Glofish Danios Without Much Color

Hello,

My kids really want some glofish. So I am setting up a 20 gallon long for them that is currently cycling.

I am trying to steer them toward the danios because I think they are the more entertaining fish.

But there is only one store in the area that sells them (there are plenty of stores that sell the tetra and barbs.) The ones they had in this store were not very bright, mostly silver.

Do you think it is because they are young or stressed or is this an indication that they are sick? Should I avoid them and go with the tetras?

Thanks for your advice.

 

Are you sold on the glofish? There are several varieties of neon tetras your children would likely enjoy just as much.

 

Danios are awesome entertaining fish, I love them! I have them, just no glofish ones.

I have skirt tetras too, including the "glofish" ones.

Danios do fade when theyre stressed, as do the tetras too. The ones you saw could have been new fish and are stressed in the transition. Perhaps check back a few times and see how they are. If they colour up, then it was stress. If not, perhaps consider others.

The tetras are a nice option too, though I personally like danios better, my husband loves the tetras. Theyre fun to watch, but not as active as the danios are. They sorta have a mix of zenning out and then springing into shark mode when its breakfast time lol. Danios have constant ADHD.

If you want some entertaining fish good for a 20, get 6 corydoras for the bottom you will forever have entertained kids with them, and yourself. Better to be 6 of the same kind however. I have 9 myself, though theyre 3 different kinds, my situation isn't the norm. Theyre cute and always on the go. Most stores sell at least one kind of corydoras. So check out what there is. They do well with sand or smooth fine gravel though.

 

Welcome to Fishlore, Terry!

Guppies are also very colourful, and very entertaining. You could get a handful of different coloured males (if you didn't want to deal with tons of babies). I think kids like to watch brightly coloured fish, and be able to identify which ones are which, and name them... as opposed to a school of neons that all look the same. Don't get me wrong, I do love (and keep) neons, and they are pretty little fish - just some thoughts, if the tank is for specifically for the kids

In a 20 long, you could get both zebra danios and guppies

That aside - glo danios should look brightly coloured... if the ones you are looking at aren't, my guess would be that they aren't great stock. I could be wrong on this, but aren't glo fish bred to have that colour? Do they pale with stress like 'natural' coloured fish? Hmmmmm - someone on Fishlore will know this

 

was it under black light or not?

Many of the glow fish look pretty unappealing when the glow lights are turned off...

 

JettsPapa.....I promised my kids glofish. I could try to steer them toward neon tetra (one of my personal favorite) but if they were really insistent wouldn't want to break the problems.

MissNoodle. I think it might be stress too but wanted to make sure. And that is my plan, to have 7 glofish, 7 panda corys (saw them in the store and loved them) a Siamese algae eater and a few nerites.

Algonquin, if I ever get my own tank it is going to be a combination of gubbies and neons\cardinals.

Thanks for the responses!

 

Ohhh id just avoid the SAE as they do get a bit big and can be mixed up with some giant aggressive species that look very similar. Plus, they do better in a group so a 20 would be too small to accommodate their social needs. Look into a small group of otocinclus cats instead, theyre smaller and still social and peaceful. Just wait a couple of months after cycling to add them, they need a mature tank. They need groups too, but a 20 can accommodate that. Great at cleaning algae, though should still be supplemented with some blanched veggies and wafers

Welcome to Fishlore, Terry!

Guppies are also very colourful, and very entertaining. You could get a handful of different coloured males (if you didn't want to deal with tons of babies). I think kids like to watch brightly coloured fish, and be able to identify which ones are which, and name them... as opposed to a school of neons that all look the same. Don't get me wrong, I do love (and keep) neons, and they are pretty little fish - just some thoughts, if the tank is for specifically for the kids

In a 20 long, you could get both zebra danios and guppies

That aside - glo danios should look brightly coloured... if the ones you are looking at aren't, my guess would be that they aren't great stock. I could be wrong on this, but aren't glo fish bred to have that colour? Do they pale with stress like 'natural' coloured fish? Hmmmmm - someone on Fishlore will know this

My glo skirts do pale when stressed, noticeably in the face as opposed to their bodies. And danios ive seen look pale at the store too.

In the background is my purple girl, note her fading in the face especially.


And then not faded

was it under black light or not?

Many of the glow fish look pretty unappealing when the glow lights are turned off...

I dunno mine look better under natural light than they do black light lol

 

Algonquin asked if glofish are bred for the colors. According to Wikipedia they've been genetically engineered to cause that effect.

 

Yeah, that is what the coloring of those danios were like. That and the day I saw them, the store just got their new stock in. So they were probaby stressed from being in a new tank.

My kids are 7 year old twins with constant ADHD so think it is a good match.

 

According to Wikipedia they've been genetically engineered to cause that effect.

Yes, I think it was the 'older version' that I was thinking of... they were injected with dyes or something awful like that