# Which is hardier - Neons or Cardinals?



## Jaguar (Oct 13, 2011)

Errr... so one of the neons decided to show up AFTER feeding time, so I have 3 left. Still, I love how they look and I would like to get more of one or the other.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

I find that I have much better luck with Cardinals than Neons, but that might just be a personal experience.


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## i'm a ninja (Aug 2, 2009)

Both are sensitive fish, but once settled neons have been tougher in my experience. All the cardinals I have had seemed to do ok at first, but after a few months I would start losing them one at a time. When I introduce neons I often lose quite a few (usually around half) but after that the remaining fish are tough and trouble free for years.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Cardinals have always been better for me. Both are somewhat sensitive, I don't think either are "sensitive" per say, but I wouldn't recommend them to a beginner. My latest attempt was Cardinals and I haven't lost a single one outside of a few jumpers. I stocked slowly. 

My experience with Neon's seems similar to yours. With Cardinals, I will loose them right away if I stock too quickly and the like. With Neons, I tend to loose them down the road and they tend to just all go. My Cardinals seem to do fine after they have acclimated, I have only lost Cardinals (even jumpers) in the first 48 hours.

That said, I have kept Cardinals more often and had more Neons and a beginner than after being experienced so my memory may just be reflective of that.


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## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

both are hardy once settled down in the tank.


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## kribkeeper888 (Oct 8, 2011)

i would say cardinals but im gonna have to go with, it depends on your water and the fish you get


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## brainwavepc.com (Sep 27, 2011)

Cardinals in my experience.


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## bluegoldfish (Jan 2, 2012)

I've always had regular and unexplained die-offs with my neons. It's too depressing, so when I set up a 10 gallon after many years of no fish at all, I went with cardinals. MUCH better experience and I have a happy little school, now.


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## manualfocus (Jun 15, 2011)

Here's the thing about buying Cardinals/Neons at petshops--*DO NOT* buy them on the day they arrive and are put into the tanks. Buy them a day or two after, as it gives them time to adjust. The weak ones would've died off by then. I've done this many times and have had minimal loses.

In regards to the hardier one, I don't have any hard evidence to support this, just personal experience, but I have had better luck with Cardinals.


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## zergling (May 16, 2007)

They're both hardy in my experience. If you have a fully cycled tank without problems, that is.

Agreed with manualfocus' post. Unless you are SURE that the petshop actually takes care of their tanks, don't water your hard-earned money.

Quarantine is a must for any new livestock, but you already know that.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

manualfocus said:


> Here's the thing about buying Cardinals/Neons at petshops--*DO NOT* buy them on the day they arrive and are put into the tanks. Buy them a day or two after, as it gives them time to adjust. The weak ones would've died off by then. I've done this many times and have had minimal loses.
> 
> In regards to the hardier one, I don't have any hard evidence to support this, just personal experience, but I have had better luck with Cardinals.


I actually have luck with a local Petsmart. That gave me confidence to go to my local Petco for some Black Neons. 2 didn't even make the 15 min. trip home. But yes, this is a major factor. Cardinals are rarely sold at chain stores/petshops but even the small mom and pop pet stores carry neons.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

How strange.. every petco and petsmart near me carries cardinals...
Its weird how one large chain can vary so much form region to region.
In my experience both are hardy but neons are hardier. The large petstores near me really really really like money so they tend to take really really really good care fo their fish. I'm always hard pressed to find a anything wrong with my local petsmart. They just never carry anything interesting.
Neons die off in the start for me and cardinals dont. However cardinals die off slowly and the surviving neons are just about the toughest fish I can think of.

My sister ( I have no control over this tank) has 8 of them in one of those 2.5 gallon corner tanks and they have been thriving for years despite an extreme lack of care.


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## LB79 (Nov 18, 2011)

The trick with cards is a steady, _warm_ environment.


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## [email protected] (Jul 17, 2008)

Neon tetras are a sustainable, wild caught fish for the most part. Part of the issue if one wants to call it that, is that the fish are hungry after thousands of miles of trans-shipping and nothing the average hobbyist is offering looks like food. A lot of cardinals are wild caught too, and the same situation exists. 
They're hungry and you aren't offering an Amazon buffet. 

My problem with neons is I've not been able to get them to spawn for me. 
An oak leaf tank is next on the list.


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## msharper (Aug 19, 2011)

I think most people start out as beginners with neons as a first tropical fish. Their cheap price and availability mean that they can be bought at almost any "pet" store... enough said. On the other hand Cardinals seem to be a little bit more rare and have a higher price tag therefore hobbyists with more experience tend to purchase them. Combine these factors and the answer is still not easy. Basically if you can find good quality neons that are tank raised (most often the case) they should theoretically be hardier then cardinals (most often wild caught) but lets face it with all fish it's a crap shot most of the time and every case is different.


