FishLvr.com

By Gary Bolton

Family: Characidae

Species: Paracheirodon axelrodi

Size: 4.5cm (1 three quarter inch)

Diet: Omnivorous

Tank levels: All

Habitat: Slow-flowing waters in Venezuela, Brazil, and Colombia

Remarks: For best colours (and breeding conditions), provide soft acidic water. This tetra is distinguished from other similar fishes like, Paracheirodon innesi and P. simulans, by the extent of the red band.

Comments: A striking, electric blue stripe adorns this fish, running from the snout, through the top half of the eye, to the adipose fin. The lower body is bright red, with a small, silver area along the front ventral surface. Females have deeper bodies. Unlike the Neon Tetra, this fish requires much softer water to keep and breed and should not be confused with the Neon Tetra for ease of keeping.

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By Allen Jesson

The Cardinal tetra is similar to more frequently kept Neon tetra, but is much more difficult to breed in aquariums. Since both species look similar to each other at first glance, they are sometimes mixed up with each other and the Cardinal tetra is sometimes erroneously referred to as “red neon tetra”. Telling them apart is however not very difficult. Both species have a characteristic sparkling blue line that bisects the body, and under this line you will notice a red lateral stripe. If this red coloration extends only halfway to the nose of the fish, you know that it is a Neon tetra. If the red coloration instead extends much longer, you are looking at a Cardinal tetra. The red coloration of the Cardinal tetra was thought to resemble the long red robes worn by cardinals, hence the name. The scientific name of this species was given to it in honour of a highly regarded ichthyologist.

Since the Cardinal tetra is quite difficult to breed in aquariums, a majority of the Cardinal tetras in the aquarium trade has been wild caught. The native habitat of the Cardinal tetra is the upper Orinoco and Negro rivers in South America, where the water is acidic and very soft. Fortunately enough, the Cardinal tetra is very prolific in the wild and is not considered an endangered species. It is only reluctant to breed when kept in aquariums. In the wild, it is uncommon for a Cardinal tetra to grow older than one year. When you keep Cardinal tetras in aquariums without any predators around, you can however make them survive for several years.

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