Danios

[narelle]

hi, i am new to fishkeeping and i have 2 danios and one common goldfish, one of the danios keeps on nipping the other danio, and charging into it, is this normal? thanks x

 

[narelle]

i forgot to say... one leopard and one zebra, might not make any difference but thought id just say incase, its the leopard that keeps charging for the zebra, please help!!! x

 

[electropunk06]

Hi to the forum danios should be in groups of 6+ to avoid aggression. leopards and zebras are the same fish with different markings.
What size tank do you have?
Lloyd

 

[guppi]

Very rare for this to happen, I think you need to add more a least 6 for the to shoal.

 

[narelle]

its a 28l tank, thats why there isnt more in, still saving up for a bigger tank is that why then because they should be in bigger groups? i got them from pets at home and as i have only just started i asked them for advice and they said that they would be fine! but i think they dont know very much as i have started reading about it instead and they told me lots of things that wasnt right??? narelle x

 

[electropunk06]

Hi a 28L is to small for danios i wouldnt keep mine in anything less than 3 feet because they are so active.
Dose the tank have a filter? If so did you cycle it before adding fish?
Quite a few fish shops either dont know how to look after fish correctly or are happy to lie to get more sales.
If you have any questions feel free to ask. this forum is a great help
Lloyd

 

[narelle]

yeah it has a filter and i didnt add the fish till about three weeks after the tank was set up and running but the goldfish went in a week after setting up, i feel awful now! no wonder he looks peed off lol, will they be ok for a bit till i can afford my new tank or will they end up killing each other? narelle x

 

[electropunk06]

They should be ok short term but try to keep the water quality good to avoid infection.
How long has the tank been set up for with fish in?
If its only been a few weeks your filter won't be cycled.
The nitrogen cycle starts when fishes waste (ammonia is relesed into the tank) ammonia if very bad for fish in anything above 0.25ppm, with out a filter ammonia builds up very quickly in the tank. But if there is a cycled filer in the tank then bacteria which breakdown ammonia start to build up. Ammonia breaks down into nitrite which is also bad for fish this is then broken down with a different kind of bacteria into nitrAte which is safe for fish and is removed in weekly water changes.
There are two ways to cycle a filter 1. fishless and 2. fish-in
1. a fishless cycle is when ammonia is added to the tank until you filter can bring down 5ppm in 12 hours
2. a fish-in cycle is when you add fish to the tank and do lots of water changes to keep you ammonia below 0.25ppm so your fish will be ok.
I would suggest buying a test kit so you can monitor these parameters.
Hope this helps
Lloyd

Edit: have a read of this it might help

 

[narelle]

thank you so much for your help, i will buy the test kit asap and make sure they are ok till i get my new tank, thanks again x

 

[electropunk06]

Your welcome also this one seems quite good Fish in cycling
Lloyd