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If i put 2 kribs in with my blackskirt tetra,would the kribs kill the tetra??? and if so, what about 2 rams???


20 gallon tank

Hi,
I don't know about the capability of the two different
fish. My comment is that the tetras prefer, and do best,
in a group of 5 or 6. Then when they are shoalling well
(gotten used to each other) then think about other
additions to the tank.
Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Frank, the blackskirt used to be with 1 angel, 3 cories and 2 pristilla tetras for over 2 years. I just want to know if a krib and a black skirt are compatible??

First, a direct answer to your question. I'd suggest that the Black Skirt will be sufficiently able to look after itself to live alongside Kribs. Black Skirts are fairly robust Tetras after all, and have been known to live with some fairly hairy companions (though some species pairings I've seen I wouldn't recommend!).

However, if you only have the one, he'll be a LOT happier if he has some other fellow Black Skirts to share his home. Six is usually considered a bare minimum shoal size for Tetras in an aquarium, and like all shoaling fishes, the more, the merrier. If you track them down in the wild, you'll find they're in shoals numbering tens of thousands of individuals.

Incidentally, not only will the Black Skirts be happier in a group, but a decent sized group will make better dither fish should the Kribs start spawning. One on its own will be an easy target, while six or more will leave the Kribs alert and on their guard but not necessarily going into attack mode because they'll be having their work cut out tracking the Tetras!

In a 20 gallon (assuming you're thinking of putting these fishes together in the 20 gallon mentioned at the bottom of your post), you'd be able to have 8 Black Skirts and a pair of Kribs. With 8 Black Skirts, the Kribs will have plenty of dither fish to keep them occupied if they launch into breeding.

It would be helpful if you had a bottom feeder in there - one that's going to be robust enough to live with the Kribs. Trouble with Corys is that they should be in a group also for maximum happiness, and in a 20 gallon, six Corys along with the other fish is going to be pushing the envelope a fair amount. A better choice would be one of the smaller Mochokid catfishes or a small Doradid - something you could keep just the one of, or possibly, if you can find them try keeping a pair of Brachyrhamdia imitator catfishes in there - these are catfishes which LOOK like Corys (it appears to be a mimic of Corydoras melanistius), but are actually Heptapterids that mimic Corys in appearance! The long barbels are the giveaway though, as are the naked flanks and the large adipose fin.

In theory you could put 6 habrosus Corys in there because they're nice and small, but you'd then have the potential for problems alongside the Kribs if the Kribs began spawning. I'd choose something different as outlined above on the basis that the alternatives are better able to look after themselves than the little habrosus would be.

Whatever you do bottom feeder wise, definitely give your lone Black Skirt some playmates. Then pick your Kribs and add those.



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

thanks Calilasseia