Buttercup Fish & Danio

[Peter!]

Hey
New to here and not much of a professional so bare with me
I have bought quite a small bowl which is only temporary for a Danio which is around 1cm - 1.5cm in length and a Buttercup fish (thats what the pet shop called it!) that is about 2cm in length. I know I need to change the tank but im sure they will be fine for a couple of days.
Will a vivarium/tank that holds around 11+ litres be ok for a while? Or will I need something a lot bigger?
I understand that you need around 20G for a goldfish, but these are very small fish.

Like I said im new to keeping fish so go easy

Thanks for any help!

Peter

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Hi and welcome to the forum .

Never heard of a buttercup fish before, but i suspect it is one of the many inventive names that petshops give to certain varieties of goldfish. Does the fish in question look like any of the goldfish types pictured in the link below;

http/www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/goldfish/goldfish.htm

Generally speaking, you need to have 20gallons for the first goldfish and 10 for every one after that when it comes to fancy goldfish (although a lot depends on the exact type of fancy goldfish in question)- for non-fancy goldfish like comets, commons and shubunkins, you need at least 75gals for the first goldfish.

Danios are technically sub-tropical fish (temps are 19-23degree's are good for them), although they are hardly and adaptable fish and a lot of people keep them in tropical tanks (24 degrees or above). They are shoaling fish and need to be in a group of at least 6 of their own kind to thrive best, and in a tank of at least 12gallons long since they are very active fish; in tanks or groups too small, these fish tend to not live very long, or show abnormal behavior, or simply get ill a lot etc- so giving these fish the right type of set up and fish stocking is very important for them for them to thrive and live long, health and happy lives.

Goldfish will eat any fish that can fit into their mouths, which basically means that most small fish are under threat from goldfish considering that most fancy goldfish can grow to 5-8inches long and non-fancy goldfish to 12inches+.
Fancy goldfish though are quite slow due to the odd body and fin shapes they have often been bred to have. So some people keep small active and fast fish like WCMM's (white cloud mountain minnows) or danio's with them because these sorts of little fast fish are often too agile and quick for the fancy goldfish to catch and eat. Some people are able to keep fish like these with fancy goldfish for years and years with no problems whatsoever like this, however, it is not a completely risk-free type stocking to do and over the time i have been on this forum i has read numerous threads from people who have been shocked to find that their fancy goldfish have managed to eat various small fish like danios or WCMM's that they have put with the goldfish.
So the choice is up to you- personally i would advise against such sorts of fish stocking with fancy goldfish as it is not risk free. Non-fancy (or slim type) goldfish are definately too quick and agile for small fish like danios and WCMM's to escape from them and would definately be eaten by the non-fancy goldfish sooner or later.

If you are new to fishkeeping and are not familiar with "Cycling" tanks or the Nitrogen Cycle, i strongly recommend that you read these articles to understand more on the water quality in your tank, as keeping good water quality is one of the most important keys to keeping healthy and happy fish;

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=10099

.
Do you have dechlorinator/water conditioner, and a filter in the tank at the moment?

 

[GoldLenny]

I'd never heard of a buttercup fish either but I did a quick Google and the only thing I see are a couple of water plants known as buttercup's.

http/www.fnzas.org.nz/plant_survey/aquar...Hash=467febf140
http/ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/Species....do?spcode=Q212

In the future, you need to find out what you are looking at and make sure you can provide the proper tank size and stocking compatibility before buying fish. Ask the store for the scientific name of the fish they call a "buttercup".

You also need to find out what kind of danio you have. Some stay rather small and some get rather large. Here is a page with some profiles of common danio's kept in aquariums. Danio's are schooling fish so they should be kept with at least 6 in a group. Depending on the species, a 20G or larger may be needed. http/fish.mongabay.com/danios.htm

 

[Peter!]

Thanks for the replies guys, very much appreciated!