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## msjinkzd (May 12, 2007)

I think it depends on quality. I have never had problems with either.

Cardinals and neons are both readily available farmed vs. wild caught. A lot just depends on how they are handled upon import.


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## LS6 Tommy (May 13, 2006)

I've never tried Neons because I like Cards better. That being said, I've also never had any problems with Cards...


Tommy


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## Jaguar (Oct 13, 2011)

See, results all over the board, just what I figured haha. Maybe I will try them again when I get a RO system, my water is less than ideal for anything other than african cichlids.


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## Naekuh (Oct 19, 2011)

if u can keep the cardinals alive long enough to get established in your tank, cardinals id say are probably better.

Neons tend to just mysteriously die off... i dont know why.. its not just me that this happens to either.

Also never trust petco... make sure u check every tank next to the tank ur looking at. They are all connected, so if 1 tank is infected, pretty much the rest of the tanks next to it are as well. 

Ive brought home ich from petco many times, and there tanks still have ich. 
I tell them every time i go there, you still got ich... they do a sigh and put up a tag saying under observation, but the next day i think the store manager comes and takes the tags off. 
Its like they think 1 day is enough for ich treatment...

Lucky for me, i can just ask the guy to hold the fish i want b4 he drops it in the main tank... pick it up straight from the box, and give my luck at that shot.
Its worked well for me... every fish they drop into the tank, ive lost, every fish they held for me b4 dropping into the tank has lived.


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## fresh.salty (Jul 2, 2010)

After having probably 50 LFS neons and cardinals die on me in 6 months I bought 30+ cardinals from a seller here. They all came in great shape. Kept them in a 10g here at my shop for about 2 months then took them home to my 90g. That was about 2 years ago and I think I've lost 3.

If I wanted more I'd get them from someone like Rachel that takes the needed steps to acclimate stock and not just turn it around the same day.


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## longbeach (Nov 2, 2011)

Cardinals have always been the best for me. Neons have done well...I got them from Petco!! and they lived. They did best when I had a school of 20 in my 55 gal. 12 cardinals and 8 neons... gorgious together. The neons did spawn but the the apistos and corys took care of all that.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

msjinkzd said:


> I think it depends on quality. I have never had problems with either.
> 
> Cardinals and neons are both readily available farmed vs. wild caught. A lot just depends on how they are handled upon import.


I agree that the difference is source and treatment.

The main issue with Neons is that the majority in the hobby are mass-produced on fish farms over in Asia. Those farms often emphasize quantity over quality, so those fish typically are not culled, not regularly outcrossed with fresh bloodlines, and as a result extremely prone to certain diseases such as Neon Tetra Disease. Then they have to deal with a very long and stressful Trans Pacific shipping to very alien conditions to them here in the US (temperatures, water parameters, exposure to other fish species, germs, parasites, foods, etc).

The majority of the Cardinals in the hobby are wild-caught from the Amazon. So again subjected to stresses of capture, stress from new and alien conditions, etc.

So the ideal is when you can find US farm-raised stock; they're going to be the most closely acclimated to the water and foods found in the US. I'll personally pay 2x more to obtain US farm-raised when possible, as chances are excellent I'll be able to enjoy the fish at least 2x as long.

Of the first two options, I vastly prefer wild-caught stock to Asian farm-raised fish of any species.


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## Jaguar (Oct 13, 2011)

The Neons I got were from a trashy local store, not a chain. I have better confidence in the fish I get from Petsmart, ironically. Their selection just sucks. At least with chains you get your money back if they die - with this store I got the Neons from, they just kept giving me more sick fish. :I 

I'm in Canada, so shipping stuff to me is not really an option. International rush shipping is more expensive than the fish are even worth, and as a broke college kid, I just can't afford that. I tried to get some from a store on the coast, and to send the fish on a *5 hour* courier trip, it was over $50. For $20 worth of fish. And they weren't even guaranteed to arrive alive.


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## Planted-Community (Dec 9, 2011)

cardenals are but neons are more desierable


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## Fahnell (Jan 20, 2011)

cardinals by far
neons are may may inbreed and overbreed

guppies neons and some discus are too often inbreed for various reasons

neons - there is a huge demand for them and asian farms must produce them in large numbers
guppies and discus - color pattern etc etc

but if you can get some wild neons they will prove very hardy


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