've had both for years but not in the same tank. I'd be thankful for any help.

I've never heard of any incompatibility between Harlequin Rasboras and Cardinal Tetras, and indeed would find it surprising for incompatibilities to arise between them, given that they're both shoaling fishes that preferentially congregate with fishes of like appearance. The vast difference in appearance should mean that shoals of these two species remain distinct if placed in the same aquarium, and given that these two fishes hail from natural watercourses that share a very similar chemistry, they're eminently compatible from that standpoint.

Now I've never tried mixing the two together, so I cannot put hand on heart and sate categorically that they won't exhibit some behavioural incompatibility, but I've never heard of any instances of this being reported.

If you have two separate aquaria currently maintaining a population of these fishes, then you could try setting up a third temporarily for experimental purposes, and put your two shoals together in there. That way, if any incompatibilities do manifest themselves, you can simply return each shoal to its original home, without any further ado. If you discover via this experiment that there are no problems integrating the two species, then you know that if you have a problem with one of your other aquaria, mixing the two species won't be a worry.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002