Hi,
I am about five weeks new in the fresh water fish world and am loving it.
Currently I have 4 zebra danios and 4 dwarf neon rainbows in the 55-gallon. I believe that they are evenly sexed.
When the dwarfs were introduced into the tank about a week ago, one of the danios fin-nipped a male dwarf upon meeting; the danios had the whole tank to themselves for the previous 4-weeks. I chased the danio gently with my finger through the glass each of the two times this occured. They all seem to get along real well since that first meeting, and they even school together sometimes.
Separately, I have a 10-gallon tank that has one lone Australian rainbow and one zebra danio. Initially that danio was in the bigger tank but I noticed it getting smaller and paler as the week went on so I moved her to the 10. Over the last four weeks that danio is gaining color and size slightly, but she is still smaller than the other four in the bigger tank.
The Australian tolerates the danio pretty well, but won't interact with the danio except to exert a little authority by swimming fast and close, which makes the danio move. The danio seems to want to be close to the rainbow though (big sister or brother seems like).
Anywho, I would like to move these two lone fishies into the 55-gallon soon and would like to know if this would best be done with another Australian rainbow and zebra? That way two new couples would be introduced?
Secondly, with the other fish in my 55 tank being smaller than the Australian, is that a good mix so far? I am worried that with the size and speed of the Australians they will come to dominate the tank where the smaller fish are having so much fun currently. I've cross referenced several sites on compatibility but could not find any comments on the trio.
Thanks for any comments.
I am about five weeks new in the fresh water fish world and am loving it.
Currently I have 4 zebra danios and 4 dwarf neon rainbows in the 55-gallon. I believe that they are evenly sexed.
When the dwarfs were introduced into the tank about a week ago, one of the danios fin-nipped a male dwarf upon meeting; the danios had the whole tank to themselves for the previous 4-weeks. I chased the danio gently with my finger through the glass each of the two times this occured. They all seem to get along real well since that first meeting, and they even school together sometimes.
Separately, I have a 10-gallon tank that has one lone Australian rainbow and one zebra danio. Initially that danio was in the bigger tank but I noticed it getting smaller and paler as the week went on so I moved her to the 10. Over the last four weeks that danio is gaining color and size slightly, but she is still smaller than the other four in the bigger tank.
The Australian tolerates the danio pretty well, but won't interact with the danio except to exert a little authority by swimming fast and close, which makes the danio move. The danio seems to want to be close to the rainbow though (big sister or brother seems like).
Anywho, I would like to move these two lone fishies into the 55-gallon soon and would like to know if this would best be done with another Australian rainbow and zebra? That way two new couples would be introduced?
Secondly, with the other fish in my 55 tank being smaller than the Australian, is that a good mix so far? I am worried that with the size and speed of the Australians they will come to dominate the tank where the smaller fish are having so much fun currently. I've cross referenced several sites on compatibility but could not find any comments on the trio.
Thanks for any comments.
Do you think I need to follow the rule of adding 3 to 4 inches of fish at a time in a newer set up to ensure water qualityh? Or are my additions small enough in that size tank that it could become fully stocked pretty quickly. Even though I read that it is okay to plan on 1 inch of fish per gallon, another article that attracted me recommended 80% of that number, which would affort me about 44 inches of fish in a 55 gallon tank. 
