Scared of the pump??

[Gemba85]

Hello. I'm new to this forum so I apologise for any stupid questions...Lets begin with one.

I have a small 20ltr tank. It's a LoveFish Concept tank and I have had it running for a week and treated the water over that time. 2 days ago I went out and bought 2 Danios and 3 Cherry Barbs. They are constantly swimming at the bottom, they never come any higher than about 3/4cm unless I turn the air pump off. Once I do this they freely swim around and seem very happy but once it goes back on they go straight to the bottom again.
Don't get me wrong I always keep my pump on but I just thought I would see if it made a difference if I turned it off.
I have tried turning the pump around to make sure the current isn't to strong and it hasn't made a difference.

Can anyone help or suggest what I can do please?? I want fish that swim around my tank not along the floor!!!

Thank you

 

[Fishperson]

They are most likely scared by the pump, but that is not the real issue. Barbs and danios should have at least 75 liters/20 gallons (most of them), so they are behaving weirdly because the tank is wwwwaaaaaayyyyyyyyy too small. Also do you know about cycling?

 

[henningc]

I would agree with the above statements. You would be much better off with fish that are appropriate for the tank size. A Betta and some Cherry Shrimp, small group of males Endlers, or Least Killies. You could also go with natives from a local stream. There are a number of other fish you could stock that would work better. If you decide to return your fish make a list of what you would like, post it and folks will provide you with advice. Better yet, it sounds like a good excuse to get another tank.