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Glowlight DanioFamily: Cyprinidae
A beautifully striking species, seeing a school of Glowlight Danios in a well maintained tank is unforgettable!The Glowlight Danio is one of the most vibrantly colored fish of the species and the hobby, sporting bars, stripes, and spots in green, gold, red, and turquoise. They have only recently been discovered, first described in 1997. These fish are the envy of the western world where they are nearly impossible to find. In the wild they can only be found in one river, the Irrawaddy River in the Myanmar region of Asia. There are captive breeding programs underway so hopefully they will soon become more available. Having no vices, the Glowlight Danio could never be a source of trouble in the aquarium. Only in a shoal housed in a well thought out aquarium will this fish maximize their color potential. Although a beautiful fish, they tend to be a bit nervous, so either keep them with small, calm tank mates or in a species tank. Glowlight Danios are well paired with the other danios, except the Giant Danio. This fish is not to be mixed up with the “Glofish”, a genetically manipulated form of the Zebra Danio. The Glowlight Danio’s coloration is natural and is a separate species from the Zebra Danio (Danio rerio) or its varieties. For more Information on keeping this fish see:
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| Geographic Distribution Danio choprai |
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| Point data provided by FishBase.org |
Distribution:
The Glowlight Danio is found exclusively in the Irrawaddy river and its outlets in Myanmar, Asia.
Status:
These fish are not endangered.
Description:
The Glowlight Danio is a small fish with a slender elongated body. It is similar to the Pearl Danio with yellow, brown and green coloring, except this beautiful fish has a bright red line on the back half of the body. Its colors can be quite stunning and will show best in soft, slightly acidic water conditions. No varieties are in existence today.
Size - Weight:
This fish will grow to about 1.25 inches (3 cm).
Care and feeding:
Glowlight Danios are omnivorous which should accept any fish food, live or prepared. They enjoy small live foods like brine shrimp and insect larvae. As with all danios, these fish are quite active and have high nutrient requirements, so select a flake food that will provide for their needs.
The tank set up is fairly important for this fish to be comfortable. A good aquascape would be dense plantings reaching the surface of the aquarium around the sides and back and a few broadleaved plants for shelter. Floating plants will give the fish extra security. Adding some aquarium bogwood will help get the water chemistry close to they way they like it. A dark substrate is recommended to bring out the fishes natural glow and a tight cover is required to prevent jumps.
Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:
The Glowlight Danio will inhabit all regions of the tank, but favor the middle.
Acceptable Water Conditions:
Temp: 72-80° F (22-26° C)
pH: 6.0-7.0
Hardness: 2-15° dGH
Social Behaviors:
Glowlight Danios are fairly shy fish. Any large tank mates, peaceful or not, tend to scare them into hiding. They will generally get along amongst their own kind. They may chase each other around a little, but without harm. A school of six or more individuals is required or else they will become lethargic, refuse to eat, and waste away. Mixing the sexes makes the males much brighter in coloration.
Sexual Differences:
The males are more colorful and slightly smaller in comparison to the females. The differences are often too subtle to notice unless fish are in breeding condition.
Breeding/Reproduction:
Breeding the Glowlight Danio is not too difficult provided the fish are comfortable. Breeding is nearly the same as for the Zebra Danio. However a bare breeding tank used for the Zebra is not comfortable for this shyer fish. It will usually be too scared to breed. For the Glowlight Danio It is best to densely plant the breeding tank with fine leaved plants to catch the eggs.
Availability:
The Glowlight Danio is nearly impossible to find, but a select few fish stores will carry them. They are to date not available online either. Cost can be in the upwards of $10 - $20 USD for a single specimen. Fortunately captive breeding programs are underway, so this situation will hopefully change in the future.
Comments from people who have kept this fish:
I have about 50 of these little guys in a 32 gallon and they are insane. Together they get along well with 2 boseman rainbows, 1 austrailian rainbow, 2 roseline barbs (my fav's), and 7 golden white clouds. Heavily planted, they have so much fun swiming through the plants & wood; 8 mossballs (giant) at different levels off the wood & plants, with plenty of flow.
Love that fish, have 8 in a 29g heavily planted tank together with odessa barbs and a red-fin shark. Very active, always on the move, swim mostly at top-middle, enjoy swimming against the current from the pump. They do not seem to be as shy as the article describes - even though barbs try to chase glow-lights once in a while, danios easily outrun them and continue to swim as normal. Sometimes i can see danios "fighting" with each other - circling around, trying to get the opponents tale, but no harm is done. I believe it is a part of courtship. I bought mine for as little as $3 per fish, though very few stores carry them.
I used to have one. Lived for 1 year++. good fish to buy but quite rare!
Authors: "Yvonne" and Clarice Brough, CFFS.
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