Squabbling fishies

[squashynose]

So I have three zebrafish, Big Fishie, Fishie, and Tiny Fishie :)

Big Fishie keeps chasing the other two, especially Tiny. Tiny spends most of the time hiding in the plants, while the other two dart around at the top of the tank. I make sure Tiny gets some food by sinking the pellets.

Do you think this is normal when fish are put in a small tank together? Will they settle down?

[Macawpower58]

Do you know if male zebra fish are larger than females? It could be a mating thing, or just too little space for the 3 fish. Sorry I'm not more helpful....

[Irish_Lass]

Are they well fed? I've read in the past, when we had problems with ma's aquarium, that well fed fish tend not to fight as often. I don't know if this is myth or not but there ya go, that's my bit! :)

[squashynose]

The food tub says 2 or 3 pellets each, 2 or 3 times a day. I feed them more than that, just to make sure they can all get some... I dunno...

[Macawpower58]

I found this excerpt on the web. It might be of interest to you to do some further research on zebra fish behavior.

Caring for such a vibrant and active fish is not as easy as people may lead you to believe. Even though the zebra danio is a common fish, regularly found in tropical community tanks world wide, they do require something of a caring touch to make sure that they are both happy and healthy. Most people are not aware that the zebra danios' hyperactivity is actually a sign that they are slightly aggressive. They are schooling fish, and if they are not kept in sufficient numbers, then their schooling behavior will mix with their aggression and lead to fin-nipping and even attack on tank mates. A good school size for zebra danios is a minimum of five fish, with a preference for nine or ten. If you watch a well housed school of danios, you will quickly see that the males will occasionally display fight. It is this behavior that translates to aggression and fin nipping when they are improperly housed. Typically, the display fights involve nothing more than two male danios staring at each other and straightening their pectoral fins. It will last for about twenty seconds until one of the danios gets scared off, forgets what it is doing or simply gets bored.

[Irish_Lass]

It seems no matter what breed you get there is always more than meets the eye Becky! :)

[Macawpower58]

lol...I agree Lisa! Who'd have known this? I didn't.

[Irish_Lass]

Its all a revelation to me, that's for sure! :)

[squashynose]

Thanks Becky! But I don't think my tank will be big enough for 9 or 10!! It's only 4.5 gallon. The man in the shop had said 3 was a good number for that size tank. Humph :mad:

[e1beth1]

Good number for the tank size but not for the type of fish. I didn't realize you had to keep them in such large schools either, maybe that's why I've had no luck with them.

[APBT<3er]

I've found danios to be quite hardy fish. The rule of thumb is generally one fish per gallon, I've stretched it before, and in this case would stretch it because of the type of fish. Because they're very active though, don't leave too many things like castles and such that clutter the space. I wouldn't add 5 or 6 though, but maybe 2. A school of 5 is much better than a school of 3 and they could comfortably live in a tank that size with frequent water changes.