I believe I have the Zebra Danio. And I was a bit confused by the "Buttercup fish". Its definitely not a goldfish, goldfish have deep, round bodies, this fish is long, thin and small. It is yellowy/orange and like I said really quite small.
Will try and post a picture later. Looking at tanks atm, can any of you guys recommend a minimum size tank for these fish, I might either give the danio back to the shop or get a few more.

Thanks a lot for your help!!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

For zebra danios i would have at least a 12gallon long tank, preferably a 15gal long tank though.
Perhaps what you have is some sort of killifish like a panchax;

http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/...?article_id=485

Or livebearer like a guppy;

http/www.pisciculturacorrea.com/guppy/micariffyellow.jpg

If your fish was sold under a coldwater section in the shop though, it might be a golden tench;

http/www.magiscroft.com/pics/GoldenTench1160.jpg

Or golden grass carp;

http/www.thaifishingguide.com/images/fis.../grass_carp.jpg



If you can post pics that would help a lot in determining what sort of fish you have, what sort of habitat it needs and how many gallons it needs at the least to be kept permenantly in a tank etc .

 

[Peter!]

Thanks for that info Tokis but its none of them
I went into pets at home, our other pet shop and it looks liek a yellow goldfish (http/www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/goldfish/common/yellow1.jpg) Like that but half of its depth, it is very thin and streamline.

I have bought a new tank just now, still small (around 12/13 litre) rectangle. Bought some grave, fake plant etc. When I can afford it I will get a larger tank.
Im thinking of getting a filter, in the pet shop I seen an "Elite Mini" filter, it costs 8GBP (my pound sign doesnt work ), looks pretty good and is for up to 20 litre tanks. Do you know if this is any good?

Cheers!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

You'll need to do very regular water changes with dechlorinator on the tank as it is small and will start to cycle once you put fish in it, but as a temporary tank it is ok.
The goldfish in the link is a common goldfish, can grow to over 12inches long, i have an orange common goldfish in one of my 125gal tanks and it is 9inches long now and still growing at a steady rate. I would recommend at least a 4ft long 75gallon tank for this fish minimum due to its large eventual size and activity levels, however such a type of goldfish is more than capable of eating small fish like danios as it grows, so i would be wary about keeping them together as the goldfish grows.
With goldfish tanks, its good to over filter them as much as you can as goldfish are high waste producers and enjoy a strong cool current in their tank .


edit: If your one is rather thin looking, it is probably ill (most likely with internal parasites or bacteria), does its stomach look sunken/thin looking at all?

 

[Peter!]

Thanks for the info.
No its not thin like width, but the depth, it isnt rounded like normal goldfish, it is long and streamlined.
Its really bugging me what it is now

EDIT: It looks healthy

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Perhaps a golden orfe;

http/64.224.96.217/ShopSite/media/Orfe05.jpg

(the one in the pic is a bit skinny)

?

 

[Peter!]

Yes it looks alot like that but more yellow.

Think it could be that then! Cheers

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Yes it looks alot like that but more yellow.

Think it could be that then! Cheers

Yours is most likely a young orfe then. You will really need a pond for a fish like this though, they have been known to grow to over 2ft long;

http/www.fishpondinfo.com/orfe.htm

 

[Peter!]

Im not too sure if it is an Orfe, but if I notice it growing quite a bit, I may put it in my uncles pond We have just filled ours in!
Do you know if the Elite Mini filter is any good? Or the 10Pound Penn Plax smallworld pump filter?

Cheers!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Well if you can post a pic that would help a lot . Does the fish have a sucker mouth and/or barbels/whiskers at all?
edit: I'm not familiar with those filter brands so can't help you there, personally i use Juwel and Tetratec filters in my tanks.

 

[three-fingers]

Don't bother with the small world filter, its useless anyway and you have to change the cartridges every few weeks.
The elite mini filter is pretty good though .

 

[Peter!]

Thanks a lot, will get the Elite then
I will go and try and take a picture, may have to superglue him to the side to keep him still

Will post the picture shortly!