# My list of Good vs Bad Tetras from experience and reading this forum.



## SpaceLord (Feb 29, 2016)

Good(generally) vs BAD(generally) Tetras for a widest array of community fish tank with delicate long fin tropical fish, weaker fish, smaller fish, etc..... 

The tetras least likely to hurt or kill another weaker and/or long fin fish. For example a " Vampire tetra" would probably kill any fish in your aquarium including a Piranha. 

Maybe this should be sticky or guide for others? 
Compatibility chats list all tetra as the same fish. So the neon tetra(which won't even eat red cherry shrimp is the same as Vampire Tetra which will hunt and kill Piranhas) 

All these fish are listed as peaceful however some are more peaceful and some are aggressive peaceful. Some tetra will eat plants, injure or kill other fish, nip them fins raw,etc.. Others will just play around a bit for fun but nothing serious. This is to separate top top 50% peaceful from the bottom 50% of the so called " peaceful" which are actually more semi-aggressive. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySL8g5Oi4vE
Please let me know if you think this is generally right or if I got it wrong. Thanks. 


*Bad Tetra list* ( Might be nippy around guppies and long fins, might hurt or kill other fish even if out of harassment and stress) 
Buenos Aires (eats plants too, will kill)
Black Skirt ( has killed cherry barb)
Blue tetras
Colombian tetra
Tiger Barbs(bad fin nippers)
Dawn Tetra
Red-eyed Tetra /Lamp Eye Tetra
Silver tip tetra(need more information on)
Red Minor Tetra (May be able to live with if big tank)
Serpae
vampire tetras, payara, Hydrolycus scomberoides ( The Devil of Tetra himself) 
*A fish with a piranha's jaw structure is unquestionably going to use that jaw to take bites out of things.


*Good list * (May chase playfully but generally does not do too much damage or result in badly injured or dead fish) 
gold pristella tetras
rummies (Rummynose tetra) 
neons
cardinals
redfin tetras
phantom tetras
Blue Neon
Black Neon
bloodfin
glowlight
Lemon Tetra 
White finned Rosy Tetra
Von Rio Flame Tetra


*The Jury is still out list(either good nor bad) *
Black Ruby Barb ( in a smaller tank and feed pellets, would aggressively chase other fish away from the pellets however in a larger tank feed flakes, seem to not chase the fish anymore. I'm not sure how to label this fish. ) 




* I realize Good vs Bad can be in the eye of the beholder, individual fish may have different personalities,etc.. Just looking for a little clarification on fish that are all lumped together as "PEACEFUL" whereas some are more peaceful than others and if you want a large variety of fish including fragile ones, you might want to avoid one nipper "peaceful" ones.


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## aja31 (May 25, 2013)

I'm not sure what you mean by good and bad? can you elaborate?

For instance danio's are very aggressive and hyperactive, they will chase and kill most of the other tetra's (and rasbora's) on your list in my experience. I would certainly not recommend keeping them with less active fish. But things like my black skirt tetra's play quite nicely with other tetra's.


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## longgonedaddy (Dec 9, 2012)

Isn't there another recent thread with this same information?

Why, yes, there is! 

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/2...e-fin-nippers-kill-mangle-other-fish-etc.html


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## dukydaf (Dec 27, 2004)

Do you mean they taste good or bad ? Are they obedient or not ? Should they go to fish heaven or not ? Are they not compatible (and if so with what other fish ?)

I remember angelfish did not agree with my cat )

Also I am confused as to why are any danios, rasboras, barbs and rainbowfish part of this list ??? If you want to make the discussion about small fish than the title of the thread needs to be revised.

Another point to consider is that the list should provide latin names as common names have many synonyms and are prove to misuse.

I had no problems with 
Serpae,
Black Skirt
Buenos Aires 
in planted aquariums when kept together with Angelfish, rummynose, Megalechis sp. and some others. I understand that my experience with Buenos Aires tetras was the exception not the rule. Just goes to show, like in the other thread that the fish behaviour varies depending on the numbers, habitat, what is already in the aquarium, how they were raised etc... thus not so simple to put in a list under saint or devil.


