New to hobby inherited one danio in a ten gallon tank

[cdancel]

I just inherited one glo danio in a ten gallon tank. The danio is 3.5 years old and has lived his whole life alone in the tank. I have a LOT of questions and hope there is a kind and patient person who can help me.

1. Schooling: I read that danios are a schooling fish but also read that fish only school with fish of the same age. So do I adopt a few danios so he has a school or would they just shun them in some aquatic manner? And is 10 gal big enough for a school of danios?

2. Ammonia: I'm also a little concerned about the water quality. I have had the aquarium for one week. I tested the ammonia and it came back with a color that looked inbetween the 0 and .25 on the card in the API ammonia test kit. This one http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/downloads.html Should I be concerned with this reading? Should I buy some API ammo chips as the test suggested? I've been to two stores and can't find it. Was going to buy it on amazon but didn't know if the readings were urgent and I need to get the stuff today to help the fish. I did replace 20% of the water with treated tap water.

3. Feeding: Previous owners said they just fed him 1x day but the fish food says 3x day. Which is correct? What's the best food and schedule for a danio?

4. Tank cleaning: And just one last question The substrate is sand and it's clearly dirty. What is the best way to clean sand? I worry about stressing this poor fish anymore but don't want him poisoned by toxic gases trapped in the sand.

Thanks so much for any advice anyone can give. I promise I read through many posts but couldn't find my exact questions addressed. My apologies if I missed a sticky or faq that answered my questions though.

[madagascariensis]

1. danios are schooling fish that should be kept in groups of at least 6. I don't believe the validity of the claim that they school only in age groups. the only segregation I know of
is that fry will school separately from adults until they are too large to be eaten, and then they will join the adults. fish bought from the pet store should school fine with your old danio, that is, unless he is so used to being alone that he no longer knows how to socialize. unfortunately a 10 gallon is not big enough for danios, which although small, tend to be very active fish when healthy.

2. posting all your important water parameters(ammonia, nitrite, nitrate), a description of the tank(what filter, heater, decorations, any plants, substrate depth etc), a history of the tank(any recent changes, etc) and your maintenance routine will help alot with answering this question. the ammonia in the tank might be caused by an improperly cycled tank, an improper maintenance schedule or a recent change that have killed a certain amount of ammonia-eating bacteria. depending on where it is from, the further recommended course of action will be different. for now, change out some 20% every day or two to keep ammonia down.

3. small amounts often is best. danios in the wild don't generally feed once a day. they catch an insect at dawn, a worm by late morning, another insect by noon and so on. in an aquarium this is of course impossible to fully replicate, and most aquarists feed 2-3 times a day.

4. for any other substrate a gravel siphon would be the way to go. with sand however it tends to get sucked up as well. if you already have a gravel siphon then just try hovering above the sand to pick up anything lying on the sand but not buried. personally I would switch out sand for something like gravel which is larger grained and thus less prone to compacting and going anaerobic.

[cdancel]

Thank you for the reply and responding to all my questions. The tank has 3 live plants and 1fake one. The temp is mid 70s w a heater. There is a tube that makes bubbles and a filter. I can't find any info on it but was told to buy medium size filters for it. Sorry I don't know more on that. Took a pic to ask at the pet store. The ammonia test didn't measure anything but ammonia. Is there a diff test kit I should buy? The substrate depth is 0 (near the filter) to 1.5". The tank was brought to our house fully set up and was rather cloudy on arrival as the trip stirred up the sand quite a bit. But it settles in a few hours. I did change the filter the first day and, I'm ashamed to admit it, cleanes the filter. I am guessing after reading that this is a bad idea that the clean filter w no bacteria is the cause of the prob. I also think he may have gotten over fed as there is some old food on the floor of the tank. Trying to clean that out and doing water changes 20 percent every other day. Feeding fish flakes in am and few bloodworms in pm. Is that enuf info? Should I be doing anything else?

[madagascariensis]

there are test kits for all the mentioned parameters. the API master test kit is a good place to start if you can find it(not sure where you are located).
your description of the filter is pretty vague. does it have a brand name or model or gallon per hour/tank size rating? a pic would be awesome.

[cdancel]

there are test kits for all the mentioned parameters. the API master test kit is a good place to start if you can find it(not sure where you are located).
your description of the filter is pretty vague. does it have a brand name or model or gallon per hour/tank size rating? a pic would be awesome.

I am in Orlando, fl. I'll check the pet store today for the test kit you mentioned. Her's some shots of my filter. It's an aqueous . Than you again for responding to my questions. Hope you have a great weekend. 2904729048

[Lady Hobbs]

I would not get more danio's for a 10 gallon tank. Altho they are small, they are very active, fast swimmers and a 10 gallon is too small for them. Once you add more of them, the constant chasing of females begans.

I have numerous fish that should be in schools but because I don't care for them, I will not buy more. They are just those remaining of when they were in a school and now near 4 years old.

[spyderbite]

I am in Orlando, fl. I'll check the pet store today for the test kit you mentioned. Her's some shots of my filter. It's an aqueous . Than you again for responding to my questions. Hope you have a great weekend. 2904729048

That filter looks like an Aqueon 10 or 20. I had a 30 and a 10 that looked exactly like it right down to the blue bio media trap.

[cdancel]

Thanks for the comments everyone and for the filter Id. I checked again today and ammonia, nitrate and nitrite are all 0. Yay! The ph was 7.6 if you got all male or all female, would a ten gallon be ok for a few danio. I worry that my lone danio is lonely but will not get more if it's not in the fish' best interests.