rm
Passport
- Family
- Tetras
- Grows to
- 6 cm (2.4")
- Lives
- 5–7 years
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Care
- Beginner
- Swims
- Mid-water
- Keep
- In a group of 12 or more
- Water
- 20–26 °C (68–79 °F)
BrazilBoliviaArgentina
Care requirements
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On record for Black Skirt Tetra: adult size, lifespan, minimum tank, temperature, ph, hardness, minimum group, diet, care level, swim level, tank length.
A figure that is not on record is left out rather than guessed. One marked Suggested comes from keeping knowledge rather than a page.
- Minimum tank 76 L / 20.0 US gal
- pH 6–7
- Hardness 5–20 dGH
- Diet omnivore
- Tank length 75 cm minimum
Care notes written from general aquarium knowledge, not from the cited sources.
About
Black skirts, or black widows, are the tetra that's been in every shop for decades and deserves better than its reputation as filler. A big dark anal fin sweeps back under a silver body crossed by two black bars, and a group of them moving through a planted tank is a genuinely handsome, understated thing.
Their subdued colouring is useful rather than a drawback. In a tank full of bright fish they give the eye somewhere to rest, and they read as substantial in a way small tetras don't.
One thing to know before you buy: this species is the one most often sold dyed. Bright pink, blue and green "painted" or "fruit" tetras are black skirts that have been injected or dipped, a process that kills many of them and shortens the lives of the survivors. Buy the plain ones.
Tank setup
Give your black skirts open swimming space and some dense planting to break it up. They're active fish that cover ground, and they want the room more than they want elaborate decor.
Add floating plants to knock the light back. The black bars deepen and the fish come forward under a shaded surface, and in a bright bare tank they look washed grey.
They're genuinely unfussy about the rest. Sand or gravel, wood or rocks, blackwater or plain tap water — this is one of the most adaptable tetras in the trade, which is why it's been a staple so long.
Colour holds best in soft, slightly acidic water, but they'll thrive well outside it.
Feeding
Black skirts eat everything and complain about nothing. Flake, granules, frozen, live — all of it disappears fast.
They're bold feeders, so in a mixed community keep an eye on slower fish getting their share. A black skirt will happily take the food meant for a shy gourami.
Regular daphnia and bloodworm keep them in condition, and well-fed fish are noticeably less inclined to bother anyone.
Avoid: overfeeding, which they'll encourage you to do. They always look hungry.
Filtration and flow
Moderate flow suits them well. They come from small, slow creeks with overhanging vegetation, but they're strong swimmers that use whatever current you give them.
Standard community filtration is plenty. This is a hardy fish that tolerates the ordinary ups and downs of a home aquarium better than most.
Keep up with water changes anyway. Hardiness buys you forgiveness, not immunity.
With plants
Black skirts are safe with plants and won't damage them. There's no digging and no grazing.
Plant the perimeter and leave the centre clear. Dense growth at the sides does double duty here — it gives shy tank mates cover and it breaks the sightlines that let a bored black skirt line up on someone's fins.
Any plant will do. They're not fussy and neither is the tank they suit.
Health
They're among the hardiest tetras and rarely ill. Ich and the usual community complaints turn up occasionally and treat normally.
Dyed fish are the real health issue with this species. If you've bought painted ones, expect a shorter life, weaker immunity and more disease than the plain form, and expect the colour to fade over months.
Nipping is behaviour, not sickness, and it comes from too small a group. A proper shoal keeps the squabbling internal; three or four black skirts in a community will find something long-finned to harass.
Breeding
Black skirts breed readily and are a good first tetra to try. They scatter adhesive eggs among fine-leaved plants and eat them straight afterwards.
Condition the adults on live and frozen food, then move a pair or a small group to a dim tank with moss, spawning mops or a mesh floor. Warming the spawning tank a little above the main tank and dropping the water to the acidic side triggers them, usually by the next morning.
Pull the adults out as soon as you see eggs. They hatch quickly, and the fry take infusoria first and microworm or baby brine shrimp within a few days. Keep the tank dark while the eggs and young fry are light sensitive.
Tank mates
Avoid10
- Convict Cichlid Convict Cichlid grows to 15 cm against Black Skirt Tetra at 6 cm, big enough to eat it.
- Jewel Cichlid Jewel Cichlid grows to 15 cm against Black Skirt Tetra at 6 cm, big enough to eat it.
- Least Killifish Black Skirt Tetra grows to 6 cm against Least Killifish at 2 cm, big enough to eat it.
- Scarlet Badis Black Skirt Tetra grows to 6 cm against Scarlet Badis at 2 cm, big enough to eat it.
- Common Goldfish Common Goldfish is not safe with Black Skirt Tetra: common goldfish and tetras are a bad pairing.
Only with care11
- Chinese Algae Eater Chinese Algae Eater is aggressive and Black Skirt Tetra is peaceful.
- Cherry Barb Black Skirt Tetra and Cherry Barb are an uneasy mix: barbs and tetras are a pairing to watch.
- Gold Barb Black Skirt Tetra and Gold Barb are an uneasy mix: barbs and tetras are a pairing to watch.
- Odessa Barb Black Skirt Tetra and Odessa Barb are an uneasy mix: barbs and tetras are a pairing to watch.
- Paradise Fish Paradise Fish is a risk to Black Skirt Tetra: large gouramis and tetras are a pairing to watch.
No conflict is recorded with the other 85 species in the database, so nothing to flag. 2 species are not covered at all, so they could not be judged either way.