Danio
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Danio rerio — zebra danio
|
||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
D. albolineatus |
The Danio genus comprises many of the species of Danionins familiar to aquarists. The common name "Danio" is used for members of the genera Danio as well as Devario.
Contents |
[edit] Characteristics
They are native to the fresh water rivers and streams of southeast Asia, but many species are brightly coloured, and are available as aquarium fish worldwide. A number of the species have only been recently discovered, in remote inland areas of Myanmar and do not yet have scientific names.
They have two pairs of long barbels and are generally characterised by horizontal stripes (with the exception of the Glowlight Danio, Panther Danio and Black Barred Danio which have vertical bars). They range from 4 cm/ 1.75 in) to 15 cm/ 6 in) in length. They generally do not live for more than two to three years and are probably annual fish in the wild.
In the wild, these fish consume various small aquatic insects, crustaceans, worms, as well as, in the case of fry plankton.
.
[edit] Aquarium Care
The care of members of the genus Danio are rather similar and easily generalized. They are easy to moderate in difficulty to keep.
All of these fish are primarily surface feeders. They are omnivorous in the aquarium and will accept a wide variety of foods, though flake food is appropriate. Living in aquaria, live/frozen flaked foods are suitable, especially brine shrimp and sinking tablets. When conditioning Danios for breeding, it's advisable to feed them plenty of fresh foods.
Although boisterous and liable to chase each other and other fish, they are good community fish and will not generally attack each other or other fish, although they occasionally nip fins, more by accident than design and will, like most fish, eat eggs and any fish small enough to fit into their mouths.
They are best kept in a tank long enough for their active swimming, preferably with a current from a power filter (or at least airstone) as they often live in fast flowing streams in the wild. Generally this also results in them being sub tropical with cooler temperatures. They are good jumpers and a tight fitting lid is recommended
Schooling fish, they prefer to be in groups of six or more. Danios prefer water with a 6.0–8.0 pH, a water hardness of up to 5.0–19.0 dGH, and a temperature range of 68–80 °F (18–24 °C), the lower end of the temperature range is ideal.
[edit] Breeding
Some species of Danios, such as the Zebra Danio are among the easiest aquarium fish to breed. Other species such as Danio kyathit are far harder to spawn. All scatter their eggs over the substrate. The eggs are non adhesive and hatch within 2-3 days. Eggs will be eaten enthusiastically unless protected by a layer of marbles or heavy substrate planting.
[edit] Clades
There are four clades or subgroups within the Danio Genus:
- Danio dangila clade
- Danio rerio clade
- Danio albolieatus clade
- Danio choprae clade
It is possible that the Danio dangila clade may be separated into a separate genus from the others, owing to their larger size etc., however other than larger size and larger egg size they are very similar to the other danios in anatomy and behaviour so this is unlikely at the present time. If they were split off they would retain the title "Danio" with the other danios renamed, because the "type" of Danio (first discovered Danio)is Danio dangila, which is within this clade.
There has been speclation as to whether Danio choprae was a true danio or a devario, however the discovery of Danio sp "TW03" and Danio choprae var putao has made this less likely.
[edit] Danios and Devarios
Most species that were formerly within the Danio genus such as the Giant Danio have now been reclassified into the Devario genus. For full details of the classification of Danios and Devarios are on the Danionin page.
[edit] See Also
- Danionins - full details of all fish related to the Danios including those species known as Danios which are no longer scientifically classified in the Danio genus
- Devarios - Details of the species within the genus Devario
[edit] External links
- Danios and Devarios. Danios and devarios website. Retrieved on October 01, 2005.
- Clarke, Matt (2005) - A fishkeeper's guide to danios and devarios.. Article on danionins at Practical Fishkeeping's website. Retrieved on October 01, 2005.
