Cardinal Teras

[Dude]

what do you think

 

[Dude]

i have a 29 gall tank with plastic plants

and ppl have told me that i needed live plants for my cardinal tetras

is it really a must have?

 

[SamUK]

i dunno but how come u have a plec in a 10 gallon and 3 oscars and a parrot all in an 80?


bit cramped arent they?

 

[black molly3]

to my point of view all fish need live plants.with live plants they are able to glide and swim in and out of them smoothly.plastic plants are very hard on fishes scales and they can often come out with a nasty scrach if they dart to the other end of the tank through plastic plants.
Also live plants eats some of the nitrite in your tank.
i strongly recomend you buy live plants for your tank/s
Best of luck

Black molly3

 

[dobbygolem]

Dittoes molly

Live plants are good, as molly said, but they eat the nitrate in your tank, helping you clean it in a way, not nitrite

 

[annka5]

IMO live plants are a lot better, but I wouldn't say they're ESSENTIAL - assuming all else is good (tank stats, size, cover available, tank mates etc etc etc) then I don't see how the cardinals would suffer.

 

[morgan]

Hi, I think real plants are better for the reasons the others have said. I have 10 Cardinal Tetras and they don't seem interested in the plants except for swimming around them. The Mollies and even the smallest fry eat something off the plants but I have never seen the Cardinals eat from them.

 

[Dude]

i dunno but how come u have a plec in a 10 gallon and 3 oscars and a parrot all in an 80?


bit cramped arent they?

the plec was a baby and he is now in the 55 gallon tank

and the oscars are temporary ( im watching them for a friend) thier baby oscars 4 inches long
the parrots are about the same size and they look really happy

 

[dwarfgourami]

tbh I don't see why good quality silk plants, for instance, shouldn't do the same job; the cardinals really only need them for cover and a sense of security. Even plastic plants, I'd have said cardinals are much less at risk from tearing than, say, a betta.

If it offends people's sense of aesthetics that's a different matter; I am personally a bit of a purist in my tanks, but have to recognise that my cories would be just as happy with a fluorescent skull as with my beautifully arranged bogwood cave. I'm sure your cardinals wouldn't feel hard done by if you got artificial plants. It is true that plants lower nitrate levels, but so (usually) do water changes.

 

[George Farmer]

Live plants are not essential, just preferble.

Better to have lots of plastic plants that lots of dying live plants, from both an aesthetic and water quality perspective.

Plastic plants are low-maintenace, easy to clean and still provide the shelter and security that live plants can.

Unless you have the required lighting and nutrient levels to heavily plant a tank then I'd personally stick with a mixture of plastic and hardy live plants.

 

[MaNkiND]

I have had cardinal tetras in with plastic plants and the key answer to your question is that it is not a must to have live plants. Infact, they could live their whole lives "thriving" in a tank w/ plasitc plants and not live plants. However the key question is what other fish do you have in your tank? Depeding on this we can tell if you if it is neccesary for your tank or not. Another question is how many cardinal tetras do you have?
I can also tell you that once i brought live plants to my tank all my fish were definately more happier. Especially my cardinals. Since i have 8 cardinals they like to shoal, and chase each other. Before (w/ plastic plants) they use to around the plant or stay behind/infront of the plant. Now w/ live plants they swim through the plants, and stay inside the plant. And the biggest reason would be because most live plants are softer and more natural than any plastic plant.
Hope i was helpful

 

[Dude]

thanks guys for the tips

i bought the cadinals and they seem very happy (allthough 3 died not to long ago)

they are really cool fish

anybody have any ideas about what other fish will look good and do good with my 10 cardinals?