Ornery Fighting? Danios

[Absinthena]

Help! I woke up and turned on the light this working and all the Danios were going nuts! It looks like a game of massive chase. At first I thought it was all one fish picking on everybody... one Leopard Danio - then I realized his Zebra counterparts were also being insane.

Sometimes when they squabble they go in 1 inch circles behind the other in the corner of the tank. Being a human, I would call this looking act either a fight or sex. Something tells me I could rule sex out.

So... WHAT ARE THE DOING? I have not witnessed this yet. This is the 3rd day I have had the tank and all my levels are okay.. I'm keeping the Ammonia low/gone with water chnges.

Oh...and what concerned me most was that when I fed the fighting and/or chasing ones, they did not come up for food.. they kept doing their thing instead. I don't know!!![/b]

 

[Dr.Danio]

they do that.

I'm really trying not to laugh really hard here, but they just do that...
1. How big is the tank?
2. How many do you have?
3. why is this a problem?

Zebrafish are schoolers, they school. In the wild they go around large areas playing follow the leader. In a small tank, the leader may end up following someone in the middle, then everyone gets confused. They're just schooling in a confined area. I think its cute... If you're worried about them not eating or if they continue, throw in some live brine shrimp and they'll decide to pay more attention to that, going into a feeding frenzy rather than a schooling frenzy. don't worry, its normal.

 

[Absinthena]

Hey...! Do not laugh.

Tanks is...
30 Gallons

4 Zebra Danios
4 Leopard Danios
3 Pristella Tets
3 Bleeding Heart Tets
3 Red Eye Tets

I thought they were fighting or one fish was specifically pissed off. I have only had sweeeeet little platys before.

And maybe I am falling for some sort of joke, but... Tell me about this:

If you really want to know why your zebra fish has long or short fins, I can give you more that you really want to know about it...

 

[Zic]

I think zebra danios swim in little circles when they breed. Am I right Dr Danio? I have seen mine do this also, but if they bred, the eggs must have made a good meal for my angelfish.

 

[Absinthena]

Well, heyyyy! The ones turning in circles were Leopard Danios and Zebra Danios. Will I possibly have a little hybrid? Eek!

Say... Are fish eggs obvious in the tank?

 

[Dr.Danio]

they sometimes swim in small slow circles if spawning, but not mad dash crazy like it sounds they were. Mind you i'm not an expert on "natural" spawning, as we don't let our fish breed in the matrix (think lots and lots of .5-4 gallon tanks in long rows... matrix...). I squeeze for eggs and sperm and inseminate in a petri dish, much higher yield, and you don't have to fish around for them... but if you want to let them breed in the tank or if they have take a bright flashlight, and shine it on the top. with your eyes at gravel level, look for tiny little glowing balls. real tiny. I usually get like 300-400 eggs, and most of them fertilize, but in the tank you'll probably get like 50, and mabe 10 will survive. and yes, you can most definitly get hybrids.

If you want to know about long fins and short fins, you may require a degree in molecular biology... or i could simplify it.

 

[demurefemme]

i have yet to see my danios breed, but i have seen them "play" (at least that's what i've always assumed it was, since i've never seen eggs or anything else like that in my tank) exactly how you're describing that yours are. sometimes they're just chill, and swim around in the tank slowly, but others, the whole school (well, all six) seems to be engaged in a game of tag...whatever's going on, they sound like normal little danios to me

 

[Dragon77]

Dannios do a LOT of chasing and a fair bit of tail nipping amongst themselves - this goes for pretty much all breeds of them (AFAIK). Unless you see large chunks of tailfin missing on any of them, or other bodily injuries, I wouldn't worry.

--- Dragon77