Tank Mates for Aggressive Danios

Jul 7, 2016
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#1
I have 2 Zebra Danios and 3 long-finned Zebra Danios in a 10 gallon. They are happy and healthy and fertilizing eggs like crazy, but they are also very aggressive for their breed. They chase and nip each other all the time and hunt down & scarf up fry like nobody's business. My plan was to put 5 or so Red Cherry Shrimp to finish stock my tank, but I have a bad feeling they would just get eaten. Thoughts? My Danios are 1.5" max length, so I probably could get away with adding another fish or 2, but I was really looking forward to an invertebrate. I've read that snails excrete a ton, and reproduce, and I'm really not interested. My water is soft and around 7.6 pH.
 

Jul 4, 2016
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#2
I wouldn't add anything in, your tank is overstocked. Danios need a 20g and this is probably why they are being aggressive. Danios are very active fish and need a larger aquarium because of this. I'm surprised they are breeding, you tank must be well kept. I believe eating dry is very common in most fish species and especially when they are stressed they are probably more likely to eat them. I recommend either upgrading to a 20g or giving them away.
 

CAPSLOCK

Elite Fish
Jul 19, 2004
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#3
Snails aren't big waste producers, and depending on species aren't reproducers either. A single mystery snail cannot breed, or multiple nerite snails as nerites require a saltwater stage in reproduction. They'll lay eggs though. Nerites are good little algae eaters and come in pretty varieties.
 

FroggyFox

Forum Manager
Moderator
May 16, 2003
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#4
Danios are voracious eaters, so I'd agree that you don't want to put any shrimp in with them. 5 danios in a 10g should be fine, but they'd love to have a bigger tank whenever you feel like upgrading :) Luckily danios are also pretty clean fish so you can get away with adding a nerite snail no problem. Live bearers are good tank mates for danios (not long finned fancy livebearers, stick to the traditional ones) because they will keep the population down a bit.
 

Jul 4, 2016
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#5
I'm sorry, but the only Danio that can be in a 10g is a CPD, beyond that they need 20+. You can have a max of 5 male guppies or 3 male platies in a ten. Mollies and swords need a 29+.
 

Jan 21, 2017
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At the pet shop remember to check the label of what experience you need and the fish info the reccomended tank size is a 20 gallon tank so your tank might not be going the best it could be because the fish need more room check your fish genders if there are rapid eggs and babies. That might be a problem. A triangle fin is a female and a stick sort of thing is male just look on the bottom. A small tank like that and the fish already needing a bigger tank your fish shouldn't produce eggs and babies. And if a fish or water creature is asexual which is when it doesn't need a mate to produce eggs be careful about it. But that fish I believe doesn't reproduce like that.
 

Jan 21, 2017
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#7
I'm sorry, but the only Danio that can be in a 10g is a CPD, beyond that they need 20+. You can have a max of 5 male guppies or 3 male platies in a ten. Mollies and swords need a 29+.
Actually mollies can definetly be in 10g one of my tanks is 10gal and that's how it should be 10 and up for mollies. My mollies are the healthiest they can be in my 10 gal. I have a couple bigger tanks for different fish.
 

Jan 21, 2017
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#8
Actually mollies can definetly be in 10g one of my tanks is 10gal and that's how it should be 10 and up for mollies. My mollies are the healthiest they can be in my 10 gal. I have a couple bigger tanks for different fish.
I did so much research off of everything before I made decisions so now I have very healthy tanks and very healthy fish.
 

Jan 21, 2017
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#9
I'm sorry, but the only Danio that can be in a 10g is a CPD, beyond that they need 20+. You can have a max of 5 male guppies or 3 male platies in a ten. Mollies and swords need a 29+.
My mollies in my 10 gal and all my other fish in different tanks are very healthy. 10gal and up for mollies and sometimes swords
 

Jan 21, 2017
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#10
Snails aren't big waste producers, and depending on species aren't reproducers either. A single mystery snail cannot breed, or multiple nerite snails as nerites require a saltwater stage in reproduction. They'll lay eggs though. Nerites are good little algae eaters and come in pretty varieties.
Dude I hope you know snails are asexual reproduction so they often have babies and you need plenty of algae for them to eat. So the snails can do both sexual and asexual reproduction. So yes they very often are big time reproducers.
 

Feb 10, 2017
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#11
Dude I hope you know snails are asexual reproduction so they often have babies and you need plenty of algae for them to eat. So the snails can do both sexual and asexual reproduction. So yes they very often are big time reproducers.
Mystery snails are male/female (and pretty easy to sex), breed in brackish waters, and need a minimum of 2" above the water to lay their eggs. I've heard of them laying eggs in fresh water, but I've also heard that they're not fertilized. I've had my snails for almost a year and zero eggs. My mystery snails eat a lot and do poop like crazy, though, so for me that's definitely true.
 

Jul 4, 2016
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#12
I apologise, but I don't believe a fish that can get 4.8" is appropriate for a 10g, especially if their bioload is as large as it is. I'd never recommend it, so I'll have to disagree with your opinion.:)