Needing Zebra Danios Breeding Advice

[Koish]

I'm planning on breeding some zebra danios, and I have found that most resources recommend putting a large clump of java moss (or really any free floating plant) in the breeding tank. Do I have to put the java moss in, or will they still breed without it? Are there any alternatives?

Any help is appreciated

 

[GaryE]

The oldest trick is to use a grid, or several layers of glass marbles. I used to use java moss for the fry as they hatched, to give them a food source from the micro-organism rich moss. Either way, the tank and the eggs need a lot of oxygen.

 

[Koish]

The oldest trick is to use a grid, or several layers of glass marbles. I used to use java moss for the fry as they hatched, to give them a food source from the micro-organism rich moss. Either way, the tank and the eggs need a lot of oxygen.

So the fish will still breed, even without the java moss? And for the food, is it fine if I just supplement infusoria every day for the fry?

Also, a little unrelated, but do the fry need a filter?

 

[Back in the fold]

Not sure but I think Zeeb fry are pretty small. Might want to think about a paramecium culture and microworms. Everybody who is even casually thinking about breeding most egg layers should have those two things well in advance.

 

[Back in the fold]

Just one more thing. Not right away but in a week or so you can put a small sponge filter in with the fry. The Java Moss isn't crucial and as has been noted by the illustrious @GaryE one method of breeding is to put two layers of marbles over the bottom of a bare aquarium. No substrate. To this I would add keep the water level about two or three inches while breeding. Zeebs are sinking egg scatterers and the eggs will drop into the spaces in the marbles before the breeders can eat them as they race about in their frenzy. Take the breeders out immediately after spawning. Fill the aquarium with more aged water after the eggs hatch. The fry look like little slivers of glass through a magnifying glass. Put the breeders in your breeding tank late in the day after lights out. They will commence breeding at dawn and will be finished in a couple hours.
That might have been more than just one more thing.

 

[Koish]

Just one more thing. Not right away but in a week or so you can put a small sponge filter in with the fry. The Java Moss isn't crucial and as has been noted by the illustrious @GaryE one method of breeding is to put two layers of marbles over the bottom of a bare aquarium. No substrate. To this I would add keep the water level about two or three inches while breeding. Zeebs are sinking egg scatterers and the eggs will drop into the spaces in the marbles before the breeders can eat them as they race about in their frenzy. Take the breeders out immediately after spawning. Fill the aquarium with more aged water after the eggs hatch. The fry look like little slivers of glass through a magnifying glass. Put the breeders in your breeding tank late in the day after lights out. They will commence breeding at dawn and will be finished in a couple hours.
That might have been more than just one more thing.

Alright, thank you for your reply

 

[GaryE]

The fry are really tiny, and in some spawnings, can be in overwhelming numbers. Shallow is good, and water movement is essential. Zebras like their water flow and current, as their camouflages and body shapes scream out at us. They are torpedoes.
I add sponge filters anywhere I can.
My last successful Danio breeding was with three layers of marbles and water maybe three times as deep as the marbles. Pairs will eat falling eggs (they scatter and spray) but I knew I had no space to raise many hundreds, so some losses were fine by me. I had a 10 gallon tank, with a short bodied sponge filter with a directional flow, cranked to the max. The females had been well fed away from the males to condition them. I combined them (5m with 2f) and added cooler water.

I ended up with about 30-40 adults in the end. I wasn't trying for more.