Richard

Hey there,I'm a fish newbie from down in Trinidad in the Caribbean who could use a little help...I recently bought several Zebra Danios with long flowing fan-tails from a local breeder,and I've got two questions about them..firstly,how do I get them to stop munching each others' tails off?!..it's not fin-rot and they are well fed but the only one who's tail is intact is the male,whereas the females' tails each have a piece bitten out...my second question has to do with one of the females that came with the gill area looking extremely red,almost as if there's no flap covering the gills,yet it seems very healthy..could that possibly be some form of parasite requiring me to put it in quarantine?
Any help would be appreciated.

Butterfly

Richard what size is your tank and how many danios do you have. danios need to be in a group of at least six or more because they like to swim around with friends in a school. they tend to be nippy if not in numbers.
Carol

Richard

Heya Carol..that tank is a 30 gallon with assorted Lyre-tail Mollies,Swordtails,Glass Rosie Barbs,Serpa Tetras,Hatchet Fish,Platies and (here's the problem) 4 Zebra Danios..any thoughts on the Danio with the redness around the gills?

Butterfly

Some danios have a little red at the gill plate area. A rise in ammonia will also cause redness in the gills. Anytime you think you have a problem do a water change. It's always a good first line of defense. Then check the fish again. If nothing else the fish will enjoy the extra water change
Carol

0morrokh

This would probably be unlikely but can't some parasites like gill flukes cause reddness in the gills?