Aqua Tools

Compatibility check

Can Angelfish and Cardinal tetra live together?

Angelfish and Cardinal tetra are not recommended together based on the current rule check.

not recommended

Quick answer

This pairing is not recommended by the current rules. The highest-risk factors are marked as fail below; fixable water-parameter overlap alone does not cancel out predation, aggression, fin-nipping, or explicit avoid-tag conflicts.

Factor breakdown

Factor Result Explanation
Water type OK Angelfish is freshwater; Cardinal tetra is freshwater. Compatibility pages are generated only for matching water types.
Temperature OK Temperature overlaps at 24-29 C. Angelfish is listed at 24-29 C; Cardinal tetra is listed at 24-29 C.
pH OK pH overlaps at 6-7. Angelfish is listed at 6-7.5; Cardinal tetra is listed at 4.5-7.
Hardness OK Hardness overlaps at 1-8 dGH. Angelfish is listed at 1-12 dGH; Cardinal tetra is listed at 1-8 dGH.
Adult size and predation Caution Adult size differs substantially (Angelfish: 15 cm; Cardinal tetra: 5 cm). Add cover and avoid housing juveniles with adults.
Temperament and aggression OK Angelfish (semi-aggressive cichlid) and Cardinal tetra (peaceful schooling) do not have an obvious aggression clash in the dataset.
Fin nipping risk OK The dataset does not flag this pair as a fin-nipper plus long-finned combination.
Schooling and group needs OK Plan around full groups, not single display fish. Minimum group sizes: Cardinal tetra: 6+.
Explicit avoid tags Conflict Avoid-tag conflict found. Angelfish avoid tags matching Cardinal tetra: tiny-fish. Cardinal tetra avoid tags matching Angelfish: large-predator.
Minimum combined tank size OK Use at least 40 US gallons (151 L) for the pair, based on the larger minimum tank plus bioload and activity adjustments where relevant.

Species profiles

Related compatibility checks

Sources and attribution

Source links are verification references for taxonomy and identifiers. Care values are AI-generated from common hobby consensus and need expert review.