Zebra danio scoliosis and bloated

[fofo23]

Hi, I have a zebra danio fish with not severe scoliosis and some bloating. It's been like this for a few months now and I don't know what to do. I don't even know if it's male or female so I'd be glad if someone could help me here

 

[Colin_T]

just a female that is egg bound because she has probably been kept in a tropical tank. nothing you can do about it. as long as the fish is eating well and can swim normally, leave her alone.

 

[fofo23]

Alright, thank you. I've moved all my fish to a new tank and I've been watching the danio a lot and it seems to be healthy. One more question. Will she expell the eggs by herself?

 

[Colin_T]

If she is egg bound, she will never breed again. The eggs solidify inside her body and can't come out.

Danios should be kept in cool water for 3 or 4 months of the year and they breed when the water warms up. In tropical aquariums they develop eggs but the males need the cool period and then warmth to come into breeding condition. When males are kept in warm water all the time, they don't chase the females and try to breed and the females become egg bound.

 

[fofo23]

Oh alright, thank you. I've never intended breeding them I just wanted to know if she would able to expell the eggs.

 

[MuddyWaters]

If she is egg bound, she will never breed again. The eggs solidify inside her body and can't come out.

Danios should be kept in cool water for 3 or 4 months of the year and they breed when the water warms up. In tropical aquariums they develop eggs but the males need the cool period and then warmth to come into breeding condition. When males are kept in warm water all the time, they don't chase the females and try to breed and the females become egg bound.

That is fascinating- do people keep tanks like that? Are there coolers in addition to heaters? I've had zebra danio a bunch of different times- love them - but never knew they needed that kind of variability in water temp- of course, I never looked, either , but they seem to do so well - they were some of the hardiest fish I had.

I guess if I kept fish at room temp, it might work like that- it gets cold here for a few months in the winter and we keep the house about 67F / 19.4C. Is that the temp they need?

 

[Colin_T]

You can buy aquarium chiller units but they are expensive and the fish don't need that.

The best way to keep zebra danios in most countries, is an unheated aquarium. The water can drop to 10-16C during winter and go up to 30C or whatever during summer. Most barbs are the same and a lot of Corydoras catfish like the winter temperature to drop to 16-18C.

If you are concerned about the low temperatures, set the heater on 18C and let it drop to that over winter. Most adjustable aquarium heaters will go down to 18C.