PineSong Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 Years ago I inherited a single giant danio and his non-stop racing back and forth drove me nuts, and made me think I'd never have another danio. But... While I've been looking locally for fish for my new community tank, I've really admired the teeny long-fin leopard danios. They are so darn cute and in both shops who had them, they were practically standing still--not racing at all. But both LFS had them in very small tanks so I didn't know what they might do in a long swim space. If you keep these guys, how would you describe their usual behavior? I'm not thinking of adding them to my community tank--I'm just interested in them and wondering whether I might like a single-species tank of them later, like a 20g long. TIA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 The long-fins are slightly less active, or maybe just slightly slower moving, than the short-finned version, but will still usually be a pretty active fish given the room to swim. That being said, they are nowhere near as visually hectic to watch as giant danios since they are small enough they are less ‘in your face’ active. They aren’t a ‘gently sweep across the tank in a beautiful school’ kind of fish. They would probably be classed more as shoaling than schooling, but they do tend to stick towards the top of the water column. They absolutely will separate and fiddle around some at all levels, some individuals more so than others. But they will be up in the top 1/3 or top 5-6”, depending on the size of your tank, around 80% of the time, probably. They will catch your eye with their activity, but won’t tend to dominate the tank unless they are the majority of the fish present since their colors are on the quieter side. They do come across as lively, ‘cheerful’ fish, and tend to brighten up the space like a cheerleader. If you’re not keen on cheerleader type personality, maybe go for something a bit less active. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonske Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 I kept a bunch of danios together, including leopard shortfin, leopard longfin, longfin zebras, glo's, etc. and I saw not much difference in activity level between all of them. They were all super active, super fast and chased each other all the time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted July 5, 2021 Author Share Posted July 5, 2021 Thank you both. I won't rule them out for my next tank--Odd Duck you made a good point that their smaller size will reduce the "hectic" in their movement. I currently have endlers and guppies and they are constantly moving, but since there aren't that many of them and they are small, it doesn't say "call 911!" the way the big guy did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben C. Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 I have some long fin leopard danios right now, and while they are quite active, they aren't zipping - it's more just like constantly exploring. Was the 1 giant danio the only one of his species when you had him? Could've been stress from being alone, since they like to be in groups - when I received the leopard danios and they were stressed in the bag, oh my god, they were so fast. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted July 5, 2021 Author Share Posted July 5, 2021 On 7/5/2021 at 1:51 PM, benchilton said: Was the 1 giant danio the only one of his species when you had him? Could've been stress from being alone, since they like to be in groups Yes, he was the only one. He was alone in a tank I was buying off craigslist at the time. Given the particulars of that situation, I was afraid if I said I didn't want him, the tank seller would toss him on the ground for raccoons to eat--at that point the tank had been outside for some time and the tank seller was not the fishkeeper. I kept him for several months and did various things to try to help him feel at home--plants, background, calmer part of the house, busier part of the house...he was just too zippy. I did not try him with other fish because at that time my other fish were bettas and goldfish. I eventually rehomed him to a person with a large tank who didn't mind the mania. I wanted to love him, poor abandoned little fish, but whew! I just could not stand the pace. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben C. Posted July 6, 2021 Share Posted July 6, 2021 Glad you were able to give the crazy dude a home though! I would love to have some of those some day, but like you said, need a special tank for them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted July 6, 2021 Author Share Posted July 6, 2021 On 7/5/2021 at 8:14 PM, benchilton said: Glad you were able to give the crazy dude a home though! I would love to have some of those some day, but like you said, need a special tank for them... Like maybe one eight feet long, or a moat all the way around the house 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted July 6, 2021 Author Share Posted July 6, 2021 On 7/5/2021 at 8:14 PM, benchilton said: Glad you were able to give the crazy dude a home though! I would love to have some of those some day, but like you said, need a special tank for them... Like maybe one eight feet long, or a moat all the way around the house 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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