Breeding Cardinal Tetra

Anybody successful in breeding Cardinal Tetra?

Was always a fish I wanted to breed but back then it was a no no.

Just wondering if there have been any advances that have now made this possible.

Thanks.

I haven't bred these myself but i have considered it recently and did some of the research.
Here are a few key points i noted along the way that should help you.

Choose young adults (1" ).
Older females get egg bound and cant release as many eggs. If you hold a female to the glass in
the tank you will see the eggs using a torch.

2 tanks are needed. 1 to hold and condition the fish the other for breeding.
Condition the fish on live foods until the females seem very rounded. You can check young females
for eggs the same as above.

The breeding tank should be sterile, a small sponge filter with a slow flow, pH around 5.8 with verry
little hardness, temp. 26.5c and up. The tank needs to be blacked out on all sides. Some say leave a
little peep hole, some dont.
Some recommend peat on the base of the tank (boil it to get it to sink). This will soften the water and
also give the fry somewhere to hide from the hungry parents.

Place a pair or a few pairs in the tank for an average of 3 days. Do not feed them in the breeding tank. Remove the fish keeping the tank in darkness. After 2 more days you can remove some of the covers on the tank but i would still keep it quite dark.

If all has gone well you should see some fry at the bottom edge of the tank.
When the eggsac is gone start to feed.
There seems to be a lot of confusion on what to feed the fry. Some say San Francisco Bay brine
shrimp eggs are fine as a first food were others disagree. If you do use brine shrimp only use it
freshly hatched. Brine shrimp develop quickly once hatched and there outer shell hardens quickly
which could choke the fry.
Probably the best way to determine what size first food is look at the size of the eyes on the fry and
choose food that is no bigger than this. Works for me every time.
After that its plenty of food and fresh water.

Maybe someone on here has first hand experience breeding these little beauties and will help you
out.
Best of luck with this breeding project.

EDIT; i dont know why the winking smiley keeps appearing. I didn't put it there.

This sounds like a super interesting project !
tm2204 ... the recipe seems quite complete ... our eyes are turned in your direction ... we're now waiting for photos and updates
Valerie

Thanks for the excellent advice Platty252.

Indeed, when I do get breeding again I think I will go straight for these beauties. I will, of course, keep everyone here updated on my sucess (or lack of.....)