The tetra debate!

[FishayFishay]

Just wanted to know what you're guys opinion is on species of different colors but considered the same species schooling? For example, the white skirt tetra(gymnocorymbus ternertzi) which is also the same species as the black skirt tetra(not spelling that out again lol)

But some may argue they are different colors and some how the fish see that and shy away from schooling with them. Any body have any experience with a situation like this?

Don't get me started on white skirts or black skirts trying to school with the glofish version. Let me know what you guys think.

 

[ArtistGardener]

They'll school together, but I personally prefer the look of a large school of the same color/species. I have a small school of white cloud mountain minnows and recently wanted to add to it but my LFS only had the "gold" whitish version. I passed for now. Just a preference. As an artist, I see aquariums as living compositions (designs) and it should be a balance of unity and harmony in shapes, sizes, and colors. Keeping your same species tetras in the same color helps created visual harmony.

 

[Marble128]

I personally don't think it matters. I have three different colors of Danio Glofish in my tank and they school together.

 

[FishayFishay]

I see what both of you are saying. That's cool, I agree on both sides. But to add towards the mix and match debate I'll state that I think it's visually appealing to see a school of one color of the species then maybe another school of the different color. It sounds very confusing, I know. My next project involves White skirts, Black skirts, and glofish of the same species.

 

[ktomminello]

If you truly want to laugh over this topic I have witnessed, on many occasions- in my own tanks and in other people's tanks, pygmy cories (hasbrus as well) schooling with small/medium sized tetra/ danio/ barb/ rasbora.

I think the avoidance of color differences has root in science for wild specimens but not for those that your average hobbyist would come across.

 

[FishayFishay]

If you truly want to laugh over this topic I have witnessed, on many occasions- in my own tanks and in other people's tanks, pygmy cories (hasbrus as well) schooling with small/medium sized tetra/ danio/ barb/ rasbora.

I think the avoidance of color differences has root in science for wild specimens but not for those that your average hobbyist would come across.

Yes! Lol. That's what I like to see. Schooling fish just schooling. They do not discriminate! Lol, everybody lets just take a second and imagine a school of 6 different species.

A neon tetra
A cherry barb
A harlequin rasbora
A zebra danio
A Cory cat
And last but not least, a bala shark.

Wait what?! Lol.

 

[FishayFishay]

I can feel OCD fish keepers pulling their hair out right about now...

 

[chykityta]

It is my understanding that, wild or not, fish of similar shapes and colors may school although they may be different species. For instance, Black Neon Tetras could school with Pygmy Cories, as described earlier. But I do not see a Neon Tetra schooling with a Black Skirt Tetra (no matter what color it may be), although they are of the same family.

So, please do not think that a Bala Shark will school with a Tetra. It doesn't even sound artistic, which is what an aquarist should attempt to accomplish.


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[Buckfins]

I have cardinal, head n tail lights and black neons in huge schools in my tank. They really kinda keep to their groups.

 

[FishayFishay]

It is my understanding that, wild or not, fish of similar shapes and colors may school although they may be different species. For instance, Black Neon Tetras could school with Pygmy Cories, as described earlier. But I do not see a Neon Tetra schooling with a Black Skirt Tetra (no matter what color it may be), although they are of the same family.

So, please do not think that a Bala Shark will school with a Tetra. It doesn't even sound artistic, which is what an aquarist should attempt to accomplish.


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Yeah I understand that, I've seen it myself in fishtanks and in the wild. A school of sardines and a random pinfish will be in the mix.

Lol what I stated earlier was my imagination and me just having a laugh about the topic, don't take it so seriously. I didn't mean to offend the "artistic ability that an aquarist should attempt to accomplish".

 

[FishayFishay]

I have cardinal, head n tail lights and black neons in huge schools in my tank. They really kinda keep to their groups.

That's awesome man. You should share a pic with us.

 

[swoody]

I have one Buenos Aries Tetra remaining in my tank after re-homing the 3 others that were with him (I could not catch him so he stayed)....I added 6 Neon Dwarf Rainbowfish and he schools perfectly with them....sometimes hard to pick him out of the crowd.

 

[Robcurry12]

I have 3 each of 3 different types of Cories and they all school together. I think as long as they are of similar size and/or color they will school together. For example, I have one serpae tetra from my old setup and he schools with my cherry barbs. While ideally, they might prefer their own kind, i feel like they won't mind a similar looking friend.

 

[ktomminello]

Oh how I love this debate!!

For laughs- I could see a bala shark schooling with some of the larger predatory tetra- after all the goliath tiger fish, the piranha and the pacu (aka ball cutter) are all "tetra" species.

I think it seems pretty straightforward, though, that schoolers are going to school. They would usually prefer their own (though I think most long term hobbyists have a story of that "one weird fish that wouldn't school with his own"), but will seek out others similar to them that occupy similar areas of the water column that behave similarly.
I do honestly believe, though, that wild specimens avoid those with drastic color variations (albino specimens being killed by parents and siblings comes to mind) way more drastically than TR or hobby bred specimens.

 

[FishayFishay]

I love this debate as well!

I think if you were someone who didn't know anything about fish, and you bought a bunch of different types of species based on their looks and stuff. The fish would all just learn to get along and school up together, you know? I know it sounds scientifically false all the way around, but we aren't trying to be scientists. Lol

 

[Delapool]

I've had a single cardinal tetra school with harlequin rasboras (other choices were black mollies or rosy barbs). He was in a group of neons all lost to bacterial infection.

Eventually picked up more cardinal tetras and he went and schooled with them.

 

[ktomminello]

Ha!! Low and behold- I'm watching my community tank and it has a mismatched school of cory cats- 2 are 'agassizi cory' 1 is a julii and one is a peppered.... 1 of the agassizi thinks it is black phantom tetra!! I suspect this might be because one of my black phantom females is dropping eggs- but it was still funny to watch him ignore his conspecific and swim mid column with the tetra.