I Don't Like The Danios

[fenwoman]

Grrr. On the whole I like the tank and the fish. Except the danios. There are 10 of them, they don't swim in a school but all over the place like crazed lunatics, chasing the other fish and upsetting them all. Looks like I'll be bringing a small tank indoors tomorrow, setting it up and getting the flipping danios out.
Fish are supposed to be calming and tranquil, not stressful.
Before I knew better 20 years ago. I bought fish I like the look of. Had a betta male with 2 females, some guppies, gouramis, angelfish, and everyone got one nicely and lived for years.
Now I planned and researched, read what was compatible, listened to advice and have horrible fish. grr. It's like watching 10 hyper jack russells chasing larger docile dogs.

 

[black angel]

Know what you mean but i love them.
If you were nearer to me then i would gladly have taken them for my school of 8. They have the tank virtually to themselves and theres only a few kribs that stay at the bottom.

 

[bobbicus]

i have kept my danios i cycled my 60l with cud bring myself to give them away so kept them - other reason i moved them is they swam about as though the inside of the tank was like a racing track which made the angel i had very agressive

will the fish store not take them back off you??

i suppose i could have tried with mine but cud not get rid after they all survived a tank cycle!!

 

[xandc]

Danios are recognised as being "dither fish". Which means they race around the tank acting like crazed loons. I used them to distract an xl aggressive female platy, who was asserting herself with the other platys. They do change the habit of a tank but that's what some peeps actively buy them for, their ADHD.

Grrr. On the whole I like the tank and the fish. Except the danios. There are 10 of them, they don't swim in a school but all over the place like crazed lunatics, chasing the other fish and upsetting them all. Looks like I'll be bringing a small tank indoors tomorrow, setting it up and getting the flipping danios out.
Fish are supposed to be calming and tranquil, not stressful.
Before I knew better 20 years ago. I bought fish I like the look of. Had a betta male with 2 females, some guppies, gouramis, angelfish, and everyone got one nicely and lived for years.
Now I planned and researched, read what was compatible, listened to advice and have horrible fish. grr. It's like watching 10 hyper jack russells chasing larger docile dogs.

 

[Glod]

Danios are too hyperactive for their own good. I have 5 in my 4 foot tank (used to be 6 but one died) and I too would happily remove them and put something else in their place. They aren't that nice to look at, they don't particularly shoal. They *are* hardy fish tho, which is why they get reccomended a lot for new tanks.

I recently added 6 rummynose tetras after removing about 20 1.5 inch platy juveniles and I must say they are gorgeous. The contrast of the bright red nose and black and white tail as they shoal about is just lovely. I would nearly go as far as to say they are my new favourite in that tank... but I do so love my plecs and corys !

 

[black angel]

I love the rummys too, they shoal really well.

 

[The-Lion]

I'll hear none of it. It's that lunacy i love about them.

 

[dwarfgourami]

What it comes down to is that different people like different things. Some people find it relaxing watching very active fish. But I would have thought with your extensive research that you would have come across the information that danios are fast active swimmers. I know I myself put that in every single post I mention danios in, it's the first thing you think of when you think of danios. They're as hyper as my 6-year-old and that's saying something. I wouldn't have thought they would be that difficult to rehome though, if you really decide you don't like them. It's not like some massive plec that everybody knows is going to outgrow their tank. And then you could start again and get something a bit more soothing. Maybe harlequins or something.
Btw there is no such thing as "fish are meant to be this or that"; fish have evolved their natural behaviour to deal with specific conditions in the wild, not for the benefit of the aquarist. What makes most sense from an evolutionary perspective can be totally different from case to case: whizzing round like a mackerel, waiting gently in the undergrowth, schooling tightly or schooling loosely, or biting everybody else's fins off; it's whatever helps you to cope with conditions where you are. I often think it makes sense to divide tanks not just into hard water and soft water, but also into fast and gentle. Mine are all middling slow atm, but I would love to set up one fast zippy one.

