Cardinal Tetra
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| Common name | Cardinal tetra |
| Scientific name | Paracheirodon axelrodi |
| Synonyms | Cheirodon axelrodi (not valid) |
| Size | 2" (5cm) |
| Origin | South America: Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela |
| Tank setup | A well planted tank with a dark background will show these colourful tetras at their best. |
| Compatibility | Peaceful, community. |
| Temperature | 22-26oC (72-79oF) |
| Water chemistry | Very soft and acidic preferred, but captive-bred fish will tolerate medium hard and alkaline water. |
| Feeding | Omnivorous: Flake, granular foods and micro-pellets, supplemented with small live and frozen foods. |
| Sexing | Males are slimmer than females. |
| Breeding | Very soft (<3 dGH), acidic water required. The parents should be removed
after spawning, which usually occurs in the evening.
Around 500 eggs are laid which hatch in about 24 hours. |
| Comments |
A very popular tetra that is similar to the Neon tetra, but has more red on the lower part of the body, where the Neon is silver.
A large shoal of these fish makes for a spectacular sight in a well-planted tank.
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