Iggy Tavares
Cardinal tetras Paracheirodon axelrodi are generally somewhat delicate and require very
warm water.
A
Cardinal tetras Paracheirodon
axelrodi do tend to be more
delicate than neon tetras P.
innesi. This is partly due to the
fact that while neons are routinely captive
bred, most of the cardinals on the market are
still wild-caught. Often, they undergo quite
tend to be much more exacting when it comes
to their water chemistry needs. While captive-
bred neons have adapted to a fairly broad
range of pH and hardness values, wild-caught
cardinals really demand soft, acidic water if
they are to thrive in captivity. Your pH of 7. 2
is simply outside the appropriate range for
this species. A pH of 6.0 is about as high as
you should go for cardinals.
an ordeal—including enduring a prolonged
period with little or no food—from the time
of capture until they arrive in your local fish
store. Hence, many are starved, weakened,
and on the verge of succumbing before they
ever reach a hobbyist’s tank.
Being wild-caught also means that they
Give Me a Break!
My friend’s 75-gallon tank,
which contains a 2-foot-long
red-tail catfish, developed a
crack in one of the end panes and dumped
water all over his hardwood floor. He
insists that the catfish caused the crack by
ramming into the glass. He says he knows
the fish did it because he heard a loud thud
just beforehand. Is it really possible for a
fish to crack the glass in an aquarium?
Clay Schario
Erie, Pennsylvania
I wouldn’t doubt for a
minute that a 2-foot red-tail catfish Phractocephalus
hemioliopterus could crack
the glass in a 75-gallon tank by swimming
headlong into it. When a large fish kept in
such a grossly undersized tank is startled
or highly agitated, it’s quite possible that it
will dash headfirst into the glass and cause
a crack or leak. And, considering that your
friend was keeping a fish that is capable of
reaching over 4 feet in a 4-foot long tank, one
could argue that it was really just a matter of
time before this tankbuster did exactly that.
Of course, it’s not always a big fish that
manages to crack an aquarium. Smaller
digging or burrowing species are able to
undermine rock piles and other tank decor
through their excavations, which can cause
the object to shift and fall into one of the glass
panes, producing a crack or leak. Hence,
when keeping digging or burrowing species,
it’s a good idea to place rocks and other heavy
tank decor (such as those ceramic castles
or pirate ships) directly on the bottom glass
Q
A
14 www.tfhmagazine.com
October 2010
