Will Black Skirt/white Skirt Tetras School With Glofish Tetra?

SO, I have had the WORST LUCK with Glofish Tetras....I'm a serial killer of them at this point.

I've had them die randomly, die within the first 48 hours, and today I lost another after he stopped eating a few days ago. Even hail mary meds didn't save him. (FYI, I did get them from Petco, so that might have been my issue). My tank is cycled, I have a few plants, so that keeps my nitrates low. I do water changes 1-2 times a week. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 5 (nitrates) were my parameters when I tested a few days ago.

I have 1 left. He is by far the healthiest one I've had. I know that they should be with their own kind, and he's fun, so I'd like to see him live a long life. I have guppies and corys that are thriving and all fine. Not lost any of them.

So, thoughts on black skirt or white skirt tetras? Has anyone ever had issues with them? Will they school with Glofish Tetras? I'd rather try black skirts or white skirts if people think this might work. I wonder if because Glofish are trademarked and marked so heavily to kids they aren't as hardy as their cousins.

 

Yes, black and white skirt tetras will school with the glo ones. They're all the same breed. Just different color patterns.

 

Maybe they will be healthier? I am tired of Glofish dying

 

Worth a shot I'd say. It might be your supplier too. I've read some info stating that the glofish are no longer dyed the way they used to be. Apparently now they're genetically modified with a jellyfish gene that will actually integrate into their own DNA sufficiently enough to breed into their young. Still unnatural though, so who knows what it does to them.

 

Sigh. I hoped they would be ok. But yea, who knows about GMO fish. Thanks for the advice.

 

No problem. Wishing you luck with them. I think the skirt tetras are really underrated fisb in general. I have a group of 8 in one of my tanks. They definitely liven it up. Don't know why, but I really like this picture I got.

 

That’s the coolest pic! I love it! And thank you. I might try getting some. I’ll do some research and find someone online I think.

 

So sorry to hear. We have 4 and they have done well since the beginning? November. Hope they stay with us longer still. The skirts are pretty and they are a nice fish! All the best to you!!!

 

So sorry to hear. We have 4 and they have done well since the beginning? November. Hope they stay with us longer still. The skirts are pretty and they are a nice fish! All the best to you!!!

Did you get yours through Petco or a LFS? We got them cause we have a 5 yo. The one we have left we’ve had since March, so 2 months. The one that passed today we got in early Jan. I wanted them...but I don’t want to kill anymore.

 

I got mine from PetCo.

 

Maybe it was just a run of bad luck.... my guppies and Cory’s are good.

 

I can agree with that. Cheaper fish I get from the big stores because it's all that's close. I'm not kidding when I say I probably went through 8 mollies before I got 2 to survive quarantine. I also lost 3 clown plecos. Most of the others have been great though. Still have all my skirts over a year later. My panda corys recently had a very small spawn that I'm raising. My angelfish decided to become a mated pair. My 2 bettas I've had for over a year. One of them actually closer to 2 probably. Also have a school of harlequin rasboras that I love. Recently got into oranda goldfish, but the 2 I have are still relatively new. I'm sure I'm forgetting someone, but all of those are from PetSmart or PetCo. It's always a gamble though.

 

I feel better reading about your mollies - which is horrible because that's so sad. A few of my Glofish didn't make it a full 48 hours, even in a cycled tank. Two of the Glofish deaths are my fault. I had to do a fish-in cycle. We were upgrading to a bigger tank (and were using the smaller tank as a quarantine) when my daughter accidentally split the entire container of food in the water. I could not get the smaller tank to stabilize after that, so I moved them over. One I think died from gorging himself on the food buffet, so he didn't make it beyond a day of fish-in cycle, and then after the cycle was complete and we added a few more, one died and I did the bad-mom thing and replaced it while she was at school - it gave the tank ich. That killed one of the others. During all of this my guppies were fine. I lost a guppy recently, but 1 out of 7 seems OK, especially if you consider they survived ich in Feb!

So frustrating! Thanks though for the response. I'm debating trying to get a few from an online place to see if it goes better, or try the black skirts.

 

Got ours for our little girl at LFS - a long running family one. I did read you can order Glofish direct? Not sure the cost comparison. They do offer a 10% discount for newsletter sign-up?

 

Got ours for our little girl at LFS - a long running family one. I did read you can order Glofish direct? Not sure the cost comparison. They do offer a 10% discount for newsletter sign-up?

I'm going to check this out! Maybe I just need to try a different source. My little girl really wanted them too. But I can't keep breaking her heart with dead fish.

 

I hear you. Hope it all works out!

 

Black Skirts are a much hardier fish than the Glofish Tetras even though technically they are the same species. Yes, the Glo ones have jellyfish genes. They were created in labs to test water quality. If water quality goes down, they stop glowing. Then they became available for aquarists and became very popular. Because they were bred to react to water quality, they are more sensitive to it and not as hardy. They also are heavily inbred which doesn't help.

 

Black Skirts are a much hardier fish than the Glofish Tetras even though technically they are the same species. Yes, the Glo ones have jellyfish genes. They were created in labs to test water quality. If water quality goes down, they stop glowing. Then they became available for aquarists and became very popular. Because they were bred to react to water quality, they are more sensitive to it and not as hardy. They also are heavily inbred which doesn't help.

Rhink you're mixing them up with Glofish danios which were used for the mentioned purposes. As far as I know where the Skirts only "manmade" cause of humans needed to get more colored fish than Mother Mature made.

 

Rhink you're mixing them up with Glofish danios which were used for the mentioned purposes. As far as I know where the Skirts only "manmade" cause of humans needed to get more colored fish than Mother Mature made.

The first ones were the Danios yes, but I think the Tetras also were originally used for that purpose. The Tiger Barbs and Sharks, probably not.

Actually, after further research, I think you're right. Only the Danios were used in the labs. Another thing is that not all the colors result from an infusion of jellyfish genes. The red color comes from a form of coral. The first Danios were green. The other colors come from a mixture of genes from corals, jellyfish and anemones.

There are naturally occurring types of fluorescent fish but the ones in the pet stores have all been genetically modified. Anything for a buck as they say. Personally, I don't have a problem with it but some people do.