Zebra Danio Missing An Eye

[nieceypiecey]

Hi all, I'm new to this site.

I have a small tank that has only 4 fish in it, two zebra danio's and two leapard danio's. I noticed that the smallest zebra was being chased by the larger zebra and the larger leapard (the smaller leapard was minding his own business) and when I looked closer I noticed that the small zebra was missing one eye. I have had them for about a year, they have never been aggressive to each other before so I found it strange that one seemed to be being attacked by the two bigger ones. The eye would looks clean.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[KittyKat]

Dominant fish out of a schooling species will often pick on the weaker fish, which is one of the reasons it is important to keep schooling fish in larger groups. I recommend 6 fish as a minimum school size, but ideal is 10-15+.

Depending on the size of your tank, you may want to consider getting another 4 zebra danios and 4 leopard danios.

 

[nieceypiecey]

Thanks Kitty Kat, it is only a 17 litre tank, but I have been told that I can have 10-12 fish of that size, so I will go and get a few more. Thanks

 

[dayzofspeed]

i've had danios in the past missing an eye, it never caused the fish any problems, so i would say you dont need to worry about the one eyed fish
also, welcome to the forum

 

[StandbySetting]

17 Litres is far too small for Leopard and Zebra Danio's, they need rehoming, and whoever told you that it is acceptable to have 10-12 has given rather poor advice.

The only schooling species suitable in my opinion would be those form the Boraras genus along with the likes of the Celestial Pearl Danio, the Ember Tetra, Green Neon tetra etc, anything that doesn't exceed an inch in size.

 

[KittyKat]

Thanks Kitty Kat, it is only a 17 litre tank, but I have been told that I can have 10-12 fish of that size, so I will go and get a few more. Thanks

Erm no. No, you can't have even one zebra or leopard danio in a tank that size. They are very active fish and should have more like a 3+ft tank for best health. Your tank size is your main cause of the current problem.

 

[nieceypiecey]

OK, thanks everyone.