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I have reason to believe that my 6 black skirt tetras killed my guppies and are now killing my panda cories. Every time i add a new fish my tetras start to chase it and nip its fins. I have added lots of places for them to hide but the new fish always ends up dead. now that all the guppies have perished, the tetras have begun to harrass my poor cories. I had 6 cories and have only got 2 left. My tetras come out only to chase my other fish. what should i do? I am trying to keep a nice aquarium for my grandmothers enjoyment but am having trouble keeping any fish other than the tetras (which she doesn't really like) I check the water perameters weekly and do weekly water changes and everything else that i should, but the rest of the fish die (from stress?) I really want to have a guppy tank and i love my cories. What should i do??

I'm afraid that Black Skirts, like many high-bodied tetras, can be very, very nippy. It's unfortunate that yours displayed this characteristic even in a fair-sized group.

How big is the tank? I'd say your best options are to return the Black Skirts or, if the tank is large enough, to increase their school size - but the latter isn't a guarantee of guppy safety, and you may be better off with the former if you love guppies.

-Molly
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They are in a 20 gallon tank, lots of plants and cave things to hide in. live and plastic plants. My grandmother just called and told me another guppy was dead. I am down to 2 guppies and 2 cories. i can't find a fish store that will take the tetras. what should i do now? I have a small 2.5 gallon i could put the guppies in when i get home until i come up with something better i guess. i hope they live til friday!!!

Last edited by jefferysgirl at 09-Feb-2005 16:09

It would be safest to test your water parameters before concluding that the Black Skirts are killing your other fish. Black Skirts are very hardy and would likely be the last fish standing if you had something like an ammonia spike.

Guppies have flowing fins and thats a HUGE no-no with u black sirt tetras. They will kill anythng if they feel stressed or overwhelmed. And building up the school might endanger your killing rate for the tetras. Last resort would probably be a divider.

20 GALLON LONG CURRENTLY EMPTY ~~~~ 10 GALLON W/ STRIPPED CONVICT

Hi, update on my tetra/guppy problem. I removed the tetras, cleaned the tank and added a few guppies (and two clown loaches for clean up duty and snail control) It has been a week and i have only lost 1 guppy. my bunch is up to 9 guppies with one death. I do think the tetras were really causing the problem. I am giving them to a good home and getting rid of my pleco. he is getting to big and not really helping my tank. I will try to get some good pics of my tank. thanks for the advice.

Okay, that's good that your problem with the tetras is gone. However, just be aware that clown loaches will eventually get very large, typically over eight inches. These fish get much bigger than most people give them credit for, and need at least a 75 gallon tank for adult specimens.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

the fish place didn't tell me that!!! How long do they take to grow? I don't know if i'll ever have the money or room for a tank like that!

I have not heard of anything like this. I have kept black tetras with guppies and there were no problems. I now keep three with smaller tetras and white clouds in a 29gal.