Are you looking for a very peaceful fish for your small tank? Then Glowlight Danio is ideal for you. These tiny, colorful, cute fish are a sight to behold when you keep and care for them properly in your tank.
Glowlight Danios are usually found in the Irrawaddy of Northern Myanmar, especially in streams and wells. They are very peaceful and do great with other peaceful tank mates. These omnivorous fish are best cared for in a 20-gallon tank. They are rare to find but great for beginners.
Species Overview
| Level of Care | Very easy |
| Appearance | They come in yellow, brown, and green coloring with multicolor spots on the back half of their body. |
| Temperament | Very peaceful |
| Life Expectancy | 3-5 years |
| Size | 1.2-inches |
| Diet | Omnivorous |
| Family | Cyprinidae |
| Tank Size | 20-gallons |
| Tank Environment | Soft acidic water with any dark substrate and plenty of plants |
| Tank Mates | Very peaceful and small |
Glowlight Danios (Celestichthys Choprae) are pretty popular in the aquarium fish family. They are usually found in the Irrawaddy river of Northern Myanmar, specifically in the streams and wells.
With a moderately round-shaped and laterally-elongated fusiform body, this species looks too cute and suitable for small fish tanks.
Their fins are moderate in length, and often the caudal fin is homocercal by nature. Another distinct trait of these is the presence of a terminal mouth.
Besides, the males are usually slimmer than the females. The bodies of the female fish are a bit deeper to accommodate the entire roe.
Usually, Glowlight Danios are similar in look to the Pearl Danios. Their combination of green, yellow, and brown coloring is quite tempting for any fish lover.
Also, these have orange stripes on their back half with pretty spots of green, red, golden, and turquoise, which makes them look beautiful.
Size
Glowlight Danios are extremely small in size. They will never grow more than 1.2-inches. The male fish are usually slimmer than the females. However, the females can sometimes come a little bit short.
Lifespan
Though Glowlight Danios are pretty small, they will not live for a shorter period like other tiny fish. This species will usually live for up to 3-5 years or more if you offer them proper care.
Behavior & Temperament
Glowlight Danio is undoubtedly a very peaceful fish. They will quickly get along within the same species. They are schooling fish and tend to maintain a very playful bond with each other.
To let them show their best color, it is better to keep 8-10 individuals together. However, keeping more is even better. They are peaceful enough and shy. Also, they often get nervous and afraid; thus, you need to offer them enough space for hiding.
Tank Requirements
Glowlight Danios are quite hardy fish. This schooling species inhabit more or less all regions in your tank. However, they mostly prefer the middle water column section.
A school of danios is easy to keep and care for in a small aquarium. However, to maintain bright colors, you need to offer them soft and slightly acidic water.
Also, ensure a good filtration rate in tank water to provide proper care to your fish as they prefer some current in the water flow.
Well, a crucial thing about keeping them is that you need to cover the fish tank appropriately. But why is it so? Well, that’s because this species are skilled jumpers, and they will undoubtedly jump out of the tank if they get a chance.
While picking the substrate for the tank, it is better to opt for a dark substrate rather than a lighter one. Also, make sure that the aquarium’s water temperature is moderate enough so that they can have healthy growth.
Besides, the aquascape needs to be very top-notch. Also, provide your little fish enough space to hide and play so that they can feel safe and stay happy.
Tank Setup
So, are you thinking of keeping Glowlight Danios in your tank? Well, then you need to ensure a proper tank setup for the fish so that they can have all the fun with healthy and easy growth.
Here is how you can provide the correct tank setup for your fish.
- For this species, a 10-gallon tank is pretty suitable. But as you already know, they are schooling fish, so you need to keep them in groups. Hence, it would be safe to pick a 20-gallon tank and offer the best care to their school.
- In the case of the substrate, you can opt for any; just make sure it is dark in color.
- Maintain the tank water temperature between 73-81 ℉ as they do not prefer too cool or too warm water.
- They usually like to reside in soft and slightly acidic water conditions. Thus, maintain the hardness range between 2-15 dGH.
- Also, they will do great in the 6-7 pH range.
- The water movement in the aquarium needs to be moderate with a good filtration rate. Maintain a slight current in the water as these do not like steady water.
- Though they inhabit all the tank regions, it is better to give them enough space in the middle and surface area.
- You can apply moderate to normal lighting in the tank. Under moderate lighting conditions, they show bright, vibrant colors.
- Add dense vegetation to the sides and back area of the aquarium. Incorporate some broad-leaved plants to provide them proper shelter to hide. You can also add floating plants for their extra security. Consider adding some bogwood to maintain an appropriate tank water chemistry.
Tank Mates
Well, the Glowlight Danios are much shy. Due to such peaceful and timid nature, they go well with their kind and certain other fish species.
However, while picking tank mates for these fish, make sure they are smaller in size and have a calm temperament. Any large fish will easily scare them, no matter whether it is peaceful or not.
