Black skirt tetra changes color?
in Pets
I have three black skirt tetras in a 10 gallon tank; but when I got them at the pet store not to long ago, they all had pale fins. Now their big fan shaped fins keeps changing from light to dark. I dont know why.
Comments
They fade when they're stressed. They should be steadily dark.
Your fish are stressed because they're in too small a group, (6 minimum for all Tetras,) and because they're in too small a volume, (20 gallons minimum for Skirt Tetras.)
Kindly return your poor fish from whence they came and know the basic requirements of any future fish before bringing them home.
FYI, good fish profiles that include minimum aquarium size, grouping needs, and compatibility:
By species/kind: http://www.peteducation.com/category.cfm?c=16+1911
Alphabetically: http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profile_alpha.html
Search-by-name: http://www.aquariumlife.net/fishprof.aspo
Healthy fish should stay a dark grey or black color. If yours are alternating I would guess that something is stressing them out. They ideally should be in a group of 6. A group of 6 would stock a 10 gallon, and in my opinion they should have at least a 20 gallon.
Was your tank cycled before you got them? If not this is your problem.
Do you have any other fish in there? Other fish could be bothering them. They'll also feel stressed from lack of a school.
Hiding spots? They need hiding spots.
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Fish can get pale depending on their stress levels.. many things can stress out your fish
your tv if near
constant tapping on glass
ph
temperature
diet
can you describe where you keep them how much light and what you feed them .. ?