Black Skirt Tetras?

[nickfox45]

i'm looking into getting a school of long finned black tetras, probably around 6, but i'm worried about my barbs nipping at their excessively long fins. does anyone have any experience with this? do the barbs on nip at one another? right now i have 10 barbs in a 60 gallon tank, if that is necessary info.

thanks!

 

[Lateral Line]

Most barbs are not fin nippers at all, but as there are nearly 1,000 species, and you don't say which you've got, it is not possible to advise.

 

[nickfox45]

Most barbs are not fin nippers at all, but as there are nearly 1,000 species, and you don't say which you've got, it is not possible to advise.

well i didnt realize they were so different, so if it helps, ive got 10 tiger barbs.

however, i took this from their fish profile on this site...
Care : Tiger barbs should be kept in groups of atleast six to ease aggression. When kept in small numbers tiger barbs will stress and nip other tank inhabitants.

so i guess the question is: are my barbs in a large enough group where they shouldnt bother the tetras. so far i think yes. other opinions welcome!

 

[Lateral Line]

>>> ive got 10 tiger barbs.

It helps a lot! Tiger Barbs will keep their overt aggression on each other in a group that size, there's a but coming, you could feel it couldn't you? Any self respecting Tiger Barb will take a nip at a trailing fin, it is just too tempting a target. I would never keep TB's in a tank with long trailing finned fish.

 

[nickfox45]

>>> ive got 10 tiger barbs.

It helps a lot! Tiger Barbs will keep their overt aggression on each other in a group that size, there's a but coming, you could feel it couldn't you? Any self respecting Tiger Barb will take a nip at a trailing fin, it is just too tempting a target. I would never keep TB's in a tank with long trailing finned fish.

thats what i was afraid of, that regardless of group size of both barbs and tetras i might have problems. has anyone else here had experience with this issue?

 

[sylvia]

I personaly think the barbs would not be a problem as they are in a big enough group for any aggression to be devided amongst themselves (plus tetras are very fast swimmers). HOWEVER (I bet you could see that one coming too ), black skirt tetras are major fin nippers in themselves. They WILL nip each other and I would suggest you avoid the long-finned variety as the lowest ranking fish, if not kept in a pretty big group, will end up shredded.

 

[nickfox45]

I personaly think the barbs would not be a problem as they are in a big enough group for any aggression to be devided amongst themselves (plus tetras are very fast swimmers). HOWEVER (I bet you could see that one coming too ), black skirt tetras are major fin nippers in themselves. They WILL nip each other and I would suggest you avoid the long-finned variety as the lowest ranking fish, if not kept in a pretty big group, will end up shredded.

wow we are certainly full of 'buts' this morning. thanks for the info though. how many tetras do you think i would need to make this a non-issue? 6? 8? ill likely stay away from them since i dont want to see their nice long fins all shredded, but im just curious.

 

[nickfox45]

I personaly think the barbs would not be a problem as they are in a big enough group for any aggression to be devided amongst themselves (plus tetras are very fast swimmers). HOWEVER (I bet you could see that one coming too ), black skirt tetras are major fin nippers in themselves. They WILL nip each other and I would suggest you avoid the long-finned variety as the lowest ranking fish, if not kept in a pretty big group, will end up shredded.

wow we are certainly full of 'buts' this morning. thanks for the info though. how many tetras do you think i would need to make this a non-issue? 6? 8? ill likely stay away from them since i dont want to see their nice long fins all shredded, but im just curious.

i was still hoping for an answer to this question, can anyone help me?

what is the minimum number of tetras i'd need to minimize the fin nipping? tank size isnt really an issue for me yet, as i only have 10 tiger barbs and one RTBS in a 60 gallon tank. right now im thinking of getting 6-8, any thoughts on that?

thanks!