Zebra Danio Newbie

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FBTgirl2

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I have never ever had any Zebra Danio. I just had a few questions on them, I am not new to fish but I am new to Zebra Danios.

1. How do you tell male from female? Is it like guppy do they get bigger if there female

2. How good would they go with a male betta fish?

3. Is it normal for them to be racing and darting a lot? They seem very hyper :hyper:

4. How do you breed them?

5. I wish I could get pictures but they won't stop long enough for me to take one :X
 
1. The male is much skinnier than a plump female.

2. They are a bit too energetic to really go well with a Betta splendens.

3. Zebra danios are notorious for being very energetic. If you have placed them into fresh water and they seem to be chasing each other in mad dashes, see question 4.

4. Breeding zebras is easy, they breed on their own quite regularly. The hard part is saving the eggs. When breeding the females scatter eggs on the tank bottom and the males chasing them fertilize them as they come along behind. Now for the hard part. As soon as the breeding is done, both fish go back and eat all of the eggs that they can find. High egg survival rates are based on things like having a layer of marbles or something similar where the eggs can fall down between them out of reach of the adults. The next step is removing the adults because the eggs hatch fairly quickly after being fertilized.

5. Nobody can get good pictures of zebras, they just won't pose for them.
 
As the above poster said darting around and chasing each other is normal behaviour - they are great for adding movement and interest in a tank. You can tell the males and females apart easily - the males are more streamlined and you will notice that the male has bright yellow stripes whereas the females are more of a dull creamy colour.

When I kept them I would get hatched babies on a regular basis but they were all eaten eventually. The only way to keep fry would be to put them in a seperate tank with marbles lined on the bottom so that when they scatter the eggs they fall in between the marbles and cant get eaten, then remove the adults. When they breed its easy to see - the males will chase the femaies frantically almost in a frenzy, and they will dive around under rocks and in plants egg scattering.When the eggs hatch you will notice what look like tiny hairs stuck all over the tank.
 
1. The male is much skinnier than a plump female.
Agree^

2. They are a bit too energetic to really go well with a Betta splendens.
I had 3 with a Betta, they got along fine... But that depends on the fishes temperament

3. Zebra danios are notorious for being very energetic. If you have placed them into fresh water and they seem to be chasing each other in mad dashes, see question 4.
Yup, exteremly energetic, i have never seen them rest

4. Breeding zebras is easy, they breed on their own quite regularly. The hard part is saving the eggs. When breeding the females scatter eggs on the tank bottom and the males chasing them fertilize them as they come along behind. Now for the hard part. As soon as the breeding is done, both fish go back and eat all of the eggs that they can find. High egg survival rates are based on things like having a layer of marbles or something similar where the eggs can fall down between them out of reach of the adults. The next step is removing the adults because the eggs hatch fairly quickly after being fertilized.
Hahah :lol: agree, i have seen them lay eggs plenty og time, the then turn round and have them as a snack!

5. Nobody can get good pictures of zebras, they just won't pose for them.
Agree^
 
Thanks guys, think I have 4 males and a female but its kinda hard to tell because they move so much.
 
Yes, completely normal for them to constantly move - they are a minnow-like fish - and they prefer long raceways to play out their speed. You get used to noticing the slightly plumper more silvery females and I often feel the golden edges zebras can get is often a little more intense in the males. 5 is a pretty good number but if you have the stocking room, each added one will continue to help the behavior patterns. They are not as bad as tetras but have been known to get a little nippy as their numbers get below 5 or 6.

~~waterdrop~~
 

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