Besides, keep yourself away from housing them with any aggressive or large semi-aggressive fish. Also, prevent keeping these with any predatory fish. Then, whom should you exactly keep them with?
Well, slow swimmers are pretty safe. Also, you can house them with shrimps, crabs, or snails, which are not very aggressive.
Below, we have enlisted a few more suitable tank mates that you can consider keeping with your Glowlight Danios.
- Small Cyprinids
- Other danios
- Tetras
- Rainbowfish
- Catfish
- Anabantoids
- Livebearers
- Loaches
Food & Diet
Now, while taking good care of Glowlight Danios in your tank, you need to ensure that you are offering them the right food. But do you know which foods are the most suitable for them?
Well, these are omnivorous by nature. Hence, they will readily accept almost all kinds of fish foods, be it live or frozen.
Besides, they are very active, so they need to have proper nutrients to stay active all the time. You can simply offer them any flake food, which will provide them with an adequate amount of nutrients. This species also tend to enjoy eating small live foods like insect larvae or brine shrimp.
Usually, these fish love their meal the most when you feed them in small quantities several times a day instead of giving a single large meal. So, always offer them such an amount of food that they can eat within 3 minutes.
You can easily feed them pellets or tablets. Some of their foods can also include live foods like worms, shrimps, baby fish, etc. Besides, these also prefer having meaty at times. But it is better to offer them vegetable food sometimes for a change in their diet.
Glowlight Danio Care
Do you know taking care of Glowlight Danios is the easiest part? Yes, you heard that right!
Just make sure the tank water you are providing to them is finely clean. Poor water quality can massively ruin their health and growth. So, it is better to change 25-50% of water in the tank every month. In case the tank is densely stocked, make sure to replace 20-25% of water weekly.
With time, decomposing organic matter, nitrate, and phosphate accumulate in the aquarium, increasing water hardness. But as this species is intolerant to hard water, always keep an eye on water softness to restore the right parameter whenever there is an imbalance.
Since Glowlight Danios are quite hardy, frequent diseases are not reported to occur in them. But these tiny fish become susceptible to ICH in case good water quality is not provided to them.
However, you need to remember that while adding new fish, plants, substrates, or decorations to the tank, risks can arise. So, follow the process of proper cleaning or quarantining anything you add to the tank while not hampering the water balance.
Breeding Guidelines
Glowlight Danios are usually egg scatterers, and they do not show any parental care towards their babies. Sounds weird, right?
Nevertheless, this species is usually bred like other danios but can be a bit more tenuous. Though breeding is not too difficult for them, you need to make sure that you are offering them adequate comfort.
They receive proper conditioning from the live foods you provide, which not only give them better color but also increase their spawn size. When Glowlight Danios are well fed, the adult females start filling out with eggs.
These fish usually spawn best in a school. And do you know what’s more interesting? These fish spawn every 10 days. Weird but amazing, right!
Well, in case the fish in your tank are too shy or nervous, put them in a breeding tank and just dim the light to help them breed safely. Their breeding tank can be as small as 2½ gallons or a bit bigger. They usually need plants and other objects like driftwood or rocks to spawn properly.
In the most favorable condition, the females will release their eggs in open water, and the males will fertilize them. Do you know the females can release up to 50 eggs in every spawn? A big number, right!
Well, during this time, either you need to keep the parents aloof from the eggs. You can add plants having fine leaves or a spawning mop in the breeding tank to collect their eggs and nurture them separately so that the parents cannot eat the eggs. The eggs will hatch approximately within 72 hours.
Post hatching, you need to feed the free-swimming fries with starter foods. In the first few days, you can provide them infusoria. As they extend large enough to eat other foods, you can offer them baby brine shrimps. They will usually grow at a moderate rate and become mature within 6 months.
Interesting Facts
Well, are you excited to learn some fun facts about Glowlight Danio? Well, then check out below.
- Ther are much similar in looks to the Zebrafish Danio Rerio.
- They can even be found in the well.
- Though vibrantly colored, they do not glow in the light. Instead, these fish come in a wide variety of colors like yellow, red, purple, blue, orange, etc.
- They have a strong and vast population, but the parent fish tend to eat the eggs.
- They usually spend their daytime foraging for food and strive to hide in the vegetation during the night hours.
Where to Buy?
This fish is a bit difficult to find as they are rare. However, you can find them in a few fish stores that are specialists in selling danios. In case you are not finding it in your nearest local store, then look for them at a hobbyist’s store.
Also, you can find them in online stores. Look for Glowlight Danio for sale at any of the online stores where it comes at fair pricing.
Wrapping Up
Glowlight Danios are very suitable for a home aquarium. When it comes to the caring level, it is very easy for beginner aquarists. These fish will eat anything as long as the food floats on the surface area.
They are also quite compatible with changing water conditions without posing any serious health issues. Though they are a bit expensive and hard to find, they are an excellent choice for any beginner.
So, what are you waiting for? Look for any upcoming Glowlight Danio for sale event to bring them home as your tank pet.