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## Immortal1 (Feb 18, 2015)

Interesting....
In my 75g tank I have 6 serpea and 5 black skirt tetras - no problems with the plants or the fish (stupid bushy nose gotta go thou)
In my 40g tank I have 6 black ruby barbs, 6 regular tiger barbs and 4 green tiger barbs along with a lot of plants (again, stupid bushy nose - kinda regret putting these guys in with delicate plants).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTt6oLnnTwU


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## Jeff5614 (Dec 29, 2005)

That's a pretty arbitrary list and all a matter of personal opinion as to what's a "good" or "bad" tetra and I'd like to point out, as already mentioned above, that part of the fish on the lists aren't tetras. I like and have kept the tetras on the "bad" list for years. I like their gregarious and very active natures.

I currently have 11 black skirts in a tank with 6 cardinals. They get along with no problems. There's no picking on the cardinals by the black skirts.


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## GrampsGrunge (Jun 18, 2012)

There's only one semi-commonly kept Characin that remotely comes close to the OP's title, and that's the Bucktooth Tetra,
_Exodon paradoxus_ and it isn't even that common. Blue tetras? There's about 4 or 5 Genus and species that could fall under that description. Rainbowfish.... are not Characins. Neither are Pseudomugil signifer, the Signifer _Rainbow_ fish, another Atheriniforme.


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## SpaceLord (Feb 29, 2016)

aja31 said:


> I'm not sure what you mean by good and bad? can you elaborate?
> 
> For instance danio's are very aggressive and hyperactive, they will chase and kill most of the other tetra's (and rasbora's) on your list in my experience. I would certainly not recommend keeping them with less active fish. But things like my black skirt tetra's play quite nicely with other tetra's.



Bullies, plant eaters, aggressive fin nippers for tanks that you want a peaceful tank with Fancy tail guppies, long fin zebra Danios,etc.. 

Fish that may end up killing or injuring the more peaceful and delicate fish in a diverse community fish tank.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/2...e-fin-nippers-kill-mangle-other-fish-etc.html[/QUOTE]

Yes, I took the information learned over many pages of post and summarized it into this. Something you can take with you into the LFS and use it like a guide or cheat sheet on tetras to avoid if you have a peaceful tank. If I have missed any fish, let me know. 

The compatibility charts list all tetra as the same fish so this will work better. Maybe this can be incorporated into a sticky on one of the pages to help people avoid a disaster. 

If you walk into the LFS and have to read 100 post about which ones will and won't work for your fish or you can have a small list that tells you everything.



aja31 said:


> I'm not sure what you mean by good and bad? can you elaborate?
> 
> For instance danio's are very aggressive and hyperactive, they will chase and kill most of the other tetra's (and rasbora's) on your list in my experience. I would certainly not recommend keeping them with less active fish. But things like my black skirt tetra's play quite nicely with other tetra's.


I have had B.A. Tetra listed as peaceful but actually killed a bunch of fish. I had fish with missing jaws because the B.A tetra would so aggressively eat food when another fish was eating that it would bite the other fish jaw off. I had smaller and weaker fish showing up dead too. I hear from members that they will eat your plants. I would put these on the bad list or bottom 50% list. 

May I ask which Danio you had kill other tetra and Rasboras ? 
Pear Danio, Zebra Danio, Giant danio,etc.... 

I had several Zebra Danio which seem to be quite peaceful as they were babies now one of them is actually quite large now and is starting to act very aggressive towards the other fish. I'm not sure if this is an anomaly. 

We may have to have 3 list. Very peaceful, moderately peaceful and aggressively peaceful. 

What type of fish does your black skirt get along with? They do not injure or kill other fish like fancy tail guppies, long fin zebra danio,etc.. Friendly chasing may be acceptable if they are not killing or seriously injuring other fish. This might be more of a Good or moderate list. 


Note that all the fish in my list are technically listed as "peaceful" from the official guides. We are trying to make a more accurate guide when what is on the big name websites.

