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Like Cardinal tetras, Neons will show their best colors and be most active in the aquarium if they feel secure and safe, which is best achieved when the fish are kept in a large group. Neon tetras are naturally schooling fish that should be kept in groups of at least six individuals. The fish swim in massive schools, primarily in the middle area of the water column, eating a similar diet to the Cardinal tetra of aquatic worms, plant matter, and tiny crustaceans. Like Cardinals, Neon tetras inhabit slow-moving blackwater bodies such as river tributaries that flow through rainforest areas. Since it’s easy to breed Neon tetras in captivity, the fish you see in the trade are commercially bred rather than wild-caught. Like the Cardinal tetra, the Neon is plentiful in the wild and does not currently appear on the IUCN Red List.
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Neon tetras come from South America, specifically Rio Taquari, the Paraguay River Basin, Pantanal of Mato, Grosso do Sul, and also in Brazil. Live food is the main way that parasites and diseases are introduced to your fish tank.įeed your fish once or twice per day, offering only what the tetras will clear in a few minutes so as not to overfeed them. For the best health and colors, you should feed your Cardinals a varied diet of high-quality flakes, mini pellets, and frozen foods such as bloodworms, daphnia, brine shrimp, etc.Īlthough Cardinals do appreciate live foods, I recommend that you give your fish frozen meaty foods instead. Like Neons, Cardinal tetras are omnivores, enjoying a varied diet of plant matter and meaty protein. Unfortunately, like many tetra species, Cardinals do have a reputation for fin nipping. Social BehaviorĬardinal tetras are basically very peaceful little characters that spend their days flitting around the tank in a school, picking at fragments of food. The overhanging rainforest canopy here creates a shadowy environment, and falling leaves and branches stain the waters brown with tannins, creating a blackwater habitat.Ĭardinal tetras live in large shoals, feeding on plant matter, tiny crustaceans, insect larvae, and aquatic worms. In the wild, Cardinal tetras live in slow-moving streams and river tributaries that flow through densely forested areas. The Cardinal Tetraįirst of all, let’s discuss the bright and beautiful Cardinal tetra. In this part of our comparison guide to these two extremely popular aquarium fishes, we take a closer look at some of the similarities and differences between them. Both Cardinal and Neon tetras are schooling fish that must be kept in groups of at least six individuals to thrive in captivity.Ĭomparing Neon Tetras And Cardinal Tetras.Cardinal tetras are, therefore, more sensitive to unstable or varied water conditions. Over time, that has made the Neon tetra much more tolerant of a wide range of water conditions. Neon tetras are typically hardier than Cardinals, largely because the Neon tetra is commercially bred in huge numbers, specifically for the pet trade.Also, if you want to breed your fish at home, Neon tetras are typically easier to breed than their lookalike Cardinal cousins. Neon tetras are generally regarded as being easier to care for than the Cardinals.Cardinal tetras are slightly larger than Neons, reaching approximately 2 inches in length vs.Cardinal and Neon tetras are two different species of tetras, although they both belong to the same family, Characidae.