If you’ve owned a tank of fish for a while but think it could use a little bit of color, then we have just the fish for you. Pearl Danios are very small but very marvelous-looking, coming with a silvery and blue body that will be sure to perk up any visitor’s interest.
These fish are not only very attractive, but they are very easy to look after. With very little maintenance, you can be sure that your fish will live a very long, healthy and happy life. These fish are some of the most relaxed that you can get from your local aquarium.
This fish is very small, all it needs is roughly 20 gallons, so you can save yourself quite a bit of money and space. This fish will get on very well with other fish, it is not prone to attack or retreat, as long as it has plenty of room to manoeuvre.
So where can you find a Pearl Danio? How much do they cost to maintain? How much do you have to feed it on a daily basis? How large does the tank have to be? What food does it eat? What diseases does it have and how can you avoid them? How long does this fish live for?
If you want the answers to all these questions and a whole lot more, then we would suggest that you keep reading. We have compiled a complete profile of the Pearl Danio, so you’ll have everything you need to know before going out and buying them.
We also have tips on water temperature and how to keep them comfortable.
Care Guide
Tank Size
Because these fish are so small, they don’t really need that much room. You should be fine with just a 20-gallon tank, although this will obviously depend on how many other fish you have sharing the tank.
This fish likes to swim around in schools, so make sure that you have at least 5 fish in one batch. If this fish is solitary, then you’ll notice a drastic decrease in its mood and it will often remain stationary.
Tank Mates
This fish is very peaceful, so they won’t really get aggressive with other fish and can be paired with a whole host of different species. Make sure that this fish has plenty of room to move around.
If there is not enough room, this fish will often retreat into its shell or hide in a cave if there is one nearby.
We should recommend having more than one Pearl Danio. This will obviously affect the capacity of your tank. You should always prepare to have enough room for at least 5 fish at any one time.
These are quite small, so you won’t have to worry about them being too squashed.
Same Species Tanks
You can keep any number of species in with the Pearl Danio.
Water Parameters
For the Pearl Danio, the water temperature should be around 73 to 79 degrees Fahrenheit. It should have a much more moderate Ph level of around 6.5 to 7.5. The alkaline levels should be set to 1 – 10 dKH. This fish can tolerate quite a hard level of water.
What To Put In Their Tanks
This fish is used to very fast water currents, so you’ll need to make sure that this water is highly oxygenated. Make sure that you have a decent filter in your tank.
This fish can even stand to be kept in a water tank, so you won’t have to worry about getting a heater for your Pearl Danio.
This fish does like to jump over the surface of the water. This will increase the risk of it leaping out of the tank and onto the floor. Make sure that your tank is covered to avoid this fish injuring itself.
You can put some foliage and some caves in your tank, although make sure there is enough room to swim around, as the Pearl Danio is a very energetic fish that likes to move around.
This fish also likes morning sunlight, so make sure that there are plenty of openings in your room so that your fish can wake up in a natural way.
Common Diseases
This fish is very susceptible to a lot of different diseases. To avoid your fish getting diseases as soon as you buy them, then you’ll need to make sure that they are kept in quarantine for a certain length of time.
This method will guarantee that if one of your fish does have a disease that it will not spread.
This fish will suffer from certain skin diseases, which often appear as white spots on the side and underbelly of the fish’s body. This stuff will also appear on the gills, almost as if the fish has accumulated salt in these areas.
There are a few medications that can help alleviate these skin diseases, one of the main ones being Ichthyol.
You can also increase the temperature of the tank gradually over the space of 3 – 5 days. Go up to 35 degrees and see if the parasites have disappeared after that.
Food & Diet
This fish will eat a wide range of foods, including living prey, frozen and flake food. Their diet will consist mainly of insects and zooplankton in the wild.
Feed this fish a balanced and varied diet to make sure that it has everything that it needs to keep healthy scales as well as having large amounts of energy and decreased stress levels.
Some of the top recommended foods for this fish should be mosquito larvae, brine shrimp and daphnia. These fish will prefer to eat live foods, as this will allow them to burn off some energy and it is more in keeping with their diet in the wild.
Lifespan
This fish can live anywhere between 3 and 5 years old. One way to decrease their lifespan is by housing them in poor water conditions and increasing their stress levels. To keep them happy, make sure that you keep them in the water with other Pearl Danio fish.
Appearance
This fish has an iridescent coloring, which makes them a very attractive fish to have in your tank. This has a distinctive blue and silver coloring, with an orangey stripe that runs from the base of the tail to the top of the head.
The males have a red tint along the ventral aspect.
Size
This fish is very small, only measuring around 1 inch. They will reach this maximum length when they get to adulthood, which will be around 3 months after being born. You can get a school of this fish and it will not take up that much room in your tank.
Behaviour & Temperament
This fish is known for being extremely peaceful and will avoid confrontation where it can. You can also be sure that you’ll have everything that you need for a nice and tranquil tank. However, we would avoid putting it in the tank with more aggressive fish, as this might lead to it being bullied.
Breeding
This species is very prone to breeding, especially if the tank is kept at a warm temperature with a shallow 4 to 6 inches of depth in the water itself. You should make sure that there are plenty of marbles and substrate that you this fish can use to attach their eggs to.
You can also provide a breeding grid for this fish, as it will help it to protect the eggs. The males should be kept back from the females for as long as possible. As soon as they are introduced, they will form pairs very quickly and start breeding quickly.
You should try and keep the number of females half that of the males.
Gender Differences: Male Vs. Female
The males are generally smaller and slimmer than the females, with red spots that you can use to identify them quickly and easily. The males also have a red spot along their ventral aspect. Both genders have a forked tail and 2 pairs of barbels.
Fun Facts
This fish is traditionally from Thailand and Myanmar, often can be found in narrow and fast-running warm streams.
This fish feeds on baby brine shrimp in the wild and can often be seen cruising the streams for some of this delicious food.
This fish will lay roughly between 12 and 30 eggs in one sitting. The temperature of the tank will affect the ratio of make to female fish that are born.
The main threat to this fish in the wild is human beings, who often catch the Pearl Danio to be sold in captivity.
