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Wow! That is so unusual, I have never seen a cardinal remotely like that before, i would definitely try to breed it yourself, but maybe find some others that look a bit like it. (Since it is being excluded from the normal group, it isn't very likely that it will breed with them )

wow that is a very nice cardinal.

I'm gonna keep an eye out for those. I doubt I'll find any in my area but I just may get lucky

No ... we'll just have to arrange some way of getting our goldbacks together for breeding purposes ... and split the fry 50/50


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

You must now pay royalties to nnataliee

Giggles Fallout ...

Oh, latest update ... just bought two Cardinals to replace some old age losses and guess what? One of mine is a goldback! Yay!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Bah. Candelight and some manilow

j/k cali

Said gold mutation is not rare amongst young Colombian specimens, though presumably less in larger individuals, probably due to genetic weeding. As far as breeding goes, I haven't really seen much of a marked effect of water hardness (SoCal water is, as all natives know, not in the least bit soft), and my eggs did develop into fry (albeit, only 8 from what appeared to be hundreds of eggs; photoperiod issues, maybe?).

Ok, here goes with the breeding info.

Thanks to their unusual habitat, Cardinals have evolved to breed in soft, acid water. you should be looking at gradually acclimatising your prospective breeders to a pH of 6.0 or possibly even less, and a very low hardness value. It might even be worth the trouble of obtaining RO water for the purpose.

Next, the water should contain humic acids. You can either filter the water over peat, or use an additive such as Tetra's Blackwater Tonic.

Next, you'll need lots of spawning mops, or better still, if you can get it, a nice forest of Java Moss. Complete with an egg trap of some kind.

Gradually raise the temperature to 80°F, and feed copious amounts of live food to condition the breeders. Telling male from female is going to be one of the bigger challenges, as there are no obvious gender differences to look for, apart from the possibility that your male will be slender, and your female rotund with eggs. If you can find a compatible pair, with your gold back being one of the pair, then consider yourself fortunate, because matching Cardinals for breeding is something of an art even among veterans.

Make sure that the light level in the aquarium is low. Cardinals spawn in the wild in stretches of river that are completely enclosed above by rainforest tree canopy, and hardly any light reaches the water. You don't need the breeding aquarium to be in total darkness during the spawning itself, but once the spawning is completed. the aquarium should be kept in total darkness for 72 hours while the eggs develop, as they are photosensitive and die if exposed to light.

During this time, start firing up infusoria cultures ready for the fry.

Once the 72 hours has elapsed, very gradually increase the ambient light exposure so as not to shock the fry. This should be conducted over a 7 day period. Under NO circumstances illuminate the aquarium with artificial light until the fry are fairly well developed.

Feed with interspersed infusoria and fry food feedings to enhance development. The moment they are able to take baby Brine Shrimp, use this food source to help maintain a decent growth rate.

Even if you follow all of these steps, and have a nice collection of infusoria cultures ready to feed the fry in advance when they hatch, do not expect a great deal of success on your first outing. Cardinals are troublesome to breed even for veteran aquarists of many years' standing. Be prepared to engage in a LOT of experimentation to find the collection of water parameters and feeding régime that works for your fish.

Good luck, and here's hoping that your goldback is genuinely a genetic mutation that can be passed on to future generations, because it's a nice one.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

They look like the guy I bought, you better snatch them up before somebody else does!

It's good to know that there are more in captivity, if they are indeed like mine, because that means that there is already a breeding population of them in the wild and it is not some random mutation.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

they have a pair like this in my lfs in everett, wa ill buy them tonight maybe they will be a m/f pair ill let you know that is if they are still there looked at them 2 days ago

I have a beautiful Cardinal Tetra with a mutation that makes it have a bright metallic gold back as opposed to a dark brown one, and I've been pondering the idea of breeding it. I've heard that breeding Cardinal Tetras is difficult, and I don't know if I can devote the time needed to breed successive generations to bring the gold-backed gene out.

What should I do? Is breeding them really that difficult? How long does it take for the fry to reach a breeding age?

It seems like a shame to let this fish "go to waste", that's how beautiful it is.

Cory Addict attached this image:


Last edited by Cory Addict at 19-Sep-2005 16:20[/font]

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

hmmm...can you see the gold stripe from the side of the fish or only on the top?

You can see it from every direction that you can see the back, even from across the room. I'll try asking some of the customers I know at work who might have bred Cardinals. There is also a company in Florida that his breeding them, but even though they are normal Cardinals they are super-expensive (wild-caught ones are a lot cheaper). I might give them a call...

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

That's one unique and beautiful cardinal Natalie !!

I'd say keep and enjoy this fish, if you're going to give it away or sell it so it can breed, DO NOT PASS OFF THIS FISH TO JUST ANYONE.

Locate someone that is already breeding cardinals.
Ad in paper, ask the LFS's if they know any breeders,
local buy and sell websites, fish section.. If breeding is successful, you might get a SCHOOL of these tetras in the future for free from that breeder. This could even be your 'asking price'.

A well meaning home 'breeder' may want to take that fish and no idea how to breed it or never has, or just wants it, this will be a waste of a beaut of a fish. In this case, it's better off in your tank no ? Just my 2 cents.

Problem though is most fishstores buy cardinals for under 10 cents from singapore, BUT they don't look like this one, that's for darn sure.

GOOD LUCK !







The Amazon Nut...

hmmm...can you see the gold stripe from the side of the fish or only on the top?

By the way...beautiful cardinal...I agree I would sell him to have someone breed him or at least try to get this gene around.


Good luck with what you decide to do...I would definately buy some of these guys if they ended up in my area.

I didn't think there was any way to increase the cardinal tetras beauty, but this certainly boosts its appeal

Last edited by Tetra Fan at 23-Sep-2005 07:43

It's behavior has been odd though. When I bought it, I bought a bunch of other (normal) Cardinals so it wouldn't be lonely. All of the normal ones school together, but not the gold one. It's not like the gold one is getting excluded from the normal group, it just has no desire to be with them.

This odd behavior has made me wonder if this is in fact a new species or subspecies of Paracheirodon...

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Definitely.

I would even sell it to somebody if they were willing to breed it.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Will you be getting rid of any if you do breed them?



http://www.fishprofiles.com/site/aquarank.aspx

Very beautiful Cardinals...........


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Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
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oh boy...thats beautiful.

Cory Addict attached this image:

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.