Difference Between Neon's And Cardinals

[Carp4U]

Jus wanted to know the differences between Cardinal and Neon tetras as i am hoping for either in my planted tank.

 

[fishncan]

indentification-wise, the cardinal's red underside extends the length of the fish. On the neon it is about halfway

 

[oakes]

Cardinals also grow slightly (by about 1cm) bigger.

In my experience the cardinals have also lived longer, although you can get 3 or 4 neons for the price of one cardinal.

 

[catfish101]

cardnals are considerably hardier get bigger and can be mixed with larger fish such as angles where as neons have few tanks mates that will not eat them

 

[Mustang Boy]

how large is your tank cause if you really like them both you might be able to get a school of each that would be pretty neat looking having both cardinals and neons

 

[oakes]

how large is your tank cause if you really like them both you might be able to get a school of each that would be pretty neat looking having both cardinals and neons

I have never actually done this. But it made me wonder, if anyone here has, do they school together or remain seperate?

 

[trojannemo]

how large is your tank cause if you really like them both you might be able to get a school of each that would be pretty neat looking having both cardinals and neons

I have never actually done this. But it made me wonder, if anyone here has, do they school together or remain seperate?

based on my experience they mix right away and school together as one school rather than two schools.

cardnals are considerably hardier get bigger and can be mixed with larger fish such as angles where as neons have few tanks mates that will not eat them

really? for some reason i've had the opposite experience where my cardinals have never made it and my neons always last longer....

 

[Nick16]

i always believed cardinals are slightly harder to keeps. neons are so easy.

 

[ALW]

This is a Neon Tetra

This is a Cardinal Tetra

Neons grow to about 4cm max, Cardinals about 5cm, Cardinals require more specific water conditions (ph &hardness etc) than Neons!

 

[Lateral Line]

Wild caught, both are sensitive to pollution, Cardinals more so then Neons. These days, many examples in the average lfs are farmed and the weaker less tolerant specimens have died already before shipping. Thus both are easier now then they were say 20 years ago. That said, I've always found Cardinals to be more difficult to establish, but once established, do better then Neons. Even farmed fish will not tolerate bad water conditions.

I have bred Neons many times, but Cardinals only a few times using similar blackwater setups. From that point of view, Cardinals are more fussy.

 

[Biulu]

cardnals are considerably hardier get bigger and can be mixed with larger fish such as angles where as neons have few tanks mates that will not eat them

I was told this too, but in practice neons are easier to keep than cardinals, at least with the water condiitons we have here in Mexico! Plus for the price of 1 cardinal, I can buy 3 neons!

 

[lilfishie]

they do look good when they shoal together, and i have found both to be equally hardy, have had a mixed shoal for some years

 

[Gurglar]

My girlfriend actually bought some neons once and they had a deal on for like 10 neons for the price of 5 and they only had like 6 left so they gave her a few cardinals aswell for no extra price and they schoaled together like normal.