From the article: Black Widow Tetra - Gymnocorymbus ternetzi
Have you kept a Black Widow Tetra? If so, share your experiences about care, habitat, feeding and breeding of Black Widow Tetra. Your knowledge could help other owners! Share Your Experiences
Aggressive Blackskirts
- I recently set up a 20 gal with 5 Long fin Blackskirts and 5 Black Phantom Tetras; all young and small except 1 adult black skirt that I rescued (The sole reason I started the tank). My BSTs do not bother the Black Phantoms at all, but they are seriously aggressive with each other. Initially it was obvious they were establishing a pecking order so after about a week some of the aggression seemed to subside. Then it seemed to be a territorial battle as everyone stayed in their own territory and if any other BSTs crossed into another's territory, they would start running into each other and nipping. Now they seem to be battling for their pecking order again as they mostly stay together but keep challenging each other and then fighting. I will be picking up a 50 gal this weekend and I am hoping that more space will stop the aggression. My Phantoms get along pretty well, I have one bully among them but the others usually just stay clear of him.
- —Guest Becca
Black Skirt Tetra Help
- I have a school of 15 Black Skirt Tetras in my 125 gallon aquarium that they share with 6 Congo Tetras and 6 Red Irian Rainbowfish. Black Skirts, like any other tetra, should be kept in a minimum school of 5. You'll have fewer nipping problems the more of them that you have. If you bring fewer than five home, prepare for problems (in general). Black Skirts will definitely nibble long-finned, slow-moving fish, but if you keep then with peaceful fast movers like Rainbowfish or compatible sized tetras, they seem to do well. They are VERY hardy in my experience. Here are some fish that should be compatible with the BWTs: Other large tetras like Congos, Rosy Tetras, Emperor Tetras, Diamond Tetras, Buenos Aires Tetras, or Head and Tail Lights, Rainbowfish, anything too fast for them to catch like White Clouds or Danios (not long-finned). Just look for nonaggressive fish without long fins, because the BSTs can fall victim to fin nipping, too.
- —Guest Fishgirl
Great for cycling the tank
- Got a few of these to cycle my new 100 l tank. Not sure on gallons. They are getting on great and get along well with new emporer tetras
- —Guest Guesty
Trouble in the Tank
- In the last four years or so, I have occasional die offs. The first time it occurred, it took me a while to figure out that something had shorted out and the temperature was wrong. These have occurred so often, that after one, I replaced the gravel. So far as I know, I am not doing anything different than I ever did before, except have a job that keeps me busy. The best results, before the equipment failure, were obtained with weekly filter changes and monthly water changes. In 2010, I was sick all year, not knowing what was wrong with me, so my mind wasn't on any schedule. I am experiencing a die off again. I have several black skirts. I like mollies and platies. I have plants. Every time I add algae eaters, they seem to get eaten. I like how the tetras look pale when they aren't happy, as it is a warning to me, but I just can't keep them happy!
- —SSGH
black widow tetra
- I have ten widows that share a tank with 3 angels and 2 gouramis , these small fish are very active and play amongst themselves and don't bother other fish if you keep them in large groups, it's fun watching them zip in & out of each other. I intend to have a Bwt only tank when I rehome my angels as there getting big, bwt is fun to watch & there also lightning fast when feeding. They seem to prefer the tank light off and a table lamp on beside the tank. great wee fish.
- —Guest jim
Bully in the tank
- To have peace in our tank, we removed a beautiful freshwater shark who had outgrown our tank and was nipping at our other fish. Replaced him with a black widow tetra as we were told he would be compatible with our other fish. Within five days he killed, then ate 2 guppies and 3 neons. Should have kept the shark, he was a bully but no killer!
- —Guest fishlover
Yes
- I have 1 black widow and he has white spots on his cadual fin so I know he's a boy. I leave him in a 5 gal tank and my gourami likes to nibble on oscers (my black widow) fins.
- —Guest Jacob grathwol
My Black Widow Tetra experiences.
