Tomorrow: New Danios!

[rynthae]

Tomorrow I'm planning on heading out to get five or six zebra danios for my 10 gal. tank. The only other fish in there at the moment is a pleco, about 1 year old, maybe three or four inches long.

I was wondering if there was any advice for taking care of danios that anyone had to offer. I've chosen them because they are fun and very hardy fish from what I hear. I also had a couple questions about taking care of them....

Firstly, I have a few different types of fishfood on hand already. I've heard that danios will eat a large variety of things, and I was wondering if anything I have on hand will work. I have goldfish flakes, goldfish crumbles, shrimp pellets, and algae wafers.

Also, I've heard that you can't have just two or three, or they become pretty serious fin-nippers. I've heard some people say that you should get at least five, and others say six. But I've also heard you should get an odd number. If I get five, will they do all right? Or should I go for six? If I can, I'd like to just get five of them, but I don't want the danios to become aggressive.

Thanks!

~Rynthae

 

[bs6749]

I'd get zero personally. Danios like to swim and a 10g tank is pretty small and doesn't offer much in the way of swimming room. However, if you do decide to get danios still I'd go with 5-6 but no more and no less. You are also going to have to rehome your common pleco very soon. They can grow 17-21" long and they aren't suited for tanks less than 125g or 6 feet long. You will have major nitrate problems which will lead to tons of algae in the short term and sick/dead fish in the long run.

 

[rynthae]

I do have plans of getting a larger tank in the long run, as my pleco grows, and if that somehow is no longer possible, I also have a back up plan. A friend of mine who loves the pleco dearly said she'd be happy to take him if I ever needed her to, and has a ton of experience with keeping fish.

If I do get 5 danios, will that be enough, then?

And, also, will they eat any of the food I have on-hand?

 

[bs6749]

5 will be enough and yes, they'll eat pretty much anything even if it has to be crushed up to fit into their mouths.

 

[rynthae]

Thanks!