4 replies to this topic

[Evan P]

Hello everyone! At the new convention site we should have access to Cardinal Shiners. See, I currently keep Bleeding Shiners. They are fantastic and hold some beautiful red year round. How do Cardinals compare? Which species holds color better? Thanks for your help, everyone.

[Isaac Szabo]

I can't exactly answer your question since I don't have experience keeping them in the aquarium. However, I can say that in peak color cardinal shiners have a little bit more red than duskystripe shiners and much more red than bleeding shiners. To me, cardinals are probably the most impressive of the three species, but they're all great.

[Evan P]

Have you seen them out of breeding condition? Do they retain some color?

[Isaac Szabo]

Most of my experience is with duskystripes, and a little bit with cardinals. In my experience, they don't retain much of their color outside of the breeding season. However, if bleeding shiners are keeping some color for you, then maybe the others would as well. I think they're all pretty closely related.

[Evan P]

Yeah. I just had my Bleeding Shiners spawn, so now I am worried about adding Cardinals to my pond. I am not terribly interested in hybrids.