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Zebra danios


Ira

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Can anyone give me some advice on breeding zebra danios? Specifically longfin zebra danios, if it matters. I'm thinking that when I get back from Christchurch I'll throw my zebra danios into a spare tank and try to get them to breed. Would just a bare bottom with pegasus's mesh net thing work?

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Hi Ira,

Would just a bare bottom with pegasus's mesh net thing work?

I tried many ways and many setups, from marbles to slatted bases, to stuffing from old chairs (horse hair) to heavily planted tanks, but the most successful method that gave optimum results for the Danios and Barbs was the box of mesh net as mentioned.

A two foot tank works, but some of my breeding tanks were three foot but only ten inches high. Just lower the mesh box into the tank and peg it about three or four inches off the bottom. They scatter the eggs and they drop through beneath the netting. The tank is bare bottomed, so the eggs can be left there and the adults easily removed without disturbing anything.

Never bred the Hi Fins, (daughter has some just about ready) but I can't see them being much different.

I used three males to each heavily filled female.

I also kept them seperate for a few days prior to spawning with both the Danios and the Barbs. I fed almost exclusivly on live food during the seperation, to both the females and males.

If the females are ready, then the males are more than keen to oblige :):)

Even a single layer of mesh supported off the base of the tank by a light wire frame would work in preference to a box type. As long as the mesh has around two to four millimetre holes it should work ok.

Happy Days,

Bill (Pegasus)

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An old fashioned 'colander' used in removing water from cooked veges is ideal for spawning danios and barbs. Place the colander in a bare tank of water so that the water level does not come over the top of the colander. Add the fish to the colander and for safety, cover with cover glass. Fish will spawn quite readily and the eggs fall through. After spawning the colander serves as a 'net' to remove the adults back to the stock tank. Pete

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Is there a definite way to tell which sex is which? I've got 4 and I think 2 are female, but I have a hard time telling. Two of them seem to have more yellow(Male?) and two of them seem to be a bit rounder, but they're very similar. I guess throwing them all in the tank would work as long as there's at least 1 female?

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HI PW , Ira,

Never heard of using a colander.

The Danios are among the fastest swimming fish we keep, and none interested males will quickly snap up any eggs that hang around for too long. I suppose it would work, but the Danios and Barbs like the chase, and I found the box net gave the most productive results.

The females are deeper bodied and much rounder Ira, plus the males seem a bit smaller, so chances are you have at least a pair. Feed them up for a while and you should see a difference. There could be some finnage differences in the Hi Fins.... not too sure... must have a closer look at the daughters 8 or 10 :)

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Feeding them heaps of live food is going to be a bit of a problem. My new whiteworm culture has been going for about 3 months and is...Well...Pathetic, not enough to feed anything. But I've got daphnia and heaps of frozen food. Oh, wait, I've got some confused flour beetles, could feed them those.

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Sounds good Ira.

My main WW culture packed a sad and I flooded it for a while.

It's in a large plastic washing up bowl (I prefer wood, but...)

It brought all the worms to the top and I scooped em up and started another culture.

Might work for you :):)

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Hmmm, I don't know if it'll do any good drowning it and starting over. I bought it at the UHAS auction in November. It's in a big styrofoam chillibin type thing full of dirt. There were 3 of them there, I only got a look at one and it looked pretty full of worms so I assumed it and the rest were pretty mature cultures...The one I got I could have gone down to Animates and grabbed a small whiteworm culture and had more worms. Looked to me like it had actually been ignored and left outside for ages, there was an old dried up banana peel, a pile of some mush, a big spider web and 3-4 spiders in it.

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Hi again Ira,

You can also force them to the surface with heat from the base of the box.

Another option is to tip the lot into an onion sack supspended over an open box. Heat from above will force them to drop through the sack and into the box. Seems a shame to dump them just in case there's some still in there.

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Hi,

How are the Zebras doing Ira,... any results yet ?

Kriber sent me a PM asking about the net breeder mentioned above.

The link is here :

http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=105

He also asked about the "secrets" to spawning the Zebras, but there's no secret.

Best results are obtained if you can seperate your fish into males and females. Feed them well, preferably on live food, but not imperative.

The females will fill out over a few days to a week, and the breeding area should be set up ready for their arrival.

As mentioned, I used three males to one heavy female, but two will work fine. They will spawn in groups, using the same 2 or 3 to one system.

Temperature.

Well zebras can live in a wide range of temperatures, and I've kept them in unheated tanks and spawned them, but around 75 to 78deg should do fine. If the pairs are ready, they don't seem to mind a few degrees either way.

