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Colored Skirt Tetra

Colored White Skirt Tetra Family: Characidae

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Gymnocorymbus ternetzi Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

   With its naturally occurring colors the Colored Skirt Tetra is a beauty, developed by breeders to bring out the best of its soft pastels!

   A commonly available and popular fish, the Colored Skirt Tetra is a strain of fish developed from the White Tetra that have a natural pink or blue coloration. The White Tetra itself was developed from the Blackskirt Tetra. Like its predecessor, this fish also makes a very good fish for the beginner. It is very active and fast moving, but does have a tendency towards fin nipping. Because of this it should not be kept with smaller fishes, but will do very well in a community tank with larger fishes. These fish are a bit more difficult to breed than the White Tetra, probably because of their being highly inbred already.

Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy Jackie Murphy

   The Colored Skirt Tetras like a well lit tank with dense areas of bunched low vegetation, which leaves lots of open areas for swimming. Being a schooling fish they will appreciate the company of their own kind, a standard school is made up of about 7 fish. They are hardy at 70° F to 90° F, but are prone to develop ick if kept in colder temperatures.

   White Skirt Tetras are often dyed in various pastels colors. Both natural and artificially dyed specimens are sold under various colored names like the Blueberry Tetra, Strawberry Tetra, or Rainbow Tetra.  Be sure to inquire about which type of specimen you are obtaining.

Learn more about Artificial Colored Fish below.

For more Information on keeping this fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Dream Aquarium Build your own aquarium The Coolest and Funnest Screensaver in the World.

Distribution:
   The BlackSkirt Tetra was described by Boulenger in 1895. They are found in South America in Paraguay and Guapore Basins where they inhabit the upper layers of the water feeding on worms, small crustaceans and insects. Many of the skirt tetras are captive bred for the aquarium industry and the Colored Skirt Tetra is a captive bred color morph.

Status:
   There are no wild populations of this color morph.

Description:
   The Colored Skirt Tetra is a deep-bodied species and laterally compressed. It is distinguished by what appears to be overly developed dorsal and anal fins. These make it appear as if though it has a "skirt", with most of its mass on the bottom half of the body. It is very light, almost transparent looking with a natural pink or blue coloration, and it lacks the black stripes of its parentage.

Size - Weight:
   These fish get up to 2.25 inches (5.5 cm). Will breed at 1.5 inches.

Care and feeding:
   Since they are omnivorous the Colored Skirt Tetra will generally eat all kinds of live, fresh, and flake foods. To keep a good balance give them a high quality flake food everyday. Feed brine shrimp (either live or frozen) or blood worms as a treat.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:
   These fish will swim in all areas of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:
   Hardness: to 30° dGH
   Ph: 5.8 to 8.5
   Temp: 70-79° F (21-26° C)

Social Behaviors:
   They are active and can be semi-aggressive fin nippers. They should be kept in a community aquarium with fish the same size or larger. With age they become a more sedentary fish.

Sexual Differences:
   The male's dorsal fin is more narrowed and more pointed. Also, the male's frontal portion of the "skirt" or anal fin is noticibly broad while the female's "skirt" tends to run parallel to the stomach line. A mature female is also more plump.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   The Colored Skirt Tetra are egg layers.

Buy Black Skirt Tetras From LiveAquaria.com

   See the description of how to breed these fish in Breeding Freshwater Fish.

Availability:
   The Colored Skirt Tetra is readily available and is inexpensive. Both these and the artificially dyed specimens are sold under the names Blueberry Tetra, Strawberry Tetra, or Rainbow Tetra. Be sure to inquire which type of specimen you are obtaining.

Author: Clarice Brough, CFS

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Latest Comments
I just bought an undyed natural strawberry tetra that has a nice pastel pink hue to him:) I DO NOT buy dyed fish of any sort as I do not believe in tortoring these poor fish. I mean come on! They are living animals too! And yes fish DO feel pain! Jolene V 2008-07-15
I am the one person who bought three colored tetras; a pink, a blue, and a yellow. But the worst thing is that the pet shop where I puchased them did not even tell me about this until a friend told me and I did not believe him at all. I would have liked that the store personel, who I asked and made a coment how come these are colored, and made a joke do you raise them in food coloring, I got no why these are special or are born this way, cost me 45 dollars, and to know that they may change in a month colors to white that kills me! I called the store and they were not even aware of this. Come on, who is allowed to torture fishes to sell them and let people in the blind of all of this. I am going to try to bring them back even if I am in love with them this has to stop now! Claire 2008-02-03

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