How Do You Tell Neon And Cardinal Tetras Apart?
How to Tell Neon and Cardinal Tetras ApartRecently I purchased what I thought were Neon Tetras, but a friend said they are really Cardinal Tetras. How can I tell the difference? Answer: A: Neon and Cardinal Tetras are similar in appearance, and are often confused with each other. However there is one very easily identifiable difference. In the Cardinal Tetra the red stripe on the lower half of the body extends the full length of the fish from the eye area to the tail. In the Neon Tetra the red stripe only begins at mid-body, roughly below the dorsal fin, and extends to the tail. Pictured here is a side by side comparison of the two fish. The Cardinal is on the top, the Neon on the bottom. Neon Tetras Neon Tetras have been in the aquarium trade the longest, and are usually the least expensive of the two species. They are also a bit smaller than Cardinal Tetras, and rarely reach an adult size of more than one inch. They do best in soft acidic water with a pH of 6.0 to 6.5 and a hardness