This is what I was basing my information from 



Turningdizzy said:


> Turningdizzy
> Join Date: Apr 2014
> Location: NE Texas
> Posts: 113
> I have some Black skirts and they are constantly beating on each other. They also chase the other fish if one dares swim too close to their end of the tank. They mainly bicker among themselves. Kinda, sorta looks like a mosh pit. They are also in their golden years. One female that I have is around 3 1/2 inches and she knows that she is the heavyweight. I sometimes wonder if the skirts keep the serpaes subdued. "


P.S. 
If anyone thinks I have the list wrong, please let me know however please note I am talking about general speaking not outlier


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## SpaceLord (Feb 29, 2016)

dukydaf said:


> Do you mean they taste good or bad ? Are they obedient or not ? Should they go to fish heaven or not ? Are they not compatible (and if so with what other fish ?)
> 
> I remember angelfish did not agree with my cat )
> 
> ...


NO, I DON'T MEAN THEY DON'T TASTE GOOD!!! These are looking-fish, not eating fish. I have to explain to my garner the same thing. He looks at my fish and tell me that he wants to eat them for lunch and I have to train him in the ways of a civilized man that we don't eat aquarium fish!!! 

How did your cat eat your angle fish? Did it jump out of the tank or something or did your cat get into the tank? 

Maybe there need to be 3 list. 
Saint, Gaius baltar, Devil ( Battlestar Glacial reference) 

Ok,I will remove the small fish, this originally started out as a recap summary of another forum but I decided maybe it would work as a sticky fish guide to give people are scale of peaceful vs nippy/aggressive tetras( Which are also all considered peaceful by the official website/guides) 

I can tell you that Buenos Aires is no saint. I would classify them as the devil of peaceful fish. 

Did you have any fragile fish? Fancy tail guppies, long fin Zebra danio,etc..? 

I am trying to find what the stereotype of this fish is not the exception to the rule. 

Thanks


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

GrampsGrunge said:


> There's only one semi-commonly kept Characin that remotely comes close to the OP's title, and that's the Bucktooth Tetra,
> _Exodon paradoxus_ and it isn't even that common. Blue tetras? There's about 4 or 5 Genus and species that could fall under that description. Rainbowfish.... are not Characins. Neither are Pseudomugil signifer, the Signifer _Rainbow_ fish, another Atheriniforme.


 Perhaps not that common, but Aphyocharax Paraguayensis (Dawn tetra) get's my vote.

Have kept nearly all of the commonly found tetra's without issues so long as tank and number's of fish are large enough.Shoaling species when in sufficient number's, seldom harrass/ bother with other fishes and create their own pecking order's just like loaches,pleco's,cichlid's,barb's,Gourami,etc.

The Dawn tetra however is hand's down the smallest,meanest tetra I have ever seen for no bigger than it is.
Truly was an impulse buy that was ill advised.


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## SpaceLord (Feb 29, 2016)

Immortal1 said:


> Interesting....
> In my 75g tank I have 6 serpea and 5 black skirt tetras - no problems with the plants or the fish (stupid bushy nose gotta go thou)
> In my 40g tank I have 6 black ruby barbs, 6 regular tiger barbs and 4 green tiger barbs along with a lot of plants (again, stupid bushy nose - kinda regret putting these guys in with delicate plants).
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTt6oLnnTwU


Ok, Here is the issue. That is kind of an aggressive tank with all aggressive fish. 

Its like a motorcycle rider going to a biker bar, might be ok and fit in. Lets say some little nerd drives up to a biker bar in a 3-wheel electric pink car, he is probably going to get beat up. 

Well, if you put some delicate fish into that tank like a betta, fancy tail guppy,etc... They are going to get beat up and killed. Tiger Barbs are notorious fin nippers. 

I am talking about fish that can get along in ANY community fish tank not a barb specialty tank. 

Think about if you got your 6 year old daughter a tropical fish tank and you don't want some fish to end up dead from a fight or mangled. 

