# Anyone got experience with black skirts and tank mates?



## Cupkayke (Jul 27, 2016)

So I got a couple Black skirt tetras (Only two, I will be going back for 3 more this week, I was misinformed) because I was told they were great tank mates to platy fish, now i'm being told they are nippy and aggressive. So far my community has been peaceful but I'd like to hear some opinions from others with experience. How aggressive are these fish? Also, is putting a snail in with these guys a bad idea?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I haven't had Black Skirts in years but I do seem to remember them as being more aggressive than other Tetra. See how they do with just the two of them. If they are aggressive toward the other fish then get more so the aggression stays within the shoal.

While I believe in proper shoals, I was given two Head and Taillight Tetra. Jasper and Amelia were active but non-aggressive with just the two of them for two years. Maybe because they were the largest fish in the tank? Unfortunately, Amelia recently died so I'm getting Jasper a proper shoal.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

What size tank is it?

But yeah, Skirts can be temperamental. Some are okay and some are just plain mean. I think if you have more of any shoaling species, they tend to be more focused on their own species versus the other fish in the tank. That goes for fish like Tiger Barbs, other dime-bodied Tetras, and danios. But, it's always limited on how big the tank is, I'm going to assume it's a 10g? If so, I would not recommend them in a tank smaller than a 20 long or 29. They do get to be pretty big.

I would recommend instead some Cherry Barbs (non nippy) or Rasboras of any kind. They stay smaller and use different levels in the tank than your platy do which makes for a nice peaceful tank!

As for the snail, depends on what kind. I'll assume you want a Mystery snail and it's a 10g tank, if so, it'd be okay, you'd just have to supplement the feeding for the snail. Platy's are voracious eaters and will eat everything and even take food from the snail so it might be difficult to feed properly. Supplement green algae will also be necessary for them too. Mystery snails are big poopers as are your platy so I wouldn't recommend it unless it's bigger than a 10g. Otherwise, you'll be cleaning out poop left and right!


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## Cupkayke (Jul 27, 2016)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> I haven't had Black Skirts in years but I do seem to remember them as being more aggressive than other Tetra. See how they do with just the two of them. If they are aggressive toward the other fish then get more so the aggression stays within the shoal.
> 
> While I believe in proper shoals, I was given two Head and Taillight Tetra. Jasper and Amelia were active but non-aggressive with just the two of them for two years. Maybe because they were the largest fish in the tank? Unfortunately, Amelia recently died so I'm getting Jasper a proper shoal.





lilnaugrim said:


> What size tank is it?
> 
> But yeah, Skirts can be temperamental. Some are okay and some are just plain mean. I think if you have more of any shoaling species, they tend to be more focused on their own species versus the other fish in the tank. That goes for fish like Tiger Barbs, other dime-bodied Tetras, and danios. But, it's always limited on how big the tank is, I'm going to assume it's a 10g? If so, I would not recommend them in a tank smaller than a 20 long or 29. They do get to be pretty big.
> 
> ...


Thanks, it is a 10 g. Because my platy are so messy I find myself doing water changes every 3 or 4 days anyway because the water gets so cloudy so quickly, I even have 2 filters in there. As I already have them I will be moving the BST to a 20 long, but I was told by a friend they could live in 2s so I thought I could get away with a 10 g, I have since learned they need a shoal of 5 or more. They still haven't shown any sign of aggression but I was worried they'd pick on the future snail since it's so slow moving.

I personally believe they _could_ live in 2s, but mine are still showing signs of stressed after being moved out of their tank of BST and Neons to my tank of platy, so I'm going to pick up some more and see if that helps the poor little guys.


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