- My first attempt to breed egg layers was back in 1965 when I acquired 6 Black Widow Tetras from my LFS . I fed them well on flake food, live tubifex worms and Daphnia. When the females were bulging with eggs I put the group in a 10 gallon tank with a double layer of marbles on the bottom and raised the temp to 85 F. The females were noticeably slimmer on the second day in so I assumed spawning had occurred . the parents were returned to their usual digs and a day later the birthing tank was full of little slivers of glass with eyes and a yolk sack. I dropped in a few tabs of Wardley's Infusoria tabs, a long discontinued way to feed tiny egg hatchlings, I loved that stuff. Later switching to Wardley's Frye food the spawn, several hundred strong, quickly developed into miniature replicants of their parents. Raising them could not have been easier . The sight of several hundred of these beautiful fish schooling in a 30 long was breathtaking.
- —Guest Arthur Gentile
Surprised
- I had won two goldfish originally, they died and were replaced by two BWT. They have survived so much, me trying to figure out what's wrong with the tank, emptying water all the time, overfeeding, and most other common first-timers and are still living. I only have two and seem to be happy in a 10 gallon tank together. I only hope they can reach their first birthday and I can get used to all this new stuff about being a fish owner!
- —Guest New Fish Owner
bwt :)
- I have just bought 4 young black widow tetras. To start off with they were very placid and mellowed towards the bottomof the tank. But now they have settles they dart around and nip each other playfully. Its quite cute and fun to watch for hours
- —Guest jaymieee
Loving BWT
- I have 3 BWT's and I love how how they act like they own the tank. They often get huffy with each other too. Woke up this morning to find one bwt near the surface sort of on its side but later on it seemed fine. Anyone know why?
- —Guest Nashile
Need Help
- I recently started my tank. I was not sure what fish to buy for a start. I decided to buy 4 Albino widows and 4 Orange Swordtail fish, After a while a noticed, the widows are very fiesty and started biting the swordtails fins off, i dont know what fish to throw in with my widows.. any help????
- —Guest Lindi
Newbie BWT owner
- I have a 28 gallon tank which I initially set up for my Betta (after I felt sorry for him living in a vase). Over the next 2 weeks I slowly added a bristlenose catfish and another catfish(don't know what sort) and 6 neon tetras. The neon tetras died overnight so i waited for a week and then purchased 2 BWT one of which was dead the next morning. I have just added another 4 BWT's hoping that the school will be big enough for them to be happy. The catfish are hardy and don't care who else comes into the tank. The Betta does a bit of a chase but is not too fussed. I will now just watch and see what the BWT's do, enjoy their antics and hope they survive.
- —Guest Cathy
Black Widow
- I have one Black Widow that is almost 5 years old and I just recently bought 6 more after having to break down my tank and then get it going again. They squabble among themselves, but I have never noticed them attacking my other fish. I have 6 blood fin tetras, 3 serpae tetras and an albino bristlenose pleco right now. In the past, during the time I have had the old Black Widow, I have had a variety of other fish and never noticed a problem. Maybe I was lucky.
- —redmary51
Murder in the Aquarium
- I am stting up an Amazonian themed 240Ltr tank. Several weeks ago I added 5 Black Widows and apart from them being a little boistrous amongst themselves and playing tag with the Buenos Aires Tetras they have left the other tank mates alone. Yesterday I added 3 Bronze Corys as companions for the Panda Corys already inhabiting the Tank. This morning during my daily head count I was dismayed to find one of the Bronze Corys dead, I was a little surprised as they had seemed quite robust and appeared settled and were foraging about the tank quite happily, anyway I just put it down to the stress os being moved about before being introduced to the tank. However tonight I witnessed murder in the aquarium as the largest of the Black Widows chased and & repeatedly attacked one of the remaing Bronze Corys until the poor thing turned on its back feigned death. After a minute or so the Cory righted its self and tried to swim off but was immediately attacked again and this time killed!
- —Bahrah
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