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Danios Flashing or Playing?

8K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  Zephyr 
#1 ·
I read the other day that danios will sometimes look like they are flashing by bumping plants (not decorations) in a tank, but it said it's not hard bumping and they should not do the crazed swimming that a flashing fish does, rather just gently bumps into a plant and then goes about their business of chasing.

I do not think I have any trouble with my tank, but of course after I read that I had to watch my danios, and sure enough I saw one or two actually do this in a 5 minute period! There was no crazed shimmy like a flashing fish would exhibit. As soon as they saw me they swam away and wouldn't continue, but now I am concerned.

Has anyone ever seen this behavior in a healthy fish, especially danios?
 
#3 ·
I agree the chances are that it's pretty harmless behaviour, but just keep an eye on them. It can be hard to tell with danios as they are such active fish, but mine used to exhibit such behaviour from time to time and there was nothing wrong.
 
#4 ·
I thought this interesting. I moved one of the plants that had been moved around (by my Pelco) into their free swimming space, and now they are not doing it anymore. Maybe they were just annoyed! I raised the temp a little and added a teeny tiny bit of salt just in case, but now I'm not sure. It looked more like a playing behavior to me, not true flashing. They were bumping the edge of a leaf but only with their nose, not a full body rub.

Danios get such a bad rap (like a carnation in the flower world) because they are inexpensive and hardy, but they are one of the most fun fish to watch. I love to watch them wind through the plants, then decide to all of a sudden dart out and chase one another. Fun!
 
#9 ·
my danios do this from time to time- i even saw two of them doing it at the same time once, like one was copying the other- and once i moved a plant out of the way, it stopped. i agree, danios are very under-rated, i love mine! also, watch out for putting salt in tanks, mine don't tolerate it very well, and i've had one get a blister before (any i only put in a small amount)
 
#10 ·
As of today, they are all fine and they aren't bumping into the plant since it's been moved. I had the same thing- just two of them were doing it.

I do love my danios, I'm watching them right now chasing each other around the tank, but I know that there is no aggression there. I love it!
 
#11 ·
Perhaps, just as we humans do, they had an itch they just needed to scratch.
I've seen goldfish and barbs do the same thing, with no signs/symptoms of disease or parasites. I'm sure it's just harmless fishy banter.
 
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