Zebra Danio question

[Cmitch524]

Hello! I have a somewhat morbid question but I have been wondering, I know zebra danios need to be in a school of 5 or more, but what do you do if one of them dies and you don’t plan on keeping them anymore? I want to try a different type of fish after this crew lives out their lives but I also don’t want to stress the hypothetical remaining 4 or 3 or 2 until they are all “gone.” Right now all 5 are zippy and healthy, so I’m really just talking hypothetically for now. I don’t want them unnecessarily stressed but I also wouldn’t want to keep adding to the school rather than faze it out. Thanks!

 

[Naughts]

For shoaling fish I let the shoal dwindle and then replace with a new shoal of a different species. I always buy a complete shoal (10-20 fish) at once so they are likely to be all the same age, and thus unlikely to live a large part of their lives as lone survivors.
Most of my fish choices have very peaceful temperaments but there are stories of lone fish or small shoals becoming a problem. The stress of being without a shoal can cause behaviour changes such as aggression in some individual fish. The change is said to be permanent so they would then need to live alone.

 

[Fishkeeper123]

Hello! I have a somewhat morbid question but I have been wondering, I know zebra danios need to be in a school of 5 or more, but what do you do if one of them dies and you don’t plan on keeping them anymore? I want to try a different type of fish after this crew lives out their lives but I also don’t want to stress the hypothetical remaining 4 or 3 or 2 until they are all “gone.” Right now all 5 are zippy and healthy, so I’m really just talking hypothetically for now. I don’t want them unnecessarily stressed but I also wouldn’t want to keep adding to the school rather than faze it out. Thanks!

Zebra danios are very lively and I think 8 is a minimum for them. If you aren’t enjoying them rehome them.( which is surprising as zebra danios are the best shoaling fish). I would always add to a group of shoaling fish that’s under 6 individuals, especially for danios as mine form a hierarchy and like to go for each and chase each other. What size is your tank? If 20 gallons+ get more( I know you said you didn’t want to but the fish would really appreciate it) or just get a new shoaling fish. If less then 20 gallons rehome them. You can also add leopard danios if you want more colour variety with the zebras.

 

[Cmitch524]

I have a 10 gal and was told 5 was fine for the zebra danios. That’s all I have in there besides 2 snails. It’s not that I’m “not enjoying them.” I was just looking to the future so as not to cause any undue stress on them. They have been thriving for almost a year now.

 

[Fishkeeper123]

I have a 10 gal and was told 5 was fine for the zebra danios. That’s all I have in there besides 2 snails. It’s not that I’m “not enjoying them.” I was just looking to the future so as not to cause any undue stress on them. They have been thriving for almost a year now.

Just keep leave them then and when they get down to 3 rehome them and choose some smaller fish. I think a pair of clown killifish would be nice with some shrimp and your snails.

 

[Cmitch524]

Just keep leave them then and when they get down to 3 rehome them and choose some smaller fish. I think a pair of clown killifish would be nice with some shrimp and your snails.

Thank you for the advice!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Sounds like you have a plan. In my opinion, 10g is way too small for zebra danios. Those things are the first graders of the fish world: They don't take up a lot of space, but they really enjoy having room to run. I had a school in a 55g one time, and they used the whole tank! It often isn't so much about the size of the fish as it is about their activity level. Zebra danios look like they should be at home in a small tank...until you see what they act like in a big one.

But don't feel bad; it's common to keep them in a 10, and I'm sure yours are OK. It's just something to keep in mind for any really active fish. I used to keep turquoise rainbowfish in a 55g and thought they were fine until I saw what they acted like in a 150. Some fish are content in a small tank. Others really seem to enjoy putting in some miles.