Cardinals Not Eating

[stormhawk]

When I used to visit Gan's Fish Farm in the past, they'd have some tubifex worms in a tank near the packing area. So yes, I would say that they probably fed their wild caught cardinals with live food, in particular tubifex worms.

If you want to feed them, please try frozen bloodworm or live brine shrimp. They *might* take them as food. I say might because if they are used to having live tubifex, you have no choice but to feed them with that.

Note that wild-caught fish will almost always ignore flake food.

[Boesman]

They will not take frozen blood worms also as I had tried before. For tubiflex worm, I have not try. Maybe those bros who had bought cardinals direct from Gan's and have survived and eat well, can enlighten Warren on this matter.


Cheers and Regards
Boesman

[stormhawk]

I can tell you that when some people were scooping up the cardinals during one of the past AQ visits to Gan's Fish Farm, there were small balls of tubifex worms in their tanks since they'd come up with the nets too..

Those XL Cardinals just probably need some tubifex and then slowly wean to frozen tubifex and other foods.

[Boesman]

Yeah. They spit out the FBW. They may have mistaken them for tubiflex worms. So, Warren, you can try tubiflex worm if you want.

[slash_canadian]

yesterday talk to fish seller. he gives me some information about cardinal. better for me to buy a small cardinal than big cardinal. small can adept faster than the big one.

[warrenlee]

Good Morning everyone,

I have been in this hobby for 1 year.

Recently, I developed a keen interested on realing a big cardinal, after seeing the beautiful species swimming around, with its deep red color.

My tank is 3ft matured, have been in for almost 1 year and I have keen only 80 small cardinal and 30 big cardinal, 10 Harlequin Rasbora, 8 Pink danio, 2 zebra danio plus some cherry shrimps, 2 otto, 10 yamato.

My 3ft tank parameter:
GH: 60
KH: 40
PH: 6.8-7.0
No2: 0
No3: 20
C02: 3 bps.
temp: 26-28 with fan (no chiller)

planted with java moss wall, driftwood with us fisidden and mose.
foreground: japanese hair grass and glosso

My problem is with big XXL cardinal.
I have researched and read from internet, they said Cardinal Tetras needs lower ph like 5.5 -6 PH ?

I have bought XXL cardinal but have not been able to keep successfully, it does about 1-2 weeks then die off, with tail fin rot, a batch of 30 pieces for $50. And I have not given up, and I tried again, and it dies again, totally loss $100. Then, I thought it is because it caught wild so, it dies off easily. and a 3rd time, is when I visited a rainbow fish farm, and saw their big XXL cardinal also. They told me their XXL cardinal (6 cm long) are kept from small, not a wild caught. So, its adoptability and survival rate is higher. They are expensive, cost $2.5 each. I have bought another 10 pieces (dare not anymore, only 10 pieces). But again, it slow die off in 2-3 weeks with same symptom : with tail fin rot.

Sigh....? thinking of giving up the hope of have big XXL cardinal.

but my small cardinal and others fishes and shrimps are doing fine.

What wrong with those XXL cardinal ?

please kind hearted soul, please advice ?

Thanks,
Warren

[Blue Whale]

Hi people,

Maybe I share a bit on my experience.

Fish Food for tetra that I have used so far:
- Hikari worms (They do eat but the worm might be too big), some swallow halfway then spits the other half out.
- 宝增红 (Bao Zeng Hong)
- Azoo 9 in 1 micro pellet
- Aquori Flakes Brine Shrimp Treat You have to break up to smaller pieces for them. For supplements
- Aquori Flakes Algae Likewise need to break up. For supplements

Usually during water changes, I put a dash of salt, and dose Oceanfree blue medicine to keep ich out. Of course there are other stuffs. Being the maint. guy/gal, you are tasked with maintaining the filter clean also.

I have a blue lampeye tetra to guide new fishes added. It's like a big bro, telling the rest of the fish where to go, what to eat. It's 5 years old, very old bird in the tank. By far, even when I introduce new cardinals, they will eat on first occassion. Live worms are occasional treats to them.

I will attached two links to this reply also. Hope this helps you.

Fish Disease - Fin Rot
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/finrot.htm

Fish Disease - Neon Tetra Disease
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/di...eondisease.htm

[juke]

Gan does feed their cardinals with live tubifex, they also feed their cardinals with a fine powder food that comes in small bottle that they bottle themselve. You can try getting some power from Gan. Hope this helps.