Cardinal Tetra Supplier for +100

[Gerryd]

Hi all,

I have purchased cards from many suppliers over the years and is very hit or miss on the quality of them whether Web or LFS. LFS is also hit or miss even if I have them bring me 50 from the wholesaler, where they don't even acclimate them at the LFS, they go right to me in the bag from the wholesaler.

I want to buy 100-200 more cardinals. 100 at a time as that is all the quarantine room I have at one time............so 2 batches likely

Does anyone know of a good mail order supplier or LFS to their area that may ship that I can use for this?

Example of an LFS that ships would be World of Fish in Minnesota, good store that I purchased fish at years ago when I was doing some business travel there. Haven't been there in years, so unsure if the quality is still good.....

I have already used:

Arizona Aquatic Gardens
Fish2U.com
Dr Fosters and Smith's

Am looking for someone I have NOT used.

I am happy to pay more for quality or distance shipping if international, but would obviously prefer within the US, less shipping time=happier fish...............

Thanks,

 

[tedr108]

Gerry,

My LFS does so well with cardinals that I haven't bothered looking elsewhere -- and the price is good: 12 for $25. I have bought 48 from them and never lost one single fish (not counting the ones I copper poisoned after having them for over a month). They are all very small, mind you, like 1/2" or so. All of my cardinals are huge now.

If it would help you, I would be willing to call them and ask who their supplier is. Perhaps they supply a store in your area. Anyway, let me know on that. I can't even be sure my LFS would be willing to tell me.

 

[Gerryd]

I found River Wonders at 50 @ 1.10 EACH USD, but have never used them before.

Anyone familiar with or use them ever with good results?

Thanks,

 

[creighton]

Thats going to be a hard problem to solve. I've always wondered how people gather schools of 500 tetras. Don't most wholesalers purposely not sell to individuals though? Most require a business license etc. . Maybe try to find an aquarium club that has done something similar. Good luck! I'll keep my eyes peeled for any leads.

 

[mlfishman]

river wonders

I saw that price at river wonders and am curious how htey are as well. anyone?

 

[Tom Barr]

You must acclimate the Cardinals very slowly.
After that, they do well.
Feed a lot, (frequently, small amounts) at least for the first 4-8 weeks till they fatten up.

82F is fine, they grow very well at this temp over long time frames.
Lots of water changes, med to low KH's.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[Gerryd]

Ordered - 100

Well, I placed an order for 100 cardinals from RW and will advise on my experience. Expect delivery this week.............

Tom,

My biggest issue is that one or more of the fish have the 'neon tetra' disease, or something similar and this runs like wildfire through the school.

Even those that were healthy can be struck by this and die. Death takes 2-3 days tops from first visible symptoms.........

Last 50 I purchased ended up with about 18 because of this......

This has happened with many batches over the last several years.......

Thanks for the help all.

 

[tedr108]

Gerry,

Just read up on "neon tetra" disease, which I hadn't heard of ... scary stuff, especially because of no cure. Well, at least I have a quarantine tank now.

 

[creighton]

Is breeding them a possible alternative?

 

[tedr108]

Creighton,

Read this and you'll see why it is probably cheaper to go to So. America and catch cardinals.

Finally I Made It: Cardinal Tetras by Rene Jez

 

[Gerryd]

Update:

Hey all,

Got my delivery from RW today. Nicely packaged in a foam box and very snug..

Out of the 100 I ordered, only 50 showed up so far (have a call into customer service). 2 were DOA and about 6 have the dread neon tetra disease........I culled the really bad ones and will hope for the best with the rest.

They are very tiny now +=1/4 and cannot go into the display for quite a while (8-12 weeks min I think) until they get some size or they will be gobbled up by the Bosemani.........

Nice thing is that if they do survive, will be around a long time.............I like having some juvies within the older residents. Makes it a little more natural...

I hope the other 50 come soon (whatever happened) so I can get them into quarantine with the others.......

Well, tomorrow I will try some different foods (live cut blackworms or scrambled eggs, tetras love em!) and see if they will eat as they will have been in their new ome for 24 hours at that time. Sooner I get their bellies full the better chance they have.......

I think at some point I will need to try breeding them..............Seems challenging but doable and the rewards (if any) should be great. At least I have potential breeding stock lol

Will know in about 2 weeks how many will make it and will post then........

 

[tedr108]

Gerry,

Thanks for filling us in.

Question: I tried the scrambled eggs with my tetras with no luck. They go up to the pieces but then turn around. Is there some trick to getting them to take the pieces? Do you drop in bigger pieces and let them nibble? Or try to make the pieces really small? When I tried the eggs a while back, my tetras were very small -- maybe 1/2" or so -- perhaps they were too small for eggs.

