Oh my gosh - they school!!!

[dougc]

My opinion is that quarantine is essential for this species. They are initially very shy and may not start eating if competing with other fish. There was a thread about a year ago on these fish and people who added the fish directly to a display tank had a high mortality rate. Those that quarantined did not. I believe that the high mortality is stress-related and quarantine eliminates a major source of stress.

If you are feeding them baby brine shrimp, you are probably starving them. Cardinals can take surprisingly large food. I started mine on frozen mysis. It took about three days for the first one to start taking this food and the others followed within a few days.

Once acclimated, they are very hardy. I lost one of seven the day I received them from liveaquaria.com, but did not lose any others for the 14 months that they were in my display tank. The only reason I don't have them now is that my tank broke and they, along with all my other livestock, got whisked off to the LFS to find a new home.

 

[Angel*Fish]

Doug thanks for the info - yes I learned my lesson - This fish definitely needs a quarantine I feel terrible that I didn't handle it better.

As far as the baby brine goes - I'm feeding the tank plenty of other foods also, the artemia really wasn't for them, it's for one of my stubborn tuka anthias who refuses to subsist on much else. They do have rather large mouths, I noticed. From day one they have gulped the artemia like candy, however. It must be tasty. I raise enough of the stuff to feed a horse, BTW.

Did yours continue to "school" the 14 months you had them?

 

[dougc]

As they matured, they paired off and the males often had a mouthful of eggs. Whenever there was any commotion around the tank, though, they immediately clustered together again. They are certainly more cohesive long-term than chromises, which each stake out a territory when they reach adulthood.

I have some orange-striped cardinals in my tank now, but they immediately paired off and never funciton as a shoal or school.

 

[Peter Schmiedel]

Marie,

her ein Europe the majority of fish keepers does never Q their fish. The trouble with the A. leptacanthus is that they are stored under bad conditions in the source country. Mostly they suffer from overdosis of abtibiotics and / or of the extrem high load of bakteria we have in our hobby. I assume oyu will loose them all if have no chance of getting them our in a Q tank with the correct treadment. Sorry for you and the fish.

 

[Angel*Fish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6767230#post6767230 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dougc
As they matured, they paired off and the males often had a mouthful of eggs. Whenever there was any commotion around the tank, though, they immediately clustered together again. They are certainly more cohesive long-term than chromises, which each stake out a territory when they reach adulthood.

I have some orange-striped cardinals in my tank now, but they immediately paired off and never funciton as a shoal or school.

Thanks for the information... Well -- now that I'm down to 4 then I'm not sure if I'll try to replace my losses. The 4 I have left look pretty good to me, right now anyway.

Peter, they really love the BBS _ I'm afraid they are spoiled now.... so far they have mostly ignored the mysis.

 

[Peter Schmiedel]

Marie,

mysis it only good for them when they are adult, even for my adult ones big mysis can be a problem. However the take froozen brine. Best is to try with small pellets.