Outcast Danio

[AmercianWelder]

So I just got back into owning an aquarium through the help of my friends. So far its been up and running for a few days now, I got two pictus catfish and 4 Danio fish, two pink, two yellow. For the past 2 days I've noticed the smallest of the danios has been isolating himself from the rest, hiding near the top of the tank in the back corner, they are schooling fish so that caught my attention real quick. Now I know the aggressive nature of these fish is really just play, but I'm wondering if the others are being to hard on him and stressing him out. He doesnt seem very eager when its feeding time and generally stay away from the other 3, who swim about and play all day long. My tank is at an average of 80 to 82 degrees F. As far as diseases go, I can't seem to see anything physical wrong with him but that doesn't mean there isn't a problem you know. Anyways if anyone can get back to this who's seen this similar problem, some help and advice would be great, I want to get this little guy running around again like when I first put him in the tank.


Oh and another quick question, I was in a rush to get this account set up on this site and I misspelled my user name, I look all over the options and I can't seem to find where to Edit that, am I stuck with it for good or can I change it?

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

I've heard that when Danios are in groups less of than 6 they tend not to school as much. There are 3 in our tank and none of them stay together very long, with the largest and most dominant one hording the top center portion of the tank (chases every other fish away), and the smallest usually chilling in the lowest portions of the tank.

That being said, if he doesn't seem interested in eating, and has his fins clenched to his body (sometimes hard to tell with Danios depending on the type), he may be stressed. Make sure to test all of your water parameters daily (pH, Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates), because if your tank isn't cycled yet those chemicals could be building up and suffocating your fish. Danios are quite hardy, but the stress of poor water conditions and being the weakest in the pack could do the little guy in. If Ammonia and/or Nitrites climb above .25 ppm, do at least a 20% water change to help the fish breathe better. You may have to do this everyday.

If you know how to cycle your tank skip this next part, but if you don't:
Ammonia comes from fish waste and uneaten food, it burns the fishes gills making it hard to breathe. Important bacteria will grow in your tank that help break the bacteria into Nitrites...a less poisonous, but still dangerous chemical that bonds with the fishes red blood cells making it harder for the cells to carry oxygen. Finally, another group of bacteria grow to break Nitrites into Nitrates. Nitrates are far less toxic than the other two, and in nature is converted into Nitrogen by plants which the plants use as food. The growth of these bacteria colonies (which live in your tanks filter and gravel) is called cycling, and when it is done they will consume all the Ammonia and Nitrites in the tank. Cycling usually takes about a month to complete. Do not add anymore fish until cycling is done, and add fish slowly after that to allow more bacteria to grow. It's also important to change 25% of the water in your tank every week even after your tank is done cycling. This helps prevent a build-up of Nitrates that can cause problems like poor fish health and algae blooms.

 

[vmsyvert]

do you have plants for him to hide in?? also, it is helpful to have more fish...

 

[01edmn]

are your danios g.m or dyed