I got a few Zebra Danios for my 36 gallon community tank. They are in my 20 gallon Q tank right now. I'll be adding a few more for a total of six so they can school. I read a lot about them and they seem like a good choice for my peaceful tank, but I'm wondering if anyone has first-hand experience with them. These guys are juveniles, I think. They are still a greyish dull color from the trauma of coming home so I can't really make out their colors to sex them, if they can even be sexed at this age. Anything you have on them is appreciated. They are not long-finned zebras.
Zambize
Got some Zebra Danios for my freshwater tank
5 posts
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Tmercier834747 - Posts: 887
- Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm
ZD's were some of the first community fish I had in my 16 gal. Being the noob I was at the time I didn't know much about schooling/shoaling fish so I started with one. I guess out of loneliness and boredom he became a terrible fin nipper and nuisance to the rest of the inhabitants. After about a week of putting up with that I went out and got another. Turned out the new one became just another victim. Shortly after I gave the pair to a friend with a much larger tank where they've been living happily since with 10 other ZD's. That is the totality of my ZD experience.
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Ryule1105 - Posts: 16
- Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 8:14 pm
You must have them in schools are they get stressed and do stupid things. They are extremely hardy fish, if they are dieing, they were sick to begin with, or your water chemistry is REALLY off.
They are extremely aggressive eaters compared to Tetras and other community fish. This can be an issue in community tanks because you essentially have to make sure the Danios are fed before the other fish can even start eating properly. I persoanlly just bought Corydoras so that I could add a lot of food in, have the Danios eat what they wanted, the leftovers float to the Tetras, and anything they don't eat makes its way to the bottom to supliment the Corydoras normal diet of sinking pellets.
Danios like long tanks as opposed to tall. They like playing tag with eachother, so the more room to swim horizontally, the happier they will be.
Danios breed very easily as fish go.
Danios are freakin' sweet and add a lot of activity to your tank. I strongly recommend them. ^^
They are extremely aggressive eaters compared to Tetras and other community fish. This can be an issue in community tanks because you essentially have to make sure the Danios are fed before the other fish can even start eating properly. I persoanlly just bought Corydoras so that I could add a lot of food in, have the Danios eat what they wanted, the leftovers float to the Tetras, and anything they don't eat makes its way to the bottom to supliment the Corydoras normal diet of sinking pellets.
Danios like long tanks as opposed to tall. They like playing tag with eachother, so the more room to swim horizontally, the happier they will be.
Danios breed very easily as fish go.
Danios are freakin' sweet and add a lot of activity to your tank. I strongly recommend them. ^^
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Zambize4899 - Posts: 499
- Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:35 am
Thanks to both of you. I got 5 of them and they are in my Q tank. My "big" tank is 37 gallons and 30 inches long, about 19 inches tall, so it isn't a "tall" tank. I removed some plants in anticipation of them wanting a little more room to stretch their fins. I hope it's enough room to make them happy. I was going to get a Gourami but I'm not going to because I think the slow moving nervous-prone Gourami would be upset by the ZDs.
The only fish I'm really worried about in my community tank is the female Betta. I'm now considering that she may be stressed by them. I have many hiding places, and she does spend a fair amount of private time there even though she's comfortable in the tank, but I don't want her hiding all the time. I'll figure it out if she hates them... Thanks for the input.
Zambize
The only fish I'm really worried about in my community tank is the female Betta. I'm now considering that she may be stressed by them. I have many hiding places, and she does spend a fair amount of private time there even though she's comfortable in the tank, but I don't want her hiding all the time. I'll figure it out if she hates them... Thanks for the input.
Zambize
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Ryule1105 - Posts: 16
- Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 8:14 pm
Well, Danios aren't fin nippers, so they shouldn't stress your Betta to much. She might not like how much they swim, considering they share the same strata of the tank. But, she will likely get used to them in time. My Tetras didn't get along with my Danios at first, but eventually they set up a hierarchy and thats the end of it. If worse comes to worse, the Betta can be transported to a private 3-5 gallon tank. I have that going on with a Male Betta, who currently enjoys a wonderful 5 gallon with himself and a snail. =P