Pet Information > ASK Experts > Pet Fish > Freshwater Aquarium > Tank mate for Red Danios

Tank mate for Red Danios

23 15:40:43

Question
Fish tank
Fish tank  
QUESTION: Hey Jamie,
I bought a new 30 liter tank with a in built filter. gravel bottom, with 5 plants, and 3 red danios and one yellow.(but non of them glow in dark even in UV light)since they are schooling fish should I add 6 more of them or can you suggest another tank mate? and also I would like to know what should I add and do to make my new fish tank a paradise for fish.
P.S. I added few grams of charcoal(active carbon) to the filter.

Thanks a lot

ANSWER: Isuru,

First slow the filter down. It is going way to fast. I do not see a heater in your tank and you didn't mention one. Danios are tropical fish needing the water temp to be no more than 82 degrees. If you don't have a heater I suggest you get one. I would add 2 more Danios but thats it. Your tank is too small for any more fish, here's why. You have a fairly large filter, several plants, and gravel. That cuts down on the swimming and oxygen levels in your tank. So, your tank is approx. 7.9 gallons. Remove 1 gallon for the gravel, 1 gallon for all your plants, 1 gallon for heater and filter. Now your fish are swimming in 4 gallons of water. I think your tank is fixed up just fine and you don't really have room to add any more decorations.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

Neon tetra
Neon tetra  
QUESTION: Jamie, my friend bought 5 neon tetras today and 2 of them look sick.we kept them in a separate tank.Can you diagnose them and suggest a suitable treatment? Pls refer the picture.
Thanks and regards,
Isuru

ANSWER: Isuru,

 It sounds and looks like Neon Tetra Disease. There is no cure for this unfortunately. You can try giving them a little bit of aquarium salt up their heater a bit and add an air stone to help them out. But sadly, they will die. I have including a website that I think will be helpful.

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/neondisease.htm

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Jamie, I did as you said to my 30L tank with red Danios,and also I added a small ( bit larger than a danio) tank cleaner 2 weeks before,and yesterday I found out that the tank cleaner had ich,so I  separated it and  gave him a salt bath. but unfortunately  after couple of hours it died.

My question is there is no sign of ich on danio's yet.what should I do to keep the danio's safe from ich.Do i have to put some ich medication to that?
I normally do a 25% water change every week, and yesterday after i found out ich in tank cleaner I did a 50% water change.
Thanks a lot for your support.

Answer
Isuru,

 No, never treat a fish with any kind of medication unless they are sick. You can add some aquarium salt to the tank. No more than 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water and just keep an eye on the fish, and set the heater to 82 degrees. The salt will help not only lower the chances of your fish getting Ich, it also helps for other types of problems.  When you up the temp, you lose oxygen in the water. By adding an air stone while treating the tank, you put the oxygen back in..