I am planning to get an angelfish for my 75g along with a large school of something else to occupy the mid/top layer and co-exist with my school of corys.
How well do black skirt tetras school? Do they stick together in general?
I am thinking of getting them because they will not be eaten by an adult angel and only want them if they will likely stay in a group for the most part.
Was thinking of getting harlequin rasboras or rummynose but there are reports of angels eating those when they reach adulthood. I know this may not happen given the right conditions / a peaceful angel but I would rather not risk it.
I would get the smaller fish first and grow them out, remember fish farms get the fish out as early as possible to maximise profits.
So, they normally have a bit of growing left to do. It is highly unlikely even a large adult angel would eat any of the species you mentioned once they have grown out for 3 months or so. I really like cardinals, they also get quite big for a minnow-like tetra.
It is good to have a few alternatives, as your favorite pick might not be the healthiest specimens on the shop racks.
Always take the healthiest fish, don't settle for "also rans".
I have 5 black skirt Tetras in my 75 (have had them for more than 1 year).
With 5, I would not say the school tightly. A larger group might. My tiger barbs (14 total various barbs) seem to school better
Instead of black skirts, try black phantom tetras. They look like a serpae only in black. Mine schooled fairly decent when I had 15 or more in with a pair of large angels.
I've never kept enough black skirt to tell if they would actually school as such but they seem more to hang together and then peel off if they feel right. What I do find about them when kept with large rough cichlids that are far more prone to eating them than angels is that they swim in a very radical way so that they can escape most attacks. I find that the larger fish may not be able to gulp down and swallow smaller fish like neon but they are easy to kill and that is pretty close to the same result. Angels are far from the most dangerous of the cichlids for small fish. When keeping black skirt with some of the larger/meaner cichlids, I find they can get away and do recover from some really bad injuries like losing the whole tail, etc.
I think the tall body style lets them turn quickly and they don't hang out too near the top where they are likely targets. They seem to have both things needed to avoid being the victim. They are durable as well as knowing enough to be careful! Neon don't seem to have it in either.
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