Bubbles Aquarium

Danios

Danios are a group of small minnow-type fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae. They are native to the freshwater rivers and streams of Southeast Asia. Many species are brightly colored, and are available as aquarium fish worldwide with new species being discovered every year that do not yet have scientific names. This species of fish have two pairs of long barbels and are generally characterized by horizontal stripes (with the exception of the glowlight danio, panther danio and black barred danio which have vertical bars). They range from 1.5 to 6 inches in length. In the wild, these fish consume various small aquatic insects, crustaceans, worms, and usually breed during the rainy season.

In the aquarium, all of these fish are primarily surface feeders. They are omnivorous and will accept a wide variety of foods, though flake food is appropriate. Live/frozen foods are suitable, especially brine shrimp and blood worms. Danios are voracious eaters; be careful of timid feeders do not starve in community tanks with danios. Although boisterous and liable to chase each other and other fish, they are good community fish and will not generally attack each other or other fish, although they occasionally nip fins, more by accident than design and will, like most fish, eat eggs and any fish small enough to fit into their mouths. They are best kept in a tank long enough for their active swimming, preferably with a current from a power filter as they often live in fast flowing streams in the wild. Danios prefer water with a 6.0–8.0 pH, a water hardness of up to 5–12 dGH, a carbon hardness of 6 to 12 KH, and a temperature range of 18–24 °C, the lower end of the temperature range is ideal.

Some species of Danios, such as the zebra danio are among the easiest aquarium fish to breed. All scatter their eggs over the substrate, plants, etc. The eggs are non-adhesive and hatch within 2-3 days. Eggs will be eaten enthusiastically unless protected by a layer of pebbles, stones or heavy substrate planting. When conditioning Danios for breeding, it's advisable to feed them plenty of fresh live foods. Males usually have longer fins, slimmer and more tapered overall. All show a degree of color changes, especially the males, during spawning season. Most danios are a great beginner's fish for new aquarium owners, as they are considered hardy and will get along well with most other types of fish in your fish tank.