Newbie Advice

[RecoUK]

Hello everyone.

I've been around fish and aquariums all my life but i've only recently got into the hobby of keeping fish myself. So far i've only 2 coldwater tanks, 10 gallons each. One with 2 fantails in it and another with 6 white cloud mountain minnows and 2 zebra danio's in it.

The problem is with the danio and the minnow tank.
1. There is no form of heating within the tank but the temperature is around 26oC and no matter what I do the water will not keep cool for more than an hour, Any products I can buy to cool the tank down.

2. This problem is with the danio's. I'm pretty sure that one of them is about to lay eggs because the belly of the fish is enlarged, alot more so than the other danio. I've put a plant pot in today to offer a bit of quiet space for the fish, but as soon as I put this in the danio's claimed this, now the male danio cirlces around the bottom of the plant pot and anything that goes near it he chases, the female stays around the top of it and also chases the minnow's. I've read these fish are friendly but they have a dislike towards my poor minnows. When I first got the danios the male chased the female constantly up and down the tank and then they settled down for a couple of days. I've also read that danios will eat their eggs but is it possible as the female is about to lay they may be protecting the eggs.

3. Is there a small algae eater than I can buy for the minnow - danio tank that wont impact much on any of the other fish.

and also is it ok to feed goldfish on cat fish pellets, i've only give them a couple but they seem to really enjoy these more than they like flakes, the same with the minnows and danios.

Thanks, Recco

[phanmc]

cheapest way to cool down a tank is to have a fan or AC unit blowing directly on or over it, or freeze bottled water and float them in the tank.

Danios are schooling fish and if you keep just 2, they may become very shy or aggressive. add to that the fact that a 10 gallon tank doesn't offer alot of swimming space for a very active fish and that pretty much explains your aggressive danio. The male harassing the female is probably a mating behavior.

I'm not sure about a coldwater algae eater but if the water is staying relatively warm, otos stay very small and are great algae eaters.

Processed fish food contains varying amounts of proteins and carbohydrates but are edible by all fishes. You should still vary their diet by feeding them live or frozen foods like brine shrimp and bloodworms and the occasional veggie matter.

[RecoUK]

Thanks for the reply.

I've just been watching the danio's for the last half hour and it seems that only the female is chasing the others in the tank, she's even chasing the male danio around, is this hormonal because she is about to lay.

Would it be better is a transfered the danio to the larger tank?

[reiverix]

There's an algae eater for coldwater called a garra pingi pingi. If you see one, do NOT buy it. Very aggressive. Very expensive too.

I can only talk from experience with goldfish and carp so they might be fine with white clouds. But I would not risk it unless you had a tank with plenty of room. A swimming pool perhaps.

[sdb]

Ya learn something every day. I had no idea danios could be cold water dwellers. I thought they were tropical only.

[TKOS]

Danios aren't really coldwater fish, they are tropical and need a heated tank. They are hardy and can survive in a coldwater tank much better than other tropicals. But this tank isn't a coldwater tank, just a tank without a heater.

I wouldn't worry about an algae eater. If you have lots of algae then I would suggest looking at the cause. It is always too much food in the tank. Feed your fish less, reduce the amount of light the tank gets and the algae won't be bad. But all tanks get some algae. I have 4 tanks and no true algae eating fish.

[RecoUK]

Thanks for all you replies and help. The strange thing is that the danio's have now stopped chasing the minnows and are actually swimming with the minnows. I've managed to cool the water now and the tank looks a lot more peaceful. Thanks again..