I am trying to gauge a scale of which fish are more/less peaceful amount " peaceful fish"


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## jr125 (Mar 5, 2015)

Of the fish on your "bad tetra" list I have kept 3. I've had Black Skirts in about every tank I've had. I've never had any issues with them as far as bothering other fish or plants.
I had Serpaes years ago in a 30 gallon tank and can't remember anything particularly "bad" about them. They were very active and I remember my wife and I calling them the "devil fish". I probably had too small a group of them in a crowded tank.
I've got 11 Tiger Barbs in my125 now. It's my first experience with them. They are very active but all their activity is pretty much directed at each other. The exception to this was when I had a female Angel fish and at times when she would lay eggs they would really torment her in an effort to get the eggs. I've never noticed them bother any plants.


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## aja31 (May 25, 2013)

The danios I had a problem with were zebra danios. The larger females tore apart a group of rasboras that I added to the tank. Every morning I would find the shredded remains of another one. Only one survived. That one is able to hold its own, and eventually the danios died off after a few years and now I have 1 danio and 1 rasbora left. I recently adopted a number of black skirt tetras and they get along with the remaining fish just fine.


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## GrampsGrunge (Jun 18, 2012)

roadmaster said:


> Perhaps not that common, but Aphyocharax Paraguayensis (Dawn tetra) get's my vote.
> 
> Have kept nearly all of the commonly found tetra's without issues so long as tank and number's of fish are large enough.Shoaling species when in sufficient number's, seldom harrass/ bother with other fishes and create their own pecking order's just like loaches,pleco's,cichlid's,barb's,Gourami,etc.
> 
> ...


I'll have to remember that as I'm thinking about setting up another tetra tank. I seem to recall Jorge Vierke including it as one of the better single species Biotype tank fishes as they color up spectacularly in soft, tannin-ish water.


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## rhody9 (Sep 7, 2012)

I have 20 Colombian tetras in a 55 planted tank they are in with two apistos a school of cories and a pleco. They do chase each other around sometimes but I wouldn't say they are "bad". Likewse I have kept a school of Tiger Barbs in the past and aside from some chasing no issues. I think keeping these fish in larger groups helps disseminate the aggression. Don't avoid the bad ones , just do some research and stock accordingly. there are no bad fish, just bad situations.


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## GrampsGrunge (Jun 18, 2012)

rhody9 said:


> I have 20 Colombian tetras in a 55 planted tank they are in with two apistos a school of cories and a pleco. They do chase each other around sometimes but I wouldn't say they are "bad". Likewse I have kept a school of Tiger Barbs in the past and aside from some chasing no issues. I think keeping these fish in larger groups helps disseminate the aggression. Don't avoid the bad ones , just do some research and stock accordingly. there are no bad fish, just bad situations.


That's Hyphessobrycon Colombianus?









That is one seriously pretty tetra, I'd think they'd be great in a large, multi species SA tetra tank with H. flammeus and Diamond tetras.


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## rhody9 (Sep 7, 2012)

Indeed:

_Hyphessobrycon Colombianus_

They are awesome fish! Shoal together nicely and are very busy. The only minor issue with them is how to trick them at feeding time so I can get blood worms to the apsitos. Usually I'll hit the surface with some flake and then dump in the worms into the flow of the filter so they go to the bottom quicker. My twenty nine gallon has 15 black neons in with a rainbow shark (I wouldn't call the shark "bad" but I would stay away from his cave...) even the supposed "good" black neons chase and jostle each other. If you look closely at their mouths display the same charcidiae mouth structure just on a smaller scale. They are less active than the Colombians. Again no bad or good just different.


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## SpaceLord (Feb 29, 2016)

rhody9 said:


> I have 20 Colombian tetras in a 55 planted tank they are in with two apistos a school of cories and a pleco. They do chase each other around sometimes but I wouldn't say they are "bad". Likewse I have kept a school of Tiger Barbs in the past and aside from some chasing no issues. I think keeping these fish in larger groups helps disseminate the aggression. Don't avoid the bad ones , just do some research and stock accordingly. there are no bad fish, just bad situations.


