My husband and I are new at this and I'm full of questions! My husband started a 36 gallon community tank a few weeks ago. His first fish were a betta and a male & female MM platy...no problems. Then he added 5 Glofish. The betta and platies were curious but didn't hurt them. But I thought the Glofish were acting weird. They stayed up on the surface of the water and wouldn't venture down into the tank. So we turned the aquarium light off, thinking maybe a little quiet time would help relax them. But instead, a couple of them started freaking out! They started zooming around the tank, back and forth, up and down, and slamming headlong into the side of the tank! I think one even hurt himself because he just kind of dropped to the bottom of the tank and stayed there for about ten minutes after hitting his head on the glass!! This behavior happens every time we turn the light off, but when we turn it back on, they all school together on the surface of the water. Is this normal for Glofish? We've checked the water chemistry and temp and all is well for the breed. Any thoughts??
Glofish freaking out!
- Thread starter Bettaluv
- Start date
Glofish are a breed of zebra danios and zebra danios actually swim in the upper levels of the tank so that is completely normal. Some advise to leave a light on in the room when the aquarium light goes off so the change in lighting doesn't panic them so much. I doubt the other fish in the tank have anything to do with their behavior, especially in a 36 gallon tank. Other than that, I don't know. Maybe if there were some plant cover near the top of the tank they might not be so skittish.
Danios, as a rule, are very hyper fish. I don't have glofish (they're illegal in CA), but I have seen my danios dart around like crazy, though I have never seen them run into anything. How long have they been in there? I think they'll stay pretty hyper, but they should calm down after a day or two. Once acclimated I would actually worry about them nipping at your beta's fins. They should be fine together, but keep your eye out for that.
Swordtail, you're right, glofish are zebra danios. Check out their website if you want more info GloFish® Fluorescent Fish Home Page. Also, if it helps to clear up confusion, glofish (the genetically altered ones) doesn't have a w in it, and I guess glowlight danios does. Also, for what it's worth, I agree with the above suggestion of maybe putting some plant cover in the top of the tank to help them not be so skittish.