Sad danio

[elaine5182]

Ok so I have a 60l tank with 3 pearl danios 1 zebra danio 1 leopard danio 3 male guppies and 6 female guppies. Since putting the females in on Sunday our zebra danio seems sad and tends to stay by itself and just bob around near the surface.

Is there any reason why this would happen?

Thanks

P.s. Can't wait for us to get some baby guppies

 

[JakeVS]

Hey,

Danio's are a schooling fish as far as i know and should be kept in groups of 6 or more, try adding a few more zebra danio's and see if things improve, issue is you're tank is fairly full so try not to add too many.

 

[MountainAsh87]

Okay, I'm the first to admit I'm a total newb when it comes to fish, but is your tank 60gal or 60litr? If it's liters, you sound horribly overstocked. Your danio could be hanging out at the top because he's sick, not because he's lonely or sad. Do you know what your water parameters (ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAtre) are, and how long has your tank been cycling?

Hopefully someone more experienced than me will be able to chime in soon with better help.

 

[Rokuzachi]

If it is an overstocking issue, he may be staying near the surface and being inactive because of low oxygen levels.

 

[elaine5182]

It's a 60l tank we have. Don't know if I should add more danio if we are overstocked? How can this be rectified without losing any fish

 

[Shetland James]

You're probably not overstocked - there's the great myth about overstocking that is perpetrated in the aquarium community. Some people will want you to have two danios in a 50 gal tank and still not be satisfied. If you have a good amount of fish in your 60 ltr just make sure you increase the frequency or intensity of your cleaning.

I would say thought that you could replace your 6 female guppies with 5/6 danios. Would look better.

 

[elaine5182]

Called lfs who said we aren't overstocked but probably that we need to get live plant in tank to give the fish more oxygen so gonna get a couple over the weekend and see how that goes

 

[ShadoeFox]

yeah, that's salespeople for you (Though I'm a fan of Morimo balls myself, and all my tanks have a few live plants in them). Bubblers would do more to add air. You might consider spending the money on another tank though. While I agree, a well maintained and monitored tank can support more than some arbitrary "overstocking" point, the production of guppy FRY will definately manage to throw you into the realm of crowded. That's ignoring that I suspect EVERYONE in your tank will then snack on the fry.

That being said, if your watching your levels well and everythin looks okay... it might just be stress. Guppies are kind of high energy compared to Danio's from what I've seen. Might just be driving your guy nuts.

 

[siva]

The danios behavior sounds like a water quality issue. It is likely there is ammonia and/or nitrite present in your water. Do you have a liquid master kit?

Hobbyists on this forum will be able to give you better advice than your lfs could ever dream of. Their goal is to make money, not to make fish happy.

A 60 liter tank would be just perfect for your guppies. The other fish should not be house in that tank, it is too small for them and they aren't being kept in proper schools. I highly recommend you take the danios back to the lfs or find another home for them if you will not be able to upgrade them to a larger tank very soon