 

[Gerryd]

Ted,

I usually try holding a larger bit in the water until it dissolves into various sizes. Wait until the fish are hungry, don't feed them for 24-36 hours before the eggs, and try again.

Use a little at a time so you can see if they are eating it. It breaks up fast and if they don't eat it you don't want to foul the tank. Snails will get it, but then you will have many snails.

Not all eat it at first, but enough do that the others start to mimic them. Eventually they all love it.

when they do like it, you can drop bigger pieces in and they will tear them apart. Easy to do for them and it gives a 'feeding frenzy' (of cardinals???) effect.

I keep the leftover in the fridge for about 3-4 days tops. Then I make a fresh batch if needed.

All my dwarf cichlids, tetras, corys, pencils, and rainbows eat this regularly and absolutely go nuts for it. It works well to get them fat and the dwarves always spawn within a day or two if I feed them this for 2-3 days straight.

I also feed this to juvie fish and it works well for them too. Rainbows, cichlids, and livebearers fryall have taken it readily.

I do use a splash of milk and a teeny bit of butter before frying, so maybe the fat attracts them? I think it is the smell at first.

It works well for small fish or small mouths (juvies, pencils) as the pieces are small when it dissolves and they can grab pieces of their liking....

Let me know if it works for you, as I swear by it, but hope that it is not one of those things that only work for my fish but none others lol

Later,

 

[creighton]

Woah. That sounds intense. But imagine if there was a super easy method to breed fish...ahhh but a dream.


Good Luck with the fish Gerry!

 

[riiz]

This might too late, but another good place for large quantities is BoxLotFish.com | We supply tropical aquarium fish like - Plecos, Tetras, Cichlids, Corys, Sting Ray, but no Piranha!.

Cardinals @ $.87

 

[Gerryd]

Hi,

Thanks for the link!

I purchased a few pencils from them a few years ago. They are local to me, so I will give them another shot.....

 

[rich815]

Hi,

Thanks for the link!

I purchased a few pencils from them a few years ago. They are local to me, so I will give them another shot.....

So, how'd that original batch of 50-100 cards do after all?

I bought 39 from a LFS here (Ocean Aquarium in San Francisco) about 9 months ago. Justin at OA is pretty reputable and quarantines his fish a week or two before selling them.

I'm happy to say until last week all lived. Out of the blue I found a dead one in my myrio forest, no indications why he died though I did see one of the older ones last week with a bit of cataract in one of his eyes. Now the whole school but that one have lasted through two minor ich outbreaks too. They are all over 1" now and just gorgeous.

 

[Gerryd]

So, how'd that original batch of 50-100 cards do after all?

Well they sent me 50 tiny and not so healthy (IMO) NEON TETRAS, so I was not that happy, and cancelled the rest of the order.

Worked out for the best as they were all were dead within 2 days..........

So, I had them send me a refund for the balance.

They were nice, apologetic, and prompt about it all, but left a bad taste in my mouth..........

My shoal is over 100, but not really sure anymore.

I have 25 on order from my LFS, so will go back to doing small batches at a time to build up the shoal, rather than buy 100 at a time...........

 

[rich815]

Well they sent me 50 tiny and not so healthy (IMO) NEON TETRAS, so I was not that happy, and cancelled the rest of the order.

Worked out for the best as they were all were dead within 2 days..........

So, I had them send me a refund for the balance.

They were nice, apologetic, and prompt about it all, but left a bad taste in my mouth..........

My shoal is over 100, but not really sure anymore.

I have 25 on order from my LFS, so will go back to doing small batches at a time to build up the shoal, rather than buy 100 at a time...........

Oh man. That sucks. Good thing they only sent 50 so you could cancel the rest of the order. So important to find a good reliable supplier.

 

[Darrell Ward]

Well they sent me 50 tiny and not so healthy (IMO) NEON TETRAS, so I was not that happy, and cancelled the rest of the order.

Worked out for the best as they were all were dead within 2 days..........

So, I had them send me a refund for the balance.

They were nice, apologetic, and prompt about it all, but left a bad taste in my mouth..........

My shoal is over 100, but not really sure anymore.

I have 25 on order from my LFS, so will go back to doing small batches at a time to build up the shoal, rather than buy 100 at a time...........

Man, I'm sorry to hear that. A few months back, I was looking for some cards myself. All the ones I found in various LFS either looked terrible, cost over 3 bucks apiece, or both! One of my fellow discus pals told me the best place he had found to get them was Drs.FosterSmith.com. I said you got to be kidding me, and he assured me he was not. So, I ordered 50. They cost about a buck something with the quantity discount. Shipping was fairly cheap too. They were small, about 3/4", but grew quickly in my quarantine tank eating frozen foods like daphnia and such. Only one arrived DOA, I considered that no big deal. Today, all are still alive, and looking good at about an inch to an inch and a half long in my planted 240 gal. discus tank.