Sexing Danios

[val]

I just picked up 2 more danios to make a little trio for my tank.
But now I have to figure out who's a male and who's a female. The guy at Petsmart said they were hatchet..something. Hatchet back or hatchet fin...I don't know. Wasn't really listening. I thought they were Bengal danios.
I don't really know if a certain type of danio makes a difference in sexing them. The danio that had been there before was chasing the new guys, one particularly it seemed, and nipping a little. Was this just establishing the pecking order or is this a come on?

thanks for any help,
Valerie

 

[PanthyWanthy]

Hi val - I was at my lfs the other week getting some more Guppies and in the tank was this lonely little Zebra Danio - I felt sorry for it and bought it

I dont know what sex it is either but would like to get a few more, as I have heard that they can get quite nippy if on their own

He/she is so damn cute I've looked up on the net about him/her and he/she is what they call a long tailed Zebra Danio..

Anyone else got any of these? they are just adorable to look at

Mine has got rather a plump belly... Cant be pregnant though can it?

 

[juliethegr8t]

PantyWanthy - I have a long finned Zebra Danio - a few of them in fact, and yes, they're awesome!! So fun to watch, and each seems to have their own personality. Also - any chance yours has this "plump belly" after feeding? I thought one of mine might have been filled with eggs but those lil Zebras just get darned FAT after they eat, and they seem to stay fat for the rest of the day lol... guess they take awhile to digest


Val - I'm not really familiar with the type it sounds like you got, but the only way I've been able to tell (or at least I think I can) the difference between my Zebra Danios is their body shape. The females are thicker, whereas the males are long and thin. Supposedly the males have a yellowish tint and females have a silver, but who knows - they all look silver to me lol. Also, mine are constantly nipping at each other - one in particular (that I think is male)... and he's being doing this for weeks! I think he just likes to let them know he's the boss - so that's what I imagine your fish was doing too

 

[PanthyWanthy]

Hi Julie - Yeah he does seem to just be FAT
When I first got him he was very skinny and looked like he could do with a good home cooked meal
Well he seems happy enough so that makes me happy

 

[impur]

Silver Hatchetfish

Bengal danio
Danio devario

 

[val]

It's definitely not the hatchetfish. Thanks for the pics.
The first danio I had must've been the different sex than the one in all of the pics. But now I have both.

Valerie

 

[HawkEye]

With the long-finned danios I believe the ones with the big "flowery" tails are males..and trhe ones with nornmal fins are female...remember in the wild its usually the male that has to impress ther female (well the same for humans too... !!!) ...with the regular zebra danios the females are a little plumper and have a little "silver" color on them and the males are more gold...