Neon Tetra Vs Cardinal Tetra
The neon is one of the most popular fish for beginner freshwater aquariums, but advanced fish hobbyists keep them too. The neon tetra adds the perfect touch to any size aquarium with their bright blue, snappy silver, and radiant red stripes. The neon tetra stays about 1 �½ inches in length. The neon tetra is a peaceful fish to keep, and is not aggressive to other tank mates, but other tank mates might bully them around.
It’s best to keep the neon tetra in shoals of 5 or more other neon tetras, and by doing this you are helping your neon’s to feel more secure in their habitat and live longer live. Plus when you keep neon’s in shoals, when they swim they make colorful scenery for your aquarium. The neon tetra swims very fast and darts from side to side in aquariums.
The neon tetra is found in moderate size rivers located in Eastern Peru and South America. They’re found closer to shore, but can also be found in deeper waters.
The neon tetra will live for several years if taken care of properly throughout its life. Their have been reported records of neon’s living up to 10 years of age, but this doesn’t happen often.
Once a female lays her eggs, they’ll hatch within the next 24 hours. The fry, baby neon’s, don’t start swimming for 4-5 days of age. The fry will eat baby brine shrimp and maybe fish flakes that have settled at the bottom of your tank.
The cardinal tetra:
The cardinal tetra looks just like the neon tetra, but it has no silver. On the cardinal tetra’s sides is a red strip running along the bottom half, and the upper half is a lighter blue. The cardinal tetra reaches 2 inches in length.
The cardinal tetra is another popular community tank fish. They have peaceful attitudes, and are rarely aggressive toward one another. These fish also like being housed in a shoal of other cardinals, and this will add more color to your tank when they’re all swimming together. The cardinal tetra is a fish that likes to both hide and swim in open spaces, its best that you have open spaces for swimming, caves for hiding, and plants for hiding.
It’s not uncommon for a cardinal tetra to live 10 years, if properly cared for during its life, although, the cardinal tetra, no matter how old it gets, will only stay its natural size.
The female cardinal also gives lays eggs, which hatch with fry in about 24 hours after being laid, and as the neon, the fry take about 4-5 days to start swimming.
