Long finned Black skirt Tetras (HELP!)

D

DeCoY

AC Members
Mar 10, 2005
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For quite a while i have been having problems with my Long finned black skirts. It started in my main tank when all 6 of them were acting very twictchy with ragged fins. After two died (months apart) I put the remaining 4 in my 10 gallon Q tank. Over a period of 1-2 months I have tried treating with: Coppersafe, maracyn and malafix.

Symptoms:
The fish are still twitchy, and sometimes appear normal.
Lose color on random days, Fully colord on other days.
Ragged fins.
Not eating on some days, chowing down on other days.

Tanks: both tanks are cycled and regularly maintained.
Amm-0 Nitrite-0 Nitrate-10/20 PH 7.0

This is very confusing and I have been trying to cure this for a while. Any advice would be much appreciated
 
By twitchy do you mean they are flashing, scratching their bodies against things? This is normally a sign of external parasites, gill flukes, body flukes, ect.

Your water parameters are good. What is your water change routine?
 
As far as the color changing goes, I had a group of blackskirts that changed from darker to lighter all the time and they were perfectly healthy. I wouldnt worry about that. With the ragged fins, it could be some sort of fin rot, or maybe they are picking on each other. Mine werent long finned, but they did chase each other occasionally.
 
Blackskirts in general can be a bit nippy.

Do you know what ratio (Males to females) you have? it might be aggression based on potential spawning/mating.

Can you identify or pinpoint who the most picked on is? Also can you pinpoint the bully?
 
By twitchy i mean just that, I have noticed (on certain days) they are almost motionless in the water other than the occasional twitch (every 5-10 seconds). They are not flashing on any objects, though they do appear to flash occasionally towards each other and veer away. This behavior seems to be apperent some days and gone on others, but the ragged fins prevail. Also, how do you sex these fish? thanks a lot.
 
My Black Skirts Are The Scarriest Fish Ive Ever Had.. When I Turn The Lights On They Lose Their Color In About 5 Seconds And Hide. They Stay Hidin Till I Turn The Lights Off Then They Get Their Color Back. They Also Act Funny Sometimes Like U Said By Twitching. Im Not Sure Why They Do This. But If Somebody Knows Let Me Know.. My B.s. Tetras Seem Healty. They Eat Fine And Are Always Playing With Eachother.
 
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