Pregnant Fish?

[tigerstar]

I think that my Leopard Danio might be pregnant. Ever since we have gotten Spot, Two months ago, the belly has bee getting bigger and bigger. (S)he now has a noticeable bump there. I was wondering if anyone out there can help me out on this?

 

[CruX]

Danios don't get pregnant as such, she may be full of eggs though. Have you got other Danios in there?

 

[tigerstar]

Danios don't get pregnant as such, she may be full of eggs though. Have you got other Danios in there?

Yeah I do. A male who just reached maturity. Is there things I should be getting?

 

[CruX]

Danios don't get pregnant as such, she may be full of eggs though. Have you got other Danios in there?

Yeah I do. A male who just reached maturity. Is there things I should be getting?

I don't fully understand what you mean sorry.

I am not an expert on danios but I believe that the female is chased through plants and thats how they spawn.

 

[jwddboy]

Well it depends on what other fish you have in there.

She will scatter eggs and those will fall down into the substrate if she is pregnant. A lot of people use marble chips as their substrate in a special breeding tank or actual marbles so that the eggs will not be eaten.

When she has dropped her eggs you should take her out.

So in other words you should have a breeding (small, no smaller than 5gal) tank set up for her to set down the eggs.

 

[tigerstar]

Well it depends on what other fish you have in there.

She will scatter eggs and those will fall down into the substrate if she is pregnant. A lot of people use marble chips as their substrate in a special breeding tank or actual marbles so that the eggs will not be eaten.

When she has dropped her eggs you should take her out.

So in other words you should have a breeding (small, no smaller than 5gal) tank set up for her to set down the eggs.

All I have is a 5 Gal. Tank. I have a pleco. and 2 tetras in there with with. what should I do? I would love to keep these (possible) Fish.

 

[jwddboy]

Well... its quite likley the eggs will be eaten by the plec if you have sand or fine-medium sized gravel. And even then, the parents or something in there is likley to eat the new fry.

The tank sounds overcrowded though...

Those danios can get to 2 inches alone. The tetras (i'll guess are neons or cardinals) which will get around 1 inch and the plec, well its likely its a common plec which... well lets just say it'll get bigger than your tank.

You could try a breeding trap but it'll fill up most of your tank! and even then, keeping the babies in that will be a lot of hard work.

of course on the not so light side... if she just keeps on growing with no eggs. She may have bloat or a swim bladder problem. not fun

 

[tigerstar]

How long would it be until she lays her eggs?

 

[jwddboy]

It really depends on how far progressed she is...

a photo might help?

 

[tigerstar]

I'll give a photo a try.. shes so fast its hard.

 

[tigerstar]

This is about the best one I can get of her with the offending belly showing.

 

[CruX]

Hard to tell with my poor eyesight, I am thinking bloated, do you feed a varied diet? have you tried a shelled, blanched pea incase she is bloated.

 

[tigerstar]

My fish get peas about every 2 weeks or so. She just had one about 2 days ago.

 

[CruX]

Maybe she is ready to scatter some eggs then, is she being chased by the male? I have heard that with Danios the male will chase the female during spawning.

 

[jwddboy]

well if she already has eggs and is that progressed its likley to already have happened.

Danios are always chasing each other and the other fish though so often its hard to tell.