Dwarf Spotted Danio (Danio nigrofasciatus)

Dwarf Spotted Danios are peaceful, active and attractive fish that are best maintained alone or in a community aquarium with similarly sized fish. However, these Danios can be pretty timid if you don't have the appropriate aquarium setup or tankmates.

If you are going to house Dwarf Spotted Danios in a community aquarium, then the ideal tankmates would include other Dwarf Danios, Dwarf Barbs, Darios, Dwarf Rasboras, Hillstream Loaches and Catfish. It would be best if you avoided keeping these Danios with slow-moving, boisterous, larger or long-finned species.

Dwarf Spotted Danios are shoaling fish by nature; therefore, it would be best if you kept them in a group of at least eight individuals, preferably more. These Danios will thrive much better as a shoal as they will display much more natural behaviour, be less nervous, and the males will also reveal their best colours as they compete with each other for female attention.

The ideal aquarium setup for these fish would be a heavily planted aquarium designed in such a way to mimic a flowing stream or river with a darker substrate, as they may appear paler in a lightly decorated aquarium. Adding gravel, different sized rocks or some smooth stones will also add to the effect. In addition, driftwood roots, branches and aquatic plants, with hardy genera such as Bolbitis, Anubias or Microsorum, are ideal because they can be grown attached to the decor.

Dwarf Spotted Danios enjoy constantly flowing water, so the aquarium needs to be set up to have a current of water flowing from one end to the other against which the Dwarf Danio will constantly swim. Additional powerheads or filter outlets will help provide flow; however, it would be best to avoid torrent-like conditions because these Danios usually occupy calmer stretches in nature.

The aquarium will need to have a tight-fitting lid as members of this genus are excellent jumpers and can fit through very small gaps.

Dwarf Spotted Danios have a silvery colour on the top half of their bodies and a creamy gold colour on their bottom half; three stripes separate this. The first stripe is a dark blue colour that runs from the head over the eye's pupil to the end of the caudal fin; the second stripe is a golden colour, and the third stripe is also dark blue but slightly thicker than the first. In addition, these Danios present a line of small black spots underneath their stripes. All their fins are hyaline except for the anal fin that has gold edging and some more small black dots.

Photos

Feeding

In the home aquarium, the Dwarf Spotted Danio will readily accept most good quality dried foods such as granules, flakes and sinking pellets. These modern food products have been developed to provide all adequate nutrition to maintain your fish's health and dietary requirements.

Providing additional foodstuffs such as live, frozen, and freeze-dried meals such as bloodworm, daphnia, and tubifex once or twice a week will provide additional benefits to your fish's health and well-being but is not a must for this fish.

It should be noted that bloodworms should only be given as an occasional treat and should not be used as the staple diet as they are difficult for fish to digest and can potentially cause blockages.

This fish is an omnivore in the wild, meaning it will consume some vegetable matter. Although most modern fish foods take this into account and include them in their products, you can still supplement your fish's diet with blanched vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, and zucchini. Ensure you do not overfeed your fish and remove any leftovers the following day.

Tank Mates

3 interesting tank mate ideas for the Dwarf Spotted Danio could include: