Hello, I am new to the site, so hopefully this is the right place to post this. I recently got a 29gallon tank set up in my room. It has been cycling for two weeks so far and before adding fish I tested the water and all levels are fine. To start my tank off easily I only put in 5 zebra danios. I plan to add two angelfish and 3 cory cats later. The zebra danios are all doing well, and are eating, but they arent schooling. They dont seem stressed out, so I was wondering if you have any solutions? Thanks! -Abbey
Zebra Danios Not Schooling
- Thread starter Yakno
- Start date
The April FOTM Contest Poll is open!
🏆 Click to vote! 🏆
Fish school as a response to a threat. If they are not scared, they'll all go their own ways. The only way to get them to school is to keep them in a constant state of terror which is cruel.
When you say you cycled the tank for two weeks, how exactly did you do this? Did you add ammonia or mature media or did you just let the tank run? If you just let the tank run, you are now doing a fish-in cycle, so you need to test for both ammonia and nitrite every day and do a water change whenever either of them show more than zero. If the tank was just allowed to run, the water levels would have been perfect after 2 weeks because there was nothing in the tank to make them non-perfect.
You need at least 6 cories, preferably more, and of the same species. These are shoaling fish which need to be in a group bigger than 3.
Is the water depth at least 18 inches/45 cm? Angels are tall fish and need this depth of water.
When you say you cycled the tank for two weeks, how exactly did you do this? Did you add ammonia or mature media or did you just let the tank run? If you just let the tank run, you are now doing a fish-in cycle, so you need to test for both ammonia and nitrite every day and do a water change whenever either of them show more than zero. If the tank was just allowed to run, the water levels would have been perfect after 2 weeks because there was nothing in the tank to make them non-perfect.
You need at least 6 cories, preferably more, and of the same species. These are shoaling fish which need to be in a group bigger than 3.
Is the water depth at least 18 inches/45 cm? Angels are tall fish and need this depth of water.
Thank you for all the good info!
When cycling the tank I just filled the tank and let the filter run for two weeks straight. I did not add ammonia or anything, although that is good to know for future reference!
I am still testing water everyday to make sure that water levels stay at what they're supposed to be. While the tank was cycling, the levels were not perfect at first. I am not sure why but PH and Alkalinity was high. They are all fine now though.
And yes, my water depth is 18in. Thanks for the tips and information! I am glad to know that my danios are okay. -Abbey
When cycling the tank I just filled the tank and let the filter run for two weeks straight. I did not add ammonia or anything, although that is good to know for future reference!
I am still testing water everyday to make sure that water levels stay at what they're supposed to be. While the tank was cycling, the levels were not perfect at first. I am not sure why but PH and Alkalinity was high. They are all fine now though.
And yes, my water depth is 18in. Thanks for the tips and information! I am glad to know that my danios are okay. -Abbey
The pH and alkalinity are whatever they are when they come out of the tap. While it is possible to alter them it is much better to accept what your tap water is like, and get fish that suit your tap water. There is no 'right' measurement for pH or GH or KH (what fishkeepers call alkalinity). Different fish need different hardness and pH so what is 'right' for one fish is 'wrong' for another. You'll see a lot of websites and instruction leaflets saying that pH 7.0 is the only 'right' one. This is not true.
KH (also called carbonate hardness, or alkalinity) is not very important. GH or general hardness is much more important for fish. If you don't have a liquid GH tester - strips are notoriously inaccurate - look on your water supplier's website for your hardness. They'll probably give words and a number. Ignore the words, and tell us the number and the unit (they could use any one of half a dozen different units).
Once you know how hard your water is, you can then research the fish you like on http://www.seriouslyfish.com/knowledge-base/ which is just about the best website for fish information. It is much better to buy fish that like your tap water rather than try to change the water to suit the fish.
KH (also called carbonate hardness, or alkalinity) is not very important. GH or general hardness is much more important for fish. If you don't have a liquid GH tester - strips are notoriously inaccurate - look on your water supplier's website for your hardness. They'll probably give words and a number. Ignore the words, and tell us the number and the unit (they could use any one of half a dozen different units).
Once you know how hard your water is, you can then research the fish you like on http://www.seriouslyfish.com/knowledge-base/ which is just about the best website for fish information. It is much better to buy fish that like your tap water rather than try to change the water to suit the fish.
From your description, the tank was not "cycled" as such, so you need to keep a close observation. Five danios in a 29g is not much fish load so you might get through this, but certainly do not add any other fish until the tank is definitely cycled. This takes a few weeks normally. Test ammonia and nitrite daily (in the early morning is best) and if either rise above zero, do a 50% partial water change using a good water conditioner.
Angelfish are not suited to this tank. They are a shoaling species, meaning they live in groups and develop an hierarchy within the group; minimum five angelfish, as any fewer will mean the dominant fish will likely consider the tank its space and harass the others to death. Two angelfish is almost certain to end in disaster with one dead unless they are a bonded pair (male/female that have selected and accepted each other).
Danios are too active to be in the same tank as angelfish anyway, so that is another strike against the angelfish.
When the tank is cycled, a few more zebra danios would be best, say 8-9 in total, but keep in mind these are very active fish and any sedate species will not work so tankmates need to be active to some degree. And the cories are fine, with a few more too. These are all shoaling fish, and groups are mandatory if they are to bee free of additional stress and healthy.
Welcome to TFF.
Angelfish are not suited to this tank. They are a shoaling species, meaning they live in groups and develop an hierarchy within the group; minimum five angelfish, as any fewer will mean the dominant fish will likely consider the tank its space and harass the others to death. Two angelfish is almost certain to end in disaster with one dead unless they are a bonded pair (male/female that have selected and accepted each other).
Danios are too active to be in the same tank as angelfish anyway, so that is another strike against the angelfish.
When the tank is cycled, a few more zebra danios would be best, say 8-9 in total, but keep in mind these are very active fish and any sedate species will not work so tankmates need to be active to some degree. And the cories are fine, with a few more too. These are all shoaling fish, and groups are mandatory if they are to bee free of additional stress and healthy.
Welcome to TFF.
Last edited:
Most reactions
-
284 -
230 -
160 -
141 -
138 -
132 -
119 -
119 -
104 -
97 -
87 -
85 -
78 -
70 -
64
