Celestial Pearl Danios - When will they start showing color?

HI guys,
I have set up a moderately planted 5.5 gallon tank for a small school of celestial pearl danios. I have posted a previous thread about how my ammonia has been spiking a lot, anyone with cpd experience know how much they can take? I am doing 50 percent water changes and vacuuming the gravel. The ammonia spikes may have happened because its a new tank and the 8 cpds were too much strain on the beneficial bacteria? Is 8 cpds in 5.5 gallon too much? It was probably because I when I fed, most of the food fell to the bottom... anyone know the best food to feed cpds? I offered quality flakes, frozen daphnia and chopped up frozen bloodworms. What about a good clean up crew for a 5.5 gallon to help with the leftover food? I'm thinking RCS... Anyone with experience with cpds have any tips for raising them? When will they start showing color? I got them about 5 days ago and they are about 3/4 inch long.


Also, I see on other forums people base their answers on cpd questions just on the fact that they are danios... I know normal danios need 20 gallons and other requirements but these aren't normal danios... Thanks!

 

Hi!,
I've got Celestial Pearl Danios. Like you I started them in a 5 gallon tank. It was a disapointing experience for me and the fish. They are tiny, but they like to get around. To make matters worse, they are shy and tend to stick to the lower third of the tank.

After trying them in several different tanks, they're now in a twenty long with similarly sized other fish. They hang out together which seems to have helped with the shyness.

As for food, mine ignore flakes. Tetras eat flakes. They do eat microworms, which are easy to culture, and baby brine shrimp (ditto).

Their tank also gets fed bloodworms, but those get eaten by the cories.

RCS would be good companions. It's possible the shrimplets will contribute to the CPDs diet.

I know tiny fish + tiny tank seems like a perfect combo, but I'd strongly suggest using the 5.5 g for a colony of shrimp and upgrading the danios to at least a 10 gallon.

 

I have six in a planted 10 gallon. They share it with RCS, a nerite snail, and a pair of male guppies. I know they're small but I couldn't imagine keeping them in anything less than a 10. Mine mostly creep through the plants like little panthers but they do get going and shoot back and forth for a while. In a 5.5 gallon, they don't have the length of the tank needed to really exercise. Mine eat flake, the tiny granules I feed the shrimp, frozen, whatever I put in there.

 

Thanks guys! It would be really hard to upgrade as I would have to move all the fish, plants, gravel, driftwood etc... if I put my current filter media in, would that be a instant cycle? My 5.5 has some trouble with ammonia... maybe a 10 could help. Do you guys think the stress from the big move is worth the 10 gallon for my celestial pearl danios? If it is, I would upgrade as I only want what is best for my cpds! I do notice that they stick to the bottom 1/3 of the tank and mine didn't eat well, most of the food fell to the bottom, hence the ammonia problem. How do you guys feed? Thanks so much!

 

Upgrading is easy as long as you're organised and have a couple of buckets and plastic containers to put things in.

You will instant cycle! Your water quality will improve because of the greater volume! Your fish will love the extra space!

Rinse out your new tank and put it in its spot. Take the fish and any plants out and hold them in a bucket of their water. Ditto with the driftwood.

Siphon the rest of the water out. Discard since you're having ammonia issues.

Dump the substrate into the new tank. Be careful because you don't want to accidentally crack the glass!

Add more substrate, because what worked for 5 gallons will seem skimpy in 10g.

Put any hardscape pieces in. Replant. Add water that is treated and temperature matched.

Move the filter over and let the worst of the dust settle.

Add fish in their water.

Done.

Shut the lights out and let the fish explore their new home.

As far as feeding goes I generally feed microworms. I use coffee filters on my cultures, so I just dip and I'm done. I then feed crushed flakes (small pinch) to the fish and shrimp that prefer them.

