Black skirt tetra
A hardy, deep-bodied tetra that fades from black to silver-grey with age. It nips long fins, so keep a proper school and skip slow, trailing tank mates.
Care at a glance
| Minimum tank | 20 gallons (76 L) |
|---|---|
| Temperature | 70–82°F (21–28°C) |
| pH | 6.0–7.5 |
| How many | Keep at least 6 together |
| Adult size | 2.5 in (6.4 cm) |
| Temperament | Fin nipper. Calmer in a large school |
| Where it lives | The middle of the tank |
| Type | Fish |
Things to know
- It nips long, trailing fins. Avoid slow tank mates such as bettas, guppies and angelfish.
Good tank mates
- Neon tetra
- Cardinal tetra
- Ember tetra
- Harlequin rasbora
- Chili rasbora
- Zebra danio
- White cloud minnow
- Platy
- Dwarf gourami
- Bronze corydoras
- Pygmy corydoras
- Otocinclus
- Bristlenose pleco
- Kuhli loach
- Tiger barb
- Cherry barb
- Amano shrimp
- Nerite snail
- Glowlight tetra
- Rummynose tetra
- Black neon tetra
- Lemon tetra
- Serpae tetra
- Bleeding heart tetra
- Congo tetra
- Diamond tetra
- X-ray tetra
- Green neon tetra
- Marbled hatchetfish
- Scissortail rasbora
- Lambchop rasbora
- Celestial pearl danio
- Giant danio
- Rosy barb
- Gold barb
- Denison barb
- Rainbow shark
- Red-tailed black shark
- Siamese algae eater
- Hillstream loach
- Swordtail
- Endler's livebearer
- Pearl gourami
- Honey gourami
- Three-spot blue gourami
- Sparkling gourami
- Paradise fish
- Female betta
- German blue ram
- Bolivian ram
- Cockatoo dwarf cichlid
- Kribensis
- Firemouth cichlid
- Severum
- Discus
- Electric blue acara
- Panda corydoras
- Peppered corydoras
- Sterbai corydoras
- Clown loach
- Yoyo loach
- Dwarf chain loach
- Clown pleco
- Common pleco
- Rubber lip pleco
- Pictus catfish
- Glass catfish
- Chinese algae eater
- Boeseman's rainbowfish
- Dwarf neon rainbowfish
- Golden wonder killifish
- Clown killifish
- Dojo loach
- Japanese rice fish
- Mystery snail
- Ramshorn snail
- Assassin snail
- Bamboo shrimp
- Dwarf orange crayfish
- African dwarf frog
Possible with care
Do not mix with
- Guppy
- Betta (male)
- Angelfish
- Fancy goldfish
- Sailfin molly
- Convict cichlid
- Oscar
- Jack Dempsey
- Threadfin rainbowfish
- Pea puffer
Open any pairing to see the reason.