new Neon dannios tank

[ccondardo]

I have a estab. 14 gal tank (see sig) and I'm at my girlfriends house a lot and want something to look at and fool around with there.

She only has interest in the neon glofish, aka the glo dannios.

I have a 10g filter that i got with a 14g tank set. I upgraded to a 20-50 gal filter for my 14g as the 10g filter wasn't doing the job. So right now all i have is a filter.

What is the cheapest way for me to get these fish up and running. i looked at a bunch of packages and really none of them intrigued me. I guess I can get anything 10g and below since id rather not buy a new filter. I figure i need decor, heater, tank, and hood.

Any ideas for a budget tank? Also the neon dannios are ilke 6 bucks each at my local petco.

Thanks!
Corey

 

[jo3olous]

hello hello,

Well if you are planning to keep your current setup, I see you have silvertipped catfish shark in your current tank; you should definitely consider a 50G tank or even larger. Your silvertipped catfish should grow to a near 14 inches as an adult. Not to mention the bioload may hurt your other fish in a such a small tank. You have very good filtration, but you will still need to do frequent water changes.

The cheapest way for you to go about getting a new tank; You could look for a used tank on craigslist; most people do this (i did this) and the tank is perfectly fine, just make sure it has no leaks before buying it. The filter and heater you can get seperate. I wouldn't worry about lighting unless you prefer it, the fish don't need it.

your neon danios might be pearl danios? make sure you have a lid on your tank, i heard down the grapevine they are jumpers and will abandon ship if given the opportunity.

For decor you should probably go with fake plants if your on a budget, and I would say some driftwood. Theres instructions for soaking and boiling driftwood for your tank so it doesnt stain your water if you decide to go that route, GL with the tank and welcome

 

[ccondardo]

I know you are correct about the sharks needing a bigger tank at some point.

The fish i was referring to are these. GloFish® Fluorescent Fish Home Page . They are zebra dannios that are treated with some stuff to make them neon. Pretty neat looking fish once you get a few of them.

I will take a look on craigs list.

Thanks!

 

[LadyLail]

Glo Fish are genetically altered fish. They don't come from the wild that way. Glo Danios are a newer addition- about 3 or so years ago (if memory serves me right) scientist started toying with Danios and the Glo Zebra Danio was the result. I'm not too big a fan of fish that are a science project, so I figured I'd pass the info along. In my book, Glo Fish are right up there with dyed and painted fish...

Here's a link if you wanna read up. Let's you know what to expect if you do decide to house the fish: GLOFISH, THE FIRST GM ANIMAL COMMERCIALIZED: PROFITS AMID CONTROVERSY

Good Luck!!

 

[jo3olous]

WOW I did not know glofish were genetically altered, so sick... now im totally against that lol, but you can get them if you like...

On craigslist you should be able to find a 50G tank for around 75.00 or so, some might try to package them in with decor heater and filter for 125-150.00, which is still a great price. Just wanted to give you ball park numbers so you don't get over/under'ed

 

[ccondardo]

Thanks for the info everyone. I knew they were genetically enhanced, hence why they are so cool. How many of these do you think I could fit in a 10 gal? The guy at Petco tried to tel me like 3 but I'm pretty sure I could have at least 5.

 

[jo3olous]

nope 3 sounds right, if the danios still grow as the non-altered ones do. Also, danios are very very active swimmers, and the reasons I have heard of danios jumping out of tanks is usually because they are spooked/stressed out. danios really need a long tank for swim room, and that is probably why your petstore said 3. I'm surprised the person said that, most stores dont care and just want your money. I would've expected him to say 10G = 10 danios!

 

[LadyLail]

A 10g? Well, Danios do best in a school of 6 or more- most schooling fish do. The prob is that they are very active swimmers, and without enough room, can get a little nippy. They should grow as large as regular Zebras (don't hold me to that), so that's about 3" each, so the LPS was correct in saying only 3 would "fit."

I know it'll look like the tank is empty, but the fish's waste is what you want to consider when sizing a tank in terms of their bio-load (hence the 1gal of water to 1" of FULLY GROWN fish). Then, take into consideration their tempermant and general needs- since Danios are schoolers and active swimmers, they really need at least 20g to thrive in a school setting.

IMO, if you only put 3 Danios in the tank, you'll observe more chaos and bullying than their actual personality of schooling and active swimming.

PS- Regular Zebras are quite interesting without alterations- as are many other Danios. Just saying...

 

[FirstTimeFreshie]

depending on where you live, ThatFishPlace has the cheapest 10gal tanks i've seen anywhere... actually they have the cheapest anything i've seen anywhere! Even their online store is really cheap (and great quality, they're the largest fish store in the country i believe.)

 

[DesignsOnYou]

Just wanted to throw my 2cents in here about the glofish. I am completely against tattooed fish, dyed fish, etc., but I think I'm fine with the glofish. Because, they were not created to look cool, on the contrary, they were a sort of accident. From the glofish website: "GloFish® fluorescent fish were originally developed to detect pollutants in our water, one of many discoveries with roots in the ongoing biotechnology revolution." I believe that the gene is inherited, so they can be bred flourescent, as opposed to having to inject/dye/tattoo each individual fish. So, as far as each fish is concerned, they hatch they live they die just like other fish. To me, since they were created for a viable reason (similar to using a canary to indicate when a mine was poisonous, not the most humane thing but the best they can do under the circumstances), using genes from another sea creature, I think I would be ok with owning one. Jo3 and LadyLail, I completely see where you're coming from, I just wanted to throw that out there. Also, I agree that probably danios in a 10 gallon aren't the best idea. Mine are very active, and I think they would be sad in a school of only 3.

 

[ccondardo]

i found a 10g with EVERYTHING including heater, the guy said "a few extra filters", a couple siphons, and i saw in the pic decor, gravel, tank hood, looks like a package deal and he said all from petco. Looks like a pretty nice deal for 50 bucks, way better than anything i could get in stores. also he said hes selling it because his daughters lost interest in the fish. CHA CHING for me

Unfortunatly 10g is as big as it can get. I can't go any bigger since its for a dorm room and wont pass inspection. Right now i have 3 regular zebra danios in my 14g along with some other fish and they seem fine. They always look happy swimming around in and out of stuff. I think i might get more than 3 but when they get bigger switch them to a bigger tank if i need to. also, say i have 6, could i just do a water change every week? just wondering what my options are.

thanks!
Corey

 

[MissFishy]

I didn't read through this whole thread, but take a look at the link in my signature for some set up and cycling suggestions. I also have a few stocking suggestions for a 10 gallon tank. Unfortunately, a 10g will be too small for your glofish (the danios you're referring to). They need a lot of swimming room.

 

[s_anthony]

In place of the glo fish, I know my LFS carries some really cool neon and flourescent colored tank ornaments - maybe you could do that instead if your wanting the neon look?

 

[Violet]

Lol, s_anthony, when I worked at pet stores, I helped a few people decorate their tank that way, neon ornaments and (fake) plants with black gravel, a few even did neon gravel! Don't look at the tank if you have a migraine! As to the glo fish, if they are genetically modified, as opposed to dyed/tattooed, which from what I have read is true, I still have a bit of an issue with them. I worry that people will see their success and do their own "experiments" with fish, people do some really stupid things. The fish themselves I do not have a problem with though.
I also agree about how stocked your tank is, sometimes you luck out and one type of danio will shoal with another, so three of one and three of another will make a group of six, but this cannot be counted on (same with tetras, or whoever else schools).