I generally then feed sinking pellets at night, because I've got some nocturnal anchor cats, and they and the pygmy cories seem to be happy with that arrangement. A couple of times a week, when I'm feeding my frogs and bumblebee gobies, I'll squirt in some thawed bloodworms or fresh or frozen brine shimp.

With so few tiny fish you do have to be careful about overfeeding. So use tiny pinches and a sharp eye.

 

Due to my current situation (aka my parents) I can't raise anything alive except maybe brine shrimp. I might be able to get the upgrade done by tomorrow. How long does new water (out of the tap) take to dechlorinate after I have added the conditioner?

 

Due to my current situation (aka my parents) I can't raise anything alive except maybe brine shrimp. I might be able to get the upgrade done by tomorrow. How long does new water (out of the tap) take to dechlorinate after I have added the conditioner?

Depends on the dechlorinator, but most are pretty fast. I don't usually let my water sit for more than 5 minutes.

 

Although they love live food if you can't raise it or buy it then frozen is just as good.
Cut a piece off the block & defrost it in a cup with some tank water before feeding, my Cpd's loved cyclops & baby brine shrimp.
Most Dechlorinators work almost immediately so you don't need to let the water sit before using it

 

If you are using a product like Prime, about as long as it takes to give the water a good stir.

I do my brine shrimp in a 12 ounce betta cup. Drop an airstone into 12 oz of declorinated water to which you add 1 teaspoon Instant Ocean and 1/8 teaspoon (give or take) brine shrimp eggs. Let run for 24 to 48 hours. Pour into a strainer lined with a damp coffee filter. Dip filter into tank to feed fish. This makes enough to give several small tanks a shrimp dinner. If you're just doing the one, you can use fewer eggs and dip out what you need for a feeding, spreading a hatch over about three days.

Or use frozen. It might be easier in your case.

 

Do you know if liquid ferts will negatively impact cpds? Have you guys used liquid ferts with cpds before? I am trying to use flourish iron and flourish excel maybe once every other day. Would that be fine?

 

Sorry, can't help. I don't use supplementary fertilizers in my tank. Excel is hard on moss and moss balls, and I have both.

 

Do you know if liquid ferts will negatively impact cpds? Have you guys used liquid ferts with cpds before? I am trying to use flourish iron and flourish excel maybe once every other day. Would that be fine?

It should be fine. They're made to be fish safe.

 

Hi!,
I've got Celestial Pearl Danios. Like you I started them in a 5 gallon tank. It was a disapointing experience for me and the fish. They are tiny, but they like to get around. To make matters worse, they are shy and tend to stick to the lower third of the tank.

After trying them in several different tanks, they're now in a twenty long with similarly sized other fish. They hang out together which seems to have helped with the shyness.

As for food, mine ignore flakes. Tetras eat flakes. They do eat microworms, which are easy to culture, and baby brine shrimp (ditto).

Their tank also gets fed bloodworms, but those get eaten by the cories.

RCS would be good companions. It's possible the shrimplets will contribute to the CPDs diet.

I know tiny fish + tiny tank seems like a perfect combo, but I'd strongly suggest using the 5.5 g for a colony of shrimp and upgrading the danios to at least a 10 gallon.

Applause Maggie.
Exact my experiences with CPD's (theybare quite brave in a community-tank) and my thoughts about small fish / small tanks !!! Only exception : the real nano-experts !!!!

 

Applause Maggie.
Exact my experiences with CPD's (theybare quite brave in a community-tank) and my thoughts about small fish / small tanks !!! Only exception : the real nano-experts !!!!

I think of all the fish I've kept since I got into the hobby the CPDs have been the most frustrating. They *are* a neat looking fish, when you can get them to come out from behind the driftwood/clump of subwassertang/piece of hardscape.

 

Thanks guys! They seem much happier in my 10 gallon, and I now I realize how cramped they must have felt when in the 5.5! At least it was only for a week.... I am going to start a thread on aquascaping so if any of you have experience with a jungle type aquascape and would help me out that would be greatly appreciated!