Dozey

I keep both and enjoy having both but the cardinals are a little more colourful IMO.



NTS (neon tetra disease) is an awful thing. It is certain death for fish with no known treatment or cure. Although called NTS because it was first discovered in neon tetras it can effect other fish. This past December I purchased a dozen neons with NTS, it was a very sad 5 days.

CoryMac

I keep both neons & cardinals they both school together, to me they seem like hardy fish, they all been though 2 tank upgrade's 1 ammonia spike & a mini cycle , not one has died yet, Ive had them all for about 8 months now, love them both.


heres a video of my neons & cardinals schooling, you will see the towards the middle of the video.
link:View My Video

Cordi

prefer neon's myself for a few simple reasons

1. they're as tempermental as cardinals
2. they're 1/3 the price
3. they stay small

JennDFK

I'm from Texas where we like things bigger and brighter... so I say the cardinal

bolivianbaby

Cardinals are prettier, but I gotta go with the hardiness of the neons. When you get a school of at least 5 or 6, they're beautiful!

Cheese burger

I prefer Cardinal

candy803

I have always loved the classic neon tetras. I plan to have 6 in my tank.

ZomZom

Glad I found this thread, I'm trying to decide between Cardinals and Neons for my new tank. Having visited three local fish stores, I've noticed that the Cardinals (when they have them) are noticeably less active than the Neons. The Neons, with their half-band of white, also show up better on a black background, which I plan to have with my tank.

That said, I think Cardinals photograph better and I like that they get larger. Not sure which I'm going to choose.

Fish_wise_man

I definitely would go with cardinal tetras

They are much more beautiful, and the colors are more rich and vibrant

heather84

Ive had both......and the neons didnt make it...but my cardinals ive had for awhile so i say cardinals

And refering to you saying the cardinals were less active then neons---ive actually had opposite, my neons always stayed hidden in the back of the tank. My cardinals are always out swimming all over the tank with my other fish. there isnt one place in the tank they dont go.

kloseo

cardinals are prettier

whisper

Although I have had a shoal of neons for over a year now I do like the Cards and maybe some day I'll get some.

Time

Cardinal all the way. I just had to save money because of my saltwater and had to get neons. I hope you all like guppies.

mike-mike

I voted for Neon... I think Neon is classical

peacemaker92

I prefer Neons better than Cardinals. Cardinals are harder to handle here in my country and they are twice or triple the price compared to Neons. I think Neons are cuter as well!

steve_58

I have kept both and the cardinals seem to do better. Neon's are known to be prone to ntd but cardinals are not. Cardinals can have just as vibrant colors as neons with proper care.They do cost a bit more than neons but i was told it's because they are not as widely captive bred like the neons are.

mr.fishy

I think they both look nice. I debated between the two for awhile and I finally picked the Neons. I have a school of 5 and they look great in the tank. I was hearing all kinds of stuff about both tetras that almost scared me away from getting them, but I'm glad I decided to get Neons because they're doing fine and I've had them for like 3 months now.

heather84

I tried both.......my neons didnt make it i got more neons to substitute and they didnt make it either

Decided to get cardinals and they have been doing great.....Cardinals seem more active then neons to me.

I see alot of people say cardinals are more expensive, not the case here. Cardinals and Neons are both 1.99$ here...........how about everywere else?