What in blazes did I get? RESOLVED (LF Leopard Danios)

[skoorbza]

I searched this board, but didn't find an answer to this...

My only LFS is Wal-Mart, the nearest pet store (let alone actual fish store) is a two hour drive. So, I bought what I thought were 7 zebra danios for my 2-month old tank. Now that I've had the time to look at them, it seems i have 4 standard zebra danios, 2 long-finned zebra danios, and two other fish I'm not sure of. They have been too active to get a good pic, but they look like pale copies of the lf z. danios, but the stripes are not so pronounced, and are a little spotty. In addition, the under-fin (don't know the technical name, sorry) of the mystery fish is not striped at all, while both types of z. danios have pronounced stripes on the under fin. They are silvery, and of similar shape, size, and temperament as the lf z. danios. Are they females? Are they a different type of danio?

Also, will these seven fish accompany each other? I know it's best to keep them in schools, which is why I bought 7. Will they be comfortable as a school?

Thanks for any help you might be able to provide.

[Tex Gal]

Could they be leopard danois?

[CaffeinatedCake]

Originally Posted by Tex Gal

Could they be leopard danois?

That's what I'm thinking, there are different kind of danios, I'm not too familiar with them, but when I was younger my father used to keep a few varieties together without much fuss in one of his tanks, so they should be fine, i'd guess, but it's always a good idea to keep an eye on how new fish interact, just in case.

[skoorbza]

Thanks for replying. I've continued to research, and the Leopard variety looks close... But on mine the spots are fainter (more faint?), and arranged nearly into stripes... still leopard? <<edit: I found a picture (below) of what my fish look like. You were both right on the money. Long Fin Leopard Danios.>>

What about the schooling question? (I'd like them to be more happy than "fine".)I know that some other species don't school with other variations, but since zebra, lf, and leopard can interbreed (I told you I was researching!), will they act as a school?

(Stop me before I go parenthetical again!!!)

[CaffeinatedCake]

Well when my father had them, from what I can remember [ I could call him up or talk to him tomorrow though if you don't find the answers you need] they schooled well, he had some of the small ones though, the celestial danios I think? and they kind of went off on their own, they stayed close enough to call it a shoal, I suppose, but they didn't stick with the others as tightly and kept more to their selves.

I don't know much about them though, so time will tell if no one else can answer :P

Just keep them well fed [without over feeding anyway] to keep any initial agression down if they weren't originally tanked together at the store [thats what I had to do when I got my zebras until they figured out their pecking order, but then again, I had insainly agressive zebras that beat up all my other fish, and are now being housed away from everyone else lol ]

[bolivianram123]

they could also be washed out. a lot of fish when going to new homes tend to lose their color because of insecurity. they will regain their color once they feel comfortable in their new home. I just got some galaxy rasboras yesterday, and they're all pale. just takes some time to get comfy :]

[lauraleellbp]

I like this variety, personally. The long fins slow them down in the water a bit, so they don't seem quite as "hyper" as the regular zebra danios.

There's some discussion I read about whether they may be a separate species, but I don't think so b/c I'm pretty sure they'll breed with regular danios.

[connordude27]

i have heard storys of zebra dainos being being more pale than there other tank mates but thats normal so don't worry

[skoorbza]

Thanks! I'll keep watching them; they seem to be doing well so far.

[monkeyruler90]

just give them a few days to settle to the tank and everything so that their colors can come back. and then you'll be able to see what species they really are


and i love danios, they look like little bullets

[Tex Gal]

Originally Posted by skoorbza

What about the schooling question? (I'd like them to be more happy than "fine".)I know that some other species don't school with other variations, but since zebra, lf, and leopard can interbreed (I told you I was researching!), will they act as a school?

(Stop me before I go parenthetical again!!!)

They will school with any other danio. They don't care what the colors or patterns are. They will also breed with the others. I have been breeding the red glo-light danios with the long finned leopards. I have gotten long finned red danios! The danios I have are red glo-lights, gold long-finned, leopard long-finned, zebra long-finned (from a spawn), and red long-finned. They are all one big happy family.

[lauraleellbp]

Tex, are you trying to breed anything in particular, or just kind of letting them breed and see what comes up?

skoorb- Your pic to me looks like fish I've seen called "Golden Leopard"- I think they're really pretty

[Karackle]

skoorb - i know you're question has been answered, but I just want to assure you that yes, they'll all get along just fine! They all know that each other is a Danio rerio even if they don't look exactly the same The striped and the leopard are both Wild Type variations, but they are the same species as they can all interbreed and make viable (able to breed) offspring. I could go on and on about the differences as I work with Zebrafish (or as they are called in the hobby, zebra danios)

Hope this helps!

[Tex Gal]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

Tex, are you trying to breed anything in particular, or just kind of letting them breed and see what comes up?

skoorb- Your pic to me looks like fish I've seen called "Golden Leopard"- I think they're really pretty

I'd love to get a red long-finned leopard!! Love the red. It really stands out in the tank. Danios are such fun fish. They keep it mixed up all the time. I love to watch them play in and out of the plants!

[JohnB]

look like long finned leopard danios. they school with the regular ones in all my tanks.