Why does the black skirt tetra kill the neon tetras?

[Zac Taylor]

Why are my black skirt tetras killing the neon tetras?

I had 4 black skirt and 5 neon tetras
I got told all tetras work well together I guess the petco worker was wrong.

 

[TallPaul]

The petco worker is a moron. Most all of big chain pet store workers are just not educated enough to advise on fish selection.

Without asking for your water parameters I would say straight away that your groups are too small.

Both the black skirt and neon tetra prefer to be in larger groups. I would not buy less than 10 of either if I did not have the room. It's better to buy 1 large group of the same fish than a small handful of different species.

Most likely your fish are stressed and the black skirts are taking it out on the neons.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Expanding on what TallPaul has said, all tetras and barbs are schooling fish that naturally occur in groups of thousands. When they are kept in small groups in an aquarium (4-5) they become stressed out.

Black skirt (aka black widow) tetras, serpae tetras, Beunos Aires tetras, blind cave tetras, and tiger barbs are all considered fin nippers so when they are stressed out they attack each other and other fish in the tank. To over come this they need to be kept in bigger groups of at least 10 or more. Even 10 is a small number and stress still occurs but it is not as bad and any aggression from the fish is spread out over the entire group.

If you plan on keeping fish with long fins (male Betta, angelfish) or slow moving fish then avoid the fin nippers.

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Depending on how big your tank is and how long it has been set up for, you could try adding more fish to increase the size of the groups. Or you could get rid of one group. Adding lots of plants can help by providing more hiding places.

 

[Zac Taylor]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Expanding on what TallPaul has said, all tetras and barbs are schooling fish that naturally occur in groups of thousands. When they are kept in small groups in an aquarium (4-5) they become stressed out.

Black skirt (aka black widow) tetras, serpae tetras, Beunos Aires tetras, blind cave tetras, and tiger barbs are all considered fin nippers so when they are stressed out they attack each other and other fish in the tank. To over come this they need to be kept in bigger groups of at least 10 or more. Even 10 is a small number and stress still occurs but it is not as bad and any aggression from the fish is spread out over the entire group.

If you plan on keeping fish with long fins (male Betta, angelfish) or slow moving fish then avoid the fin nippers.

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Depending on how big your tank is and how long it has been set up for, you could try adding more fish to increase the size of the groups. Or you could get rid of one group. Adding lots of plants can help by providing more hiding places.

The tank has been set up since Tuesday

 

[TallPaul]

The tank has been set up since Tuesday

Is the tank fully cycled? Did you go through the process, it takes around a month, to allow the appropriate bacteria to establish itself before introducing fish?

Did you purchase bottled bacteria such as Tetra Safe Start or similar brand?

How big is the tank and are there plenty of plants/decor to make them feel safe?

 

[Colin_T]

If the tank is newly set up (last Tuesday) then I would not add more fish unless you cycled the filters first. Cycling the filters is where you add some form of ammonia and let the filters develop beneficial bacteria that breaks down ammonia and converts it into nitrite and then nitrate. It takes about 4-5 weeks for this process to occur. Once the filters have developed the beneficial bacteria it is considered cycled and more fish can be added.

 

[Zac Taylor]

Is the tank fully cycled? Did you go through the process, it takes around a month, to allow the appropriate bacteria to establish itself before introducing fish?

Did you purchase bottled bacteria such as Tetra Safe Start or similar brand?

How big is the tank and are there plenty of plants/decor to make them feel safe?

Yes the tank h

If the tank is newly set up (last Tuesday) then I would not add more fish unless you cycled the filters first. Cycling the filters is where you add some form of ammonia and let the filters develop beneficial bacteria that breaks down ammonia and converts it into nitrite and then nitrate. It takes about 4-5 weeks for this process to occur. Once the filters have developed the beneficial bacteria it is considered cycled and more fish can be added.

thank you