Are Danios hardy enough to be first fish?

[custardcrumble]

Hi all,

I'm brand new to all this but am very enthusiastic! I've been given a 100 litre tank and want to make the best of it.

I am determined to take my time setting it up but am wondering what fish to put in to condition the tank initially. I like the look of Danios and hear they're hardy - but are they hardy enough and will they be happy as a pair whilst I condition the tank for a few weeks?

Failing that, I'd quite like to try a few bigger (medium size) fish rather than loads of small ones - can anyone recommend good ones to start with?

I know that's 2 separate questions but I haven't definitely decided what fish to go for and won't set up substrate/water/plants/decorations before I know what fish I'm after!

Cheers
CC

[Futureboy]

If you really want to get the best start possible for your tank I and i think most people here would suggest doing a fishless cycle to get the tank going

There are many threads about it around the site to give you and idea of how to get started also you should download and read the free Ebook in the left hand menu

other then that WELCOME to the forum :thumb:

Edit: And good work for actually reserching before setting your tank up, not many people do

[Lady Hobbs]

Danios are the most hardy for setting up a tank. Since you have about 26 US gallons, it will take a while to do a cycle using fish. I would probably get 6-8 zebra's.

I also agree with Futureboy on the fishless cycle. You can use shrimp in a bag and tie it under a rock in the bottom of the tank. I know finding ammonia where you are is not easy and many in the UK don't do the fishless.

[custardcrumble]

All good comments, thanks very much :)

I'll try some fishless cycling then - shrimp/food seems to be the way to go - also, a friend has suggested buying a pot of bacteria (didn't know you could do that) so hopefully that will help.

My understanding is that Danios will live quite happily in a community tank as long as there are no big delicate fins around - can anyone recommend other fish to put in (presumably middle to bottom dwellers) and do they have a preference for substrate (I know they're stream dwellers, so are pebbles best or will sand/gravel do)?

Thanks for your patience with a newbie ;)

CC

[Futureboy]

Dont worry your probably one of the best newbies to come through here :thumb:

sand and gravel would work, are you going to have a planted tank? because if so you will need a decent plant substraight

[custardcrumble]

Thanks for the compliment! :c5:

Yes, hoping to have a planted tank, both for looks and to soften the water a bit (water here is quite hard). I would imagine the fish would like something of interest and somewhere to hide too. Does that mean that sand is good for plants??

[Algenco]

Sand is good, pool sand grade 20 is best. Some of the plant substrates are even better but not absolutely necessary

[custardcrumble]

Cool, thanks. I'll try for the best compromise between plants and fish then :)

Which leads me on to another question - is sand as easy to clean as gravel?? I understand that you can use a wide mouthed siphon for gravel - presumably this won't work with sand??

[Futureboy]

sand is just as easy if not easyer

becase it compacts down more then gravel, the fish and plant waste just sits on top so you just run the gravel vacume over the top about a inch or so and suck it off the top

then every now and then run your finger through the sand so that toxic pockets dont form

[richberstler]

It was my understanding sand was not good for live plants because it will compact around the roots? Thats why I was leaning towards a fourite/stone mix.

[custardcrumble]

Great tips, thanks all. Almost made my decision on fish now:

School of Danios (type to be determined but probably zebra to start with)
2 Kribs
school of Bumble bee gobys

some kind of catfish/loach

Anyone suggest anything for the middle layer??

I'll plant and provide a couple of caves too and probably use sand as the substrate with a few rocks...

All comments welcome!

[Futureboy]

Thats true about the sand compacting on the roots but i was meaning sand as a top layer of substraight sorry i should have been more clear

As for your fish selection i think it should be ok bumble bee gobies are ment to get alittle bit agressive with each other but ive had a group of 5 togeather for a few months and havent seen any (they dont school togeather by the way)

[Litespeed]

Just started our tank also. We bought 3 zebra danio's for our 84 gallon tank. I know it will take awhile to cycle, but we are in no rush. I did notice that the smallest of the danio's loves to play in the bubbles and the other two are just picking on each other. I don't think we want to get any more danio's because we eventually want to get pitcus catfish, tiger barbs and maybe something else. Since the fish have only been in the tank for 24 hours, will the two that are picking on each other eventually settle down and be nicer to each other?

[custardcrumble]

So does that mean if I'm planting that I have to have 2 layers of substrate?? If so, what's best for plants?

Thanks for the info on the Bumble bees - a friend's been keeping them with no problems, so hopefully they'll be happy enough.

One other question - this is becoming quite a thread! - Will different 'flavours' of Danio school together or do they stay in separate schools?

Thanks for all the interest :)

[Futureboy]

There are a few differant types i think it depends abit on what plants your after

You would have to talk to one of the more plant knowledgable people on the forum im still only just getting into them myself so i dont want to give out the wrong advice (i just have mine in a mix of gravel and filter sand)