| Cardinal Tetra | Tropical Fish Guide |
| Size | 2 inches or 5 cm |
| Fish Hardiness | Easy to care for |
| Water Temperature | 71.6 - 82.4°F or 22 - 28°C |
| Water pH | 4.5 - 7.0 pH |
| Water Hardness | 5 - 15 dGH |
| Peaceful or Aggressive | Peaceful shoaling fish |
| Number of same species in tank | Four or more, more is better |
| Community Fish | Yes |
| Sexes | Males are generally slimmer than the larger, rounder females |
| Strata | Middle to bottom |
| Food | Flake food, blood worms and brine shrimp |
| Breeding | Not very easy to breed |
| Breeding temperature | 82.4°F or 28°C |
| Other names | Cardinal Neon or Cardinal Neon Tetra |
| Scientific name | Paracheirodon axelrodi |
| Lifespan | 4 years |
Ideal Cardinal Tetra Conditions
Appearance
This is another species of colorful tropical freshwater fish. They have a bright neon blue line running from the head to the tail, similar to the Neon Tetra. The main difference is that the bottom half of the body is completely red from head to tail without the white front part.
Peaceful, Community
They are very peaceful fish and ideal for a community aquarium setup that prefers the middle to lower parts of the aquarium. Take care not to put them with bigger aggressive fish in the same tank. For instance certain cichlids and the clown knife fish will make a quick meal of them.
Because they are so small they only really make an impression in an aquarium when you have a school of them. They love lots of ornaments and especially plants for hiding out and obviously enough free swimming space as well.