Black Skirt Tetra

The scientific name is the same as the fluorescent GloFish tetras. Natural skirts come in two variations: the one featured here, the black skirt tetra, a pretty little fish with wide black bands that in a very imaginative way could resemble a skirt. The second variation is the white skirt tetra, which is rather drab but is the parent fish of the genetically modified GloFish tetra. One white skirt tetra plus one gene of a jellyfish equals one GloFish tetra. (Zebra danios are the parent fish for GloFish danios.)

Quick Facts

Care Guide

Tank setup: Give them plants along the back and sides, open swimming space in front and a dark substrate, which brings out their color. Keep a lid on the tank, since tetras can jump.

Feeding: Feed a quality flake or small pellet once or twice a day, only as much as they eat in a couple of minutes. They also enjoy frozen foods like bloodworms and brine shrimp.

Tankmates: They get along with most peaceful community fish of similar size, such as other tetras, rasboras, danios, corydoras, dwarf cichlids, gouramis and livebearers.

Good to know: Tetras feel safer and show better color in a group. A larger school also spreads out any chasing.