Remember, all the fish here are technically listed as Peaceful so its like a bad peaceful vs a saint peaceful. Do you think any of those fish would have an issue with a fancy tail guppy? It might nip a little or harass. 

If not, then I should remove it from the list.

http://www.aquariumfish.net/catalog_pages/livebearer_guppies/guppies.htm


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## AWolf (Jun 13, 2014)

IME, danios have ridden some tails. I got rid of mine for the same reason I got rid of my neons from hell, they liked nibbling on my Betta's tail. I would think a guppy tail looks similar.


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## SpaceLord (Feb 29, 2016)

GrampsGrunge said:


> That's Hyphessobrycon Colombianus?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Would it be safe for the fancy tail guppies without nipping? All the fish on my list are technically peaceful but I am trying to separate the Most peaceful with the least peaceful of the peaceful group thee are all lumped into.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

roadmaster said:


> The Dawn tetra however is hand's down the smallest,meanest tetra I have ever seen for no bigger than it is.
> Truly was an impulse buy that was ill advised.


Hey road, can you look at some Google images of Dawn Tetra (Aphyocharax nattereri) just to reconfirm whether or not the tetras you had really were this species and not a similar looking one?
There's just a bunch of similar looking tetras that I would like have a more certain ID.
The Dawn Tetra looks to have black markings on it's anal fin and along where it's body meets the anal fin.

Just checking as I read Corydoras hastatus in the wild often school with similar looking tetras. Those tetras that were mentioned to school with the corys were Aphyocharax nattereri and Serrapinnus kriegi (three spot tetra). So I was interested in getting a group of one of those tetras to school with my corys.

Regardless of the species, can you elaborate on some of the mean things your's did?

Just for reference, what size tank and how many were in the group you had?


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

The ones (8) I kept, were as posted.
They mercilessly chased,nipped,at any and all other fishes in the tank all day, (80 gal).
The other fishes in the tank included fancy guppies, Emperor tetra's,Diamond tetra's,White cloud's, Neon's,Beckford's pencil fish,and one Pearl gourami.
They were very pretty, (silver,yellow,white,black) and quite small as mentioned, and I had never seen them before offered at LFS and so I purchased them without researching them.(my bad)

P.S. Nattereri appears top be the same fish after viewing photo's.
The yellowish color I observed was close to the gill area, and may have been influenced by the lighting,.
I at first thought they were young Lemon tetra's but they were not.


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## SpaceLord (Feb 29, 2016)

roadmaster said:


> The ones (8) I kept, were as posted.
> They mercilessly chased,nipped,at any and all other fishes in the tank all day, (80 gal).
> The other fishes in the tank included fancy guppies, Emperor tetra's,Diamond tetra's,White cloud's, Neon's,Beckford's pencil fish,and one Pearl gourami.
> They were very pretty, (silver,yellow,white,black) and quite small as mentioned, and I had never seen them before offered at LFS and so I purchased them without researching them.(my bad)
> ...


Would it be ok to add the Dawn Tetra to the list of nippy fish???


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

SpaceLord said:


> Would it be ok to add the Dawn Tetra to the list of nippy fish???


 I think yes,without doubt.


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## jr125 (Mar 5, 2015)

I think it needs to be remembered that fish act differently depending on a lot of variables. How large is the tank? Some fish need a lot more room than others. Is it over-stocked? 
Some fish will tolerate this better than others. How large is the group of a particular fish? A lot of fish that are sometimes considered "aggressive" just need to be kept in a large enough group to prevent aggression towards other species. What other species is it being kept with? There are fish combinations that just don't work well as a rule but these same fish are fine with others. Are the water parameters suited for the fish? If not behavior may be different.

Some fish are just basically aggressive. I think some get lumped into the aggressive category undeservedly because they get along with others poorly in certain situations and do great in others.

Kinda like people, eh?


