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Hi Everyone,

I have had a 20G tank for two years now and have finally plucked up the courage to go large, so I have recently purchased a 90G tank.

I would like to know if Cardinal Tetras would be suitable for cycling the new tank.

Any feedback on this would be truly appreciated.

Thanks

P.S. I don't want to use Zebra Danios (I have had enough of these to last me a life time).

In my experience, cardinals are a bit too sensitive for cycling......you might want to consider "seeding" the tank from your established one and/or doing a fishless cycle.

Check out the articles for more info.

Thanks for the quick reply TechJak.

Could you elaborate a little on "Seeding" as you can probably tell I am a bit of a newbie and most of my fish have survived through luck more than judgement (Even though this site has been a fountain of knowledge).

Cheers.:%)

"seeding" the tank means to intoduce already living beneficial bacteria into the new tank using gravel and/or filter media from an already established tank. if you do not have an already established tank, you can ask a buddy or the LFS for a handful of gravel that will house this bacteria.

I'm with jack, cardinals are too sensitive.

Yeah -- Cardinals are much too sensitive for this job. Black Tetras, however, seem to work very well for it.

By the way, one other way that you can "seed" the tank is to buy one of the readily available pet store products (such as "Cycle" which consist of little packets of liquid culture containing exactly the two types of bacteria you want. This will give a huge jump-start to the establishment of those bacteria in your tank. Just empty a few packets into your tank, insert your cycling fish, and you'll be ready to go in a week or so.

Depending on where you get your fish, you're best off not cycling with them. Most of the cardinals are wild caught, and thus need about a week or so in the LFS (make sure they feed them well) in order for them to have a good chance of surviving. My LFS tends not to hang on to their cardinals for very long (not that the store itself is bad, just the demand for the tetras is so great), so one has to snap them up beforehand. IME, though, once fully acclimated, cards are hardy and COULD be used to cycle, though, as aforementioned, they are definietly not THE hardiest of fish, and I woiuld pass them up, unless you don't want to have to hang onto zebras or WCMMs.

I've used swordtails to cycle twice, they're certainly not danios (much prettier in my opinion, i think you can mix colors, too... red velvets are so pretty maybe someday )

i would use White clouds to cycle their tank.

When they start mating, they are beautiful

Maybe consider a school of 4 to 6 White Clouds to cycle your tank with. They are a hardier species than Cardinals and are still a nice fish and good for a beginner like yourself.

You can also use products like 'Cycle' made by Hagen or other bacterial additive products which are on the market. I would tend to lean away from these if it was my first time. Best to learn the 'old-school' way. Read up on the FAQ's on this site. They are full of great information.

Research the fish you wish to own before you buy them, and ask people with experience if they will work in your tank.

Good luck with the fish and tank.

-- Gomer

try livebearers

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''All the clown fish and yellow tangs in the world cant save you now!''