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What’s The Deal with Danios?

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celestial pearl danio in planted tank

Danios are quite well known with experienced aquarium keepers but sometimes fall under the radar for newer aquarists. These fish are quite hardy and are excellent for new hobbyists. Although I do not recommend cycling a fish tank with just fish, many people turn to Danios to do just that. They’re cheap and like I said before, very hardy.

Danio Information

Many different types of danio can be kept in an aquarium. My personal favorites are the zebra danio and pearl danio. They maintain a smaller size but for being such a cheap fish have a little bit of color to them. Other types of danio that can be purchased are the large giant danio which should be kept in an aquarium with a minimum of 30 gallons, glowlight danio which stays quite small and does well in a 10-gallon aquarium, many longfin forms of a few of these fish, and lastly the GloFish variants of the zebra danio for anyone interested in GloFish. These fish enjoy being in groups of 5 or more so keep that in mind when purchasing them.

Many hobbyists build aquariums for tranquility and calmness. The one downside to Danios is that they provide just the opposite. These fish are highly active and zip around the fish tank constantly. They have an endless supply of energy it seems. They love heavily planted aquariums that also have open spaces for them to swim through. For the most part, they do find in faster moving water as well as very still water.

Longfin Zebra Danio by Marrabbio2 on wikimedia

From experience, danios are quite aggressive eaters and will dart up to the water’s surface to grab food that is given to them. They are not picky eaters and will gladly eat bloodworms, flake food, or pellets. Giant Danios especially have quite an appetite.

The water parameters range for each species but for the most part, they all range and do well in temperatures ranging 70 – 75 degrees Fahrenheit and pH levels ranging from 6.5 – 7.0. Some Danio species do quite well in temperatures as warm as 78 degrees Fahrenheit and pH as low as 6.0. Be sure to check what is right for the species you are interested in.

Final Thoughts

Danio fish are quite wonderful for new aquarium hobbyists and also fish keepers who are looking for movement in their aquarium. I prefer the smaller Danio species because they do not dominate the aquarium as much as the giant danio. These are peaceful fish and are perfect for a community aquarium but their active personalities and aggressive feeding behaviors may get in the way of other fish.

Celestial Pearl Danio by Gedanken.welten on wikimedia

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