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Each of our carefully researched, styled, tested and distributed collections reflects a particular aesthetic and ethos. We hope some of these speak to your own style, and help you refine and redefine your own look and style philosophy in the process.
Each of our carefully researched, styled, tested and distributed collections reflects a particular aesthetic and ethos. We hope some of these speak to your own style, and help you refine and redefine your own look and style philosophy in the process.
The Cardinal Tetra is one of the aquarium hobbies most popular schooling fish. This is due to their striking blue and red color that stands out great in any aquarium. They look closely to a Neon Tetra yet the differences are evident. The Cardinal tetra is a bit larger than the Neon Tetra to start. Cardinals come from warmer water than Neon Tetras. In coloration, the Cardinal Tetra’s red line runs the whole length of the body. The red in the Neon Tetra only goes from the tail to about the middle of the body then the color changes to silver. Finally, Cardinal Tetras enjoying warmer water makes them a great choice for aquariums that house Discus (Symphysodon aequifasciatus) or one of the many color strains of Rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi). They are a stunning addition to aquariums because of their high contrast against planted tanks and dark substrates. We recommend them to anyone that wants an easy to care for and beautiful fish. They prefer to be kept in schools of 5 or more to make them feel the most comfortable.
The Cardinal Tetra originally came from the warmer streams of South America. To replicate their natural habitat, the use of rock work, plants, and driftwood should be included in the aquarium. They also enjoy tannins in their water, so the use of Indian Almond or Guava leaves is highly recommended. We would not recommend keeping this fish with shrimp colonies due to the likeliness of the cardinal tetra eating baby shrimp and potentially picking at adult shrimp.
The scientific name for the cardinal tetra is: Paracheirodon axelrodi
We feed our Cardinals a mix of frozen foods including daphnia, baby brine, cyclops, and Bloodworms.
Our Tank Parameters
Tank Recommendations
I absolutely love my cardinal tetras, They are doing great and growing, they arrived very healthy and vigorous, swimming all over and enjoying their tank. I’m planning my next order, hopefully soon.
Cardinal Tetra | Paracheirodon Axelrodi
Hello, I didn’t realize how small they were until they arrived 👍
This was my first time ordering fish online. I had previously purchased a school of cardinals from my LFS, but lost the entire school to a particularly nasty ich outbreak. I was attracted to flip aquatics due to their quarantine process, so after treating my fishless tank for several weeks, I ordered 10 cardinal tetras from Flip, along with 3 nerite and 3 rabbit snails. Unfortunately, UPS damaged the box in shipping, and the box I received a day late had clearly been repackaged and was missing the rabbit snails (r.i.p. I assume). Despite the extra day in shipping and presumed severe damage to the original package, all 12 (10+2) of my cardinal tetras were alive and healthy. They are thriving now 2 weeks later! I did end up losing 2 of the 4 nerites (one pretty obviously d.o.a. and one never moved and eventually started smelling bad). Flip's customer service was outstanding throughout the whole process, and I received replacement rabbit snails today (all alive and active) at no additional cost to me. The second shipment was beautifully packaged and sent via usps instead. I will definitely be ordering from Flip Aquatics again!
I picked up my cardinal tetras last week. The fish were healthy, colorful and are very happy in my tank. I will definitely purchase again. Thank you!
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