Cardinal Tetras - breeding question

[k9outfit]

Not sure where to post this....

Has anyone spawned Cardinal Tetras? Any suggestions? I'd like to add around 50 to my Discus show tank, and breeding them myself would be a way to avoid the possibility of introducing disease. I'm sure I'll end up beating my head against the wall trying to accomplish the impossible, but I like a good challenge.

[nicholas76]

From what I read cardinal tetras are very difficult to breed unlike neon tetras and the like.

Personally I wouldnt really bother trying , your better off finding a trusted supplier and select nice healthy looking ones and go from there.

by the way have you considered rummy nose tetras?? they are my favorite and look awsum in large schools

[shewey]

I have not tried it myself but I know it is possible, albeit very hard. If you do a google on it you can find articles on people who have been successful. I believe you need to prime them up on lots of live food, seperate the males and females for a while, and then wack them all together again and black the tank out for a few days to induce the spawning. ...I am sure it is a lot harder than it sounds but good luck with it.

Cheers,
Shewey.

[k9outfit]

Thanks for the replies!

I did "google" them, and I've come up with a few articles from which I devised a battle plan; but I was kind of hoping for some insider info that doesn't necessarily show up in print.

I have also considered the Rummynose, but I'm not familiar with them, never having had any. Also, apparently, they're about as difficult to spawn as the Cardinals?

Along with having a stunning display tank, my hidden agenda is to earn BAP points with these (breeder's award program); they're bound to be worth a few.

[fishgeek]

free spawners
egg's are apparently light sensitive so the tank needs to be darkend

it is suggested the sex's be seperated , fed well and fattened on higher protein foods then
larger water changes with peat treated acidic low mineral content water

reintroduced fish, wait for quick spawn and remove fish againas they do suppossedly eat egg's

article in pfk few years back, maybe archived on their site

andrew

[nicholas76]

ever try and seperate sexes or even catch a cardinal in a large tank

[Robdog]

ever try and seperate sexes or even catch a cardinal in a large tank

It's easy with a 3 foot spear gun Nick! Just hold on

[k0b0i]

Just move your net around the tank making them swim back and forth until they get tired.. or stressed.. or pass out from the stress of being tired.

I just did a tank move and had to catch mine out...

I caught all 40+ of mine that way - and they all survived! lol if you have rummy noses though.... they are twice as fast as cardinals

catching the cardinals was a walk in the park compared to them...

[Will1983]

i would use glass beads like marbles as an substrate in your breeding tank.

that way when they scatter the eggs they will not be able to just go hovering them all up off the bottom of the tank.

ive spawned glowlight tetras recently in my community tank. if the cardinals are like the glowlights they will need an area of plenty of densely packed plants to spawn in.

good luck!
Will