He Is A Danio, Right?

[scaeriefaerie666]

Now i've had danios more than once - groups of 6 or so at a time - so i know what a danio is. But i bought a rather large pearl danio from Maidenhead Aquatics in Bath recently and he's got very large very quickly, in fact he's already bigger than Zaas (a leopard danio i've had for 2 years). Watching them very closely earlier i noticed the pearl danio had something hanging from his mouth, so i looked closer and saw what looks almost like hairs, about 2 inches long - hanging from each corner of his mouth. They were folded back against his body most of the time and as such you can't see them, but when he turns or opens his mouth to feed they stick down, completely perpendicular to his body.
I tried to take a picture but you can't see them because they're so fine, but it looks almost like a moustache!!! Just one that he can move... it's so weird. I have never seen this before and i've never HEARD of it before on Danios. He IS a Danio, right? Or have i unwittingly been given a completely different type of fish i have no experience in keeping???
His tail is slightly pointier than the danio's conventional 'heart shaped' tail and i'm just very very very confused. Please set me straight someone!
Even if it's to tell me that its actually strange...
xxx

 

[fluttermoth]

Most members of the danio family have those barbels; zebras and leopards too if you can ever get a close enough look at them! It's just that most of the time they're kept folded back so you don't notice them. Your fish is perfectly normal

 

[sausagewinkle]

I bought a leopard danio about a month ago.
Unfortunately I had to return him to the store i bought him from as he was constantly chasing my minnows and neons.
When I returned him i got told that he must have been a cross because of the 'whiskers' he had. To be honest i dont think the lady knew what she was on about anyway.
At least now i no that he was normal