Lone Cardinal Tetra

[KezCookie]

So, I got a fish tank a few weeks ago and my first additions were 4 cardinal tetras. However, since then 3 of them have died. The remaining one looked very lonely and I was afraid he would die too, however only yesterday I got 3 Black Phantom tetras and my little cardinal is like a completely different fish, swimming around and playing with the phantoms. I was planning on getting some more cardinals so he wouldn't be alone, but seeing it so happy with the phantoms made me question whether or not I needed more cardinals, so what should I do? All help is appreciated.

 

[Byron]

Yes, you do need more cardinals, at this stage. When you have had a group of a shoaling species, and a few years later they begin to die, the need to replace is much different than it is when the fish are young. Shoaling fish must have a group; they will be stressed out if not, and this leads to various health issues that otherwise wouldn't occur. The fish is stressed, and this only worsens. The lone cardinal's behaviour is indicative that he feels the need for others, but obviously he can't find them, so he may try to make do, but this is not the same thing to the fish. Fish communicate within a species by chemical signals called pheromones as well as by sight, and this is an essential part of a healthy fish.

I would aim for at least six cardinals, but more would be better, say 7-9. I don't know your tank size, but given that shoaling fish will always be healthier and "happier" with more of them, you need to provide as many as you can.

Same holds for the Black Phantom; here I would say 7-9 (again depends on your tank space). Male and female are easier to ID, and 4 males/3 females (5 males/4 females, etc) works nicely.

On another aspect, the death of the other cardinals. These are sensitive fish (so are the Phantoms, though perhaps not as much), and acclimation can be important. Also, the tank seems to have been new, was it cycled somehow?

Byron.

 

[KezCookie]

Yes, you do need more cardinals, at this stage. When you have had a group of a shoaling species, and a few years later they begin to die, the need to replace is much different than it is when the fish are young. Shoaling fish must have a group; they will be stressed out if not, and this leads to various health issues that otherwise wouldn't occur. The fish is stressed, and this only worsens. The lone cardinal's behaviour is indicative that he feels the need for others, but obviously he can't find them, so he may try to make do, but this is not the same thing to the fish. Fish communicate within a species by chemical signals called pheromones as well as by sight, and this is an essential part of a healthy fish.

I would aim for at least six cardinals, but more would be better, say 7-9. I don't know your tank size, but given that shoaling fish will always be healthier and "happier" with more of them, you need to provide as many as you can.

Same holds for the Black Phantom; here I would say 7-9 (again depends on your tank space). Male and female are easier to ID, and 4 males/3 females (5 males/4 females, etc) works nicely.

On another aspect, the death of the other cardinals. These are sensitive fish (so are the Phantoms, though perhaps not as much), and acclimation can be important. Also, the tank seems to have been new, was it cycled somehow?

Byron.

No, the tank was not cycled however we did wait about a week or so for the water to get set up before we added fish

 

[the_lock_man]

No, the tank was not cycled however we did wait about a week or so for the water to get set up before we added fish

Waiting a week or so has done nothing to the water, unfortunately, so it's likely that the fish died from ammonia poisoning. It would be good if you could post up the results of an ammonia test to confirm this. Unless there is a source of ammonia in the water, there is nothing for the beneficial bacteria to feed on, so the bacterial colonies do not grow.

At this stage, I would strongly recommend not getting any additional fish. If you have not already done so, you will need to purchase a water test kit with tests for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Having one to do pH will also be good. Many people on this forum recommend the API Master kit, personally I don't like this, I prefer the Salifert range.

What you need to do know is to cycle the tank. Since you have fish, you will need to follow the fish-in cycle method, and the recommended way to do this can be found here

If you have any questions, and you probably will, we have an area of the forum dedicated to cycling your tank. It's called Cycle Your Tank, and you can find it here.

Only when your tank is completely cycled should you think about buying more fish. Having a small amount of fish being poisoned is better than having a large amount of fish being poisoned.

Hope that helps.

 

[DoubleDutch]

Agree completely.

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