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

jr125 said:


> I think it needs to be remembered that fish act differently depending on a lot of variables. How large is the tank? Some fish need a lot more room than others. Is it over-stocked?
> Some fish will tolerate this better than others. How large is the group of a particular fish? A lot of fish that are sometimes considered "aggressive" just need to be kept in a large enough group to prevent aggression towards other species. What other species is it being kept with? There are fish combinations that just don't work well as a rule but these same fish are fine with others. Are the water parameters suited for the fish? If not behavior may be different.
> 
> Some fish are just basically aggressive. I think some get lumped into the aggressive category undeservedly because they get along with others poorly in certain situations and do great in others.
> ...


 Yes, up till my 30th B-Day, I had easily been in more scrap's than I had birthday's and was considered an aggressive A-hole by many.
But in the company of small children, and dog's, I turn to mush.:crying:


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## GrampsGrunge (Jun 18, 2012)

I think you have to understand that a group of Fancy Guppies really should be in a tank of it's own, because of different 'personalities', tank dynamics and other variables, it's hard to predict what fish will co-exist with other fish. Placing fish in a good-bad category is going to limit the type of community aquariums you can put together.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

Been raising fancy guppies for a few year's.
Male guppies will nip at each other's fin's especially in the absence of females to establish dominance,and also to make subdominant males look less attractive to females when they too are present. Female's,in my experience, tend to mate with the more dominant males with better finnage IME.
I mostly raise them now to provide live food for other fishes. (cichlid's, spotted leaf fish)


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

You should see the high energy fights (swimming) my swordtail males do.
It seems they can swim forward as fast as backwards, and the "winner" is the one who ends in the male mating position, and the looser being grossed out.


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## Vidikron (May 21, 2015)

Like several others here I've had no issues with Black Skirts. I have several right now mixed with some glofish (tetras), mollies, cardinals, rasboras, and guppies and they don't seem to bother any of the other fish. They do chase each other sometimes, but it seems mostly playful and I've not seen any evidence of nipping.


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## SpaceLord (Feb 29, 2016)

jr125 said:


> I think it needs to be remembered that fish act differently depending on a lot of variables. How large is the tank? Some fish need a lot more room than others. Is it over-stocked?
> Some fish will tolerate this better than others. How large is the group of a particular fish? A lot of fish that are sometimes considered "aggressive" just need to be kept in a large enough group to prevent aggression towards other species. What other species is it being kept with? There are fish combinations that just don't work well as a rule but these same fish are fine with others. Are the water parameters suited for the fish? If not behavior may be different.
> 
> Some fish are just basically aggressive. I think some get lumped into the aggressive category undeservedly because they get along with others poorly in certain situations and do great in others.
> ...


Some more than others as evident by 911/pairs/Brussels, san bernardino, fort hood,etc.. 

Lets say we are in the FBI ( Fish Bureau of Investigation*)* and we are trying to build a profile on sus-fish-ous(suspicious) activity. on possible fish terrornippers. 

What fish would fit the profile for additional screening ?


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## jr125 (Mar 5, 2015)

SpaceLord said:


> Some more than others as evident by 911/pairs/Brussels, san bernardino, fort hood,etc..
> 
> Lets say we are in the FBI ( Fish Bureau of Investigation*)* and we are trying to build a profile on sus-fish-ous(suspicious) activity. on possible fish terrornippers.
> 
> What fish would fit the profile for additional screening ?


It's entirely possible that there are "bad apples" in any group of anything. There are uncharacteristic behaviors in fish, dogs, horses, doctors, mechanics, people that live in certain places, members of religions, politicians, ..........

It certainly encourages us to do research and proceed with a measure of caution doesn't it.


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## AWolf (Jun 13, 2014)

Rummy nose nipped the tails of my friend's guppies completely off. I have video of my rummy nose ripping up the tail of my betta. Not a good fish for this list at all! I believe there are so many variables, that you cannot possibly have a fish fit into a category. I still can't get over the fact that people on this forum can keep shrimp with Bettas!  Mine would have the buffet of their lives. My Bettas hunt the shrimp, waiting patiently for them to move, and then...BAM! Shrimp scampi.


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