 

[fenwoman]

What it comes down to is that different people like different things. Some people find it relaxing watching very active fish. But I would have thought with your extensive research that you would have come across the information that danios are fast active swimmers. I know I myself put that in every single post I mention danios in, it's the first thing you think of when you think of danios. They're as hyper as my 6-year-old and that's saying something. I wouldn't have thought they would be that difficult to rehome though, if you really decide you don't like them. It's not like some massive plec that everybody knows is going to outgrow their tank. And then you could start again and get something a bit more soothing. Maybe harlequins or something.
Btw there is no such thing as "fish are meant to be this or that"; fish have evolved their natural behaviour to deal with specific conditions in the wild, not for the benefit of the aquarist. What makes most sense from an evolutionary perspective can be totally different from case to case: whizzing round like a mackerel, waiting gently in the undergrowth, schooling tightly or schooling loosely, or biting everybody else's fins off; it's whatever helps you to cope with conditions where you are. I often think it makes sense to divide tanks not just into hard water and soft water, but also into fast and gentle. Mine are all middling slow atm, but I would love to set up one fast zippy one.

I did read that they were active fish, but active compared to what? It's been over 20 years since I last kept fish and never kept danios. How is a person to know how active they are? None of the websites mentione dthe word 'hyperactive', all extolled their virtues, said they were active but unless a person has something to compare it with. It's like me saying my 'Moss is active. He is. He is a border collie. If I was to describe him truthfully though, I would say he is hyper active. If I was selling border collies, I know this would put people off.
The gouramis are, in my opinion, active. They move about sedately but they definately move about all the time.The angelfish are, in my opinion, active too.But neither species races about . When I said fish were 'meant' to be something, I meant that fish in a tank are commonly percieved to have a calming and relaxing effect on a human who watches them.
I guess I have got rather sloppy with my grammar in recent years.
I simply assumed that others would have understood what I meant to say.
Please excuse my grammatical error.
"Watching fish is supposed to be calming and tranquil, not stressful" is what I meant to say.

 

[SuperColey1]

I have 5 Danios in an overstocked planted tank (don't worry about the overstocked bit they are all breathing fine, and it is heavily planted)

Mine are as active as Danios always are. I don't think anyone could say they are not pretty. They are under decent lighting anyway, very reflective - The females goldish stripe captures the red from the spectrum and the males silvery stripe captures the blue and together makes an excellent mix.

As with all my fish they do go their own way sometimes, just like humans need their own quiet time sometimes, but they more often follow each other around chasing from one end to another, but only within their own group. They aren't nippy in my tank either.

They never chase anyone else and don't upset the others.

Is it because in a heavily planted tank there are so many 'quiet spots' and hiding places? I don't know, but they are excellent. A nice contrast to the slower moving fish in the tank.

I didn't buy them. I rehomed them along with 5 glolights and 2 mollies (3 weeks ago), but they seem to have settled in perfectly, and while everyone else is slowly mooching around. It s fun to watch them playing actively.

 

[Majjie]

I love my danios - but then I do keep them only with tiger barbs and chain loaches. I used to keep them in more of a community tank, though, and they didn't stress the other fish - once they got used to them.

I wouldn't call them hyperactive, - except when they've been upset - like just after a tank clean. Normally they're just active.
Yours might calm down when they've settled in a bit more and when the plants have grown up a bit - I know you're tank is heavily planted (saw the pics - very impressive) - but when they get a bit taller the danios will enjoy weaving in and out of them.

I'd give the tank more time to settle down - the danios might grow on you.

 

[fenwoman]

I love my danios - but then I do keep them only with tiger barbs and chain loaches. I used to keep them in more of a community tank, though, and they didn't stress the other fish - once they got used to them.

I wouldn't call them hyperactive, - except when they've been upset - like just after a tank clean. Normally they're just active.
Yours might calm down when they've settled in a bit more and when the plants have grown up a bit - I know you're tank is heavily planted (saw the pics - very impressive) - but when they get a bit taller the danios will enjoy weaving in and out of them.

I'd give the tank more time to settle down - the danios might grow on you.

You are right. They might have been stressed because they were transported from the fish place, put in a new tank with new other fish. Who knows. I'll give it a while and see how they go. There seems to be 2 different types. One lot ar flipping massive a good 2 inches long with more distinct spots on and some smaller ones.

 

[t.ropical_m.istx3]

haha chaos causing fish. i never had danios so i wouldnt know

 

[kribensis12]

I dont belive in evolution, but I still think danios are okay.

 

[Black_Stalion]

ive got 4 zebra danios, 2 r fat things and 2 r thin... could they be pregnant? or just fat lol do any1 know how to tell them apart?