Leopard Danio Breeding HELP!!!

[Sweet_Sassy]

I have a total of 5 danios- 3 zebras and 2 leopards. I think I have 2 females (I didn't really try to figure it out when I got them because I didn't know they would spawn so quickly) but I know for sure that one is heavily pregnant. I think she is going to spawn tomorrow but she is in a 29 gallon community tank. I think the other leopard danio, which is definitely a male, is protecting her as she is in the lower corner of the tank and he seems to be keeping watch. I have never had danio fry but I have been doing research and I saw that they bred for life. If I separated the pregnant female with the male that is keeping watch of her, will they spawn? Otherwise, how do I tell which male will mate with her? The little male watching her is much smaller than the other Danios but he is fighting them off to keep them away from her. Any suggestions? I want to keep the fry and eventually put them in a separate 10 gallon when they get bigger. I don't want to unnecessarily stress them out. I have a little 3-way breeding box with the slots on the bottom that the eggs could fall through- would that be okay for the night? The female isn't as active as she usually is and seems to be breathing heavier than normal. I really think she is going to lay eggs within the next day or so and I am worried about the other fish eating the eggs. I have a picture of both of them in the corner of the tank - the platys are only over there because I was sitting there watching them (they think they're getting fed). Before I took the picture, the little male chased away the "dominant" male who s much bigger than he is. He won't let the other danios near her. Please help as soon as possible so I can figure out what to do!

 

[jonny-5]

Each species of the Danios need to be in groups of 6 or more or they will stress out & im sure that is what is happening here. In my experience Zebras dont hide away to have babies, They drop them whilst swimming around, Chasing,Playing & Eating, They will not stop to lay eggs. Ive never seen a healthy Danio keep still for more than 5 seconds
Also chances are if a female does lay eggs they will be eaten by the Zebras & Leopards straight away.
Ive had Zebras for years & they certainly eat all the eggs before they even land anywhere

 

[Sweet_Sassy]

I knew they were supposed to be in groups- I got a total of 6 originally but one died the same day I took it home... I just didn't know each species was different. When doing research on the fish I saw that they were the same but just different patterns. I'll have to look more into it. I put the two in a breeder just to see if anything happens. The male is following her around in there. Thanks for the input- I'm new to danios so I'm sorry it's not the best setup. I'm doing what I can with what I have. I'm not sure whats going on with them... that's why I asked the forum. I just want to know what to do with them from here on with the breeding situation, please and thank you

 

[Essjay]

Leopard danios are just a variation of zebra danios; they are the same species.

The female will lay her eggs and any male could then fertilise them. But the eggs will be a nice tasty snack for every fish in the tank.


Colin_T wrote a good post about breeding fish

Back to Basics when Breeding Fish

STARTING OUT Make sure you have a pair, (1 male + 1 female). There is nothing worse than spending your hard-earned dollars buying a couple of fish to try and breed and ending up with a pair of fish of the same sex. Let's face it, to reproduce fish you need a male and a female. Two males won't do...

www.fishforums.net

 

[Sweet_Sassy]

Leopard danios are just a variation of zebra danios; they are the same species.

The female will lay her eggs and any male could then fertilise them. But the eggs will be a nice tasty snack for every fish in the tank.


Colin_T wrote a good post about breeding fish

Back to Basics when Breeding Fish

STARTING OUT Make sure you have a pair, (1 male + 1 female). There is nothing worse than spending your hard-earned dollars buying a couple of fish to try and breed and ending up with a pair of fish of the same sex. Let's face it, to reproduce fish you need a male and a female. Two males won't do...

www.fishforums.net

Thank you. I woke up this morning to a few eggs in the bottom of the breeder, which is so cool! The female still looks a little fat so I'm going to leave them in a bit longer. And I was pretty sure about the zebras and leopards being the same species. I originally got 3 leopards and 3 zebras so I had some variation but one of the leopards died after a few hours - probably from the stress of being moved to a new tank.