Blue-finned Zebra Danio?

Question

I have 3 danios. I don't know the gender of the danios at all. I think two of them are "female" and one is "male". The "male" started chasing the "females" and now only chases one of them. The "female" looks really tired and scared.

1)How do I tell what gender the danios are?
2)Should I separate the "female" and "male"?
3)What vegetables should I feed to the danios in addition to lettuce, cucumbers, and peas?

thx

Answer 1

1) The females will be much rounder near the abdomen and the male will be very skinny, even displaying a sunken stomach... other than that, there are no obvious ways to sex them.
2) Danios are schooling fish, therefore they need to be kept in schools. While 3 is a "group", it isn't a school, and is likely the reason you are seeing this aggression. By getting 2-3 more Bluefinned Zebras (preferably female), you will alleviate a LOT of aggression. Instead of separating them (which would be detrimental to their health because they need large groups), provide a lot of cover in the form of plants that reach the surface (or floating plants).
3) Danios are carnivores, and while they may eat vegetables, it is not necessarily natural. Mine refuse to eat vegetables other than cucumber. Go ahead and experiment with different kinds, but be sure to avoid things that are super sweet (they decay much faster and cause poor water quality if left in the tank). A diet of frozen brineshrimp and bloodworms along with the current veggies and flakes would be a much healthier diet.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Soop Nazi

Answer 2

everything the soup nazi has said is true except his sexing method works well with tetras but with danios the males will have more color in the fins . in regular danios they tend to have more gold and in th blue fin variety the fins are a different shade of blue.