Set the box netting ... or whatever you use, about four inches off the bottom of the tank, with around four to six inches of water above the base of the net. This gives them little time to gobble up the eggs that are scattered as the females dash around and the males follow spreading their milt. If they start eating the eggs they will lose interest.

Put the fish into the breeder late in the day prior to lights out.

If they are in good condition and ready to spawn, the eggs will be laid early the next day.

Many sites (even today) recomend using marbles... which work fine... but what a pain.

Sure enough, the eggs drop down between the marbles, and invariably the fish can't reach them, but to get to the eggs you have to remove all of these marbles... very carefully.

The choice is yours, but I find the netting gives the best results with the heaviest yeilds, and the least stress to the fish.

Hope this helps Kriber.

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Haven't done anything with them yet. I'm waiting until I get back from christchurch around feb 11th, leaving this wednesday. Can't really ask the housesitter to take care of ANOTHER tank in addition to the 3 tanks, 2 cats and 2 birds.:)

Would feeding the females in the breeding tank then adding the males work?

Hmmm,I had forgot you need to have the water level low.

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I can't seem to find any mesh like you suggest at any garden centers. All I've found is far too big, like 1"+ squares. I might have a look at a craft shop, There's smaller plastic mesh stuff that's used for needlepoint they might have.

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Hi Ira,

Get a net backscubber... or net mop as used in the bathroom or kitchen.

Cut the tie in the centre and unfold.

There's around two metres of mesh here with about 4mm holes, and it is ideal for the purpose.

You could even just drape it in the tank so that it goes just a few inches below the surface. This would save you making the net box up, and would be easier to store.

Looking at the piece I have in my hands right now, it can be easily stretched to over a half metre wide on it's width once the stuff is cut down it's length, as it comes in tube form, and is what was used for the breeding traps my daughter made and I posted about. (see pics on my site)

Any supermarket sells the net mop things, so you should have no probs.

Regards,

Bill (Pegasus)

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Your so right Pegasus, marbles are a big pain in the butt to remove! I noticed eggs yesterday and this morning I noticed a few of the eggs had hatched (that doesn't sound right). Do their egg sacs provide them with enough food for a few days?

I've had a bucket of water with boiled lettuce and some water from a drain that contains water fleas and cyclops amongest other things - this was my attempt at producing 'green' water.

I've seen fry food in a tube at the LFS would this be okay, I don't mind the cost (initially) as this is the first spawning I've had outside of the comm. tank so they might actually stand a chance.

If anybody has some other good ideas for fry food I would really appreciate the help.

Cheers, Kriber

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Hi Kriber,

Most egg layer fry will survive for a while on their egg sac... usually a day or so.

The Daphnia and Cylops will be too big for the fry, but green water is always good as it will contain some infusuria, and the liquid fry food in the tubes is a good substitute.

If you are careful (not to polute the water) a hard boiled egg yolk is ok to feed.

Just mush a very small bit up very finely and swish it in the tank to create a milky feed. Only use a VERY small amount.

The suction from a powerhead, or a good pump may be strong enough to "lift" the marbles out individually without too much disturbance.

Keep us informed :)

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Thanks Pegasus

Think i'll give the egg yolk a try. Currently there's about 10' of water in the tank, should I drop it down a bit. The reason i've kept it basically full is with all the hot weather lately its easier to keep the temp. more stable - dont wont it rising to 29-30 degrees.

A few of the eggs have been attacked by fungi :evil: , will the ones that have hatched be safe from it? There are probably more viable eggs than fry I could raise, what would be the max no. I should try to raise in a 24' 12' 12? :-? The tank has a small double sponge filter.

Cheers, Kriber

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should I drop it down a bit.

If the adults are out of the way, then top the tank up.... no probs :)

A few of the eggs have been attacked by fungi , will the ones that have hatched be safe from it?

Remove the fungused eggs using a piece of air tubing.

Just block the end off, drop the other end in the tank, release the blocked end, then seal again.

The fungused egg will be sucked up.

There are probably more viable eggs than fry I could raise, what would be the max no. I should try to raise in a 24' 12' 12? The tank has a small double sponge filter.

A two foot should provide enough space for the whole batch.

Grow as many on as you can, as the LFS shops will always buy them as they are one of the "bread and butter" lines, meaning they sell a lot of them.

Great stuff Kriber...... What's next on the books :)

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The eye droper from my 1st year biology dissection kit has proved most useful for removing ?fungisised? eggs and other muck. Not that I intend to make millions from selling any fry that survive into adulthood but what sort of money do LFS offer (Around CHCH I've seen them for sale from around $2.60 - $ 6.95). $1, 50c, $20 for a whole bunch?? I'd be interested to hear what shops pay for different species of fish.

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Ha ha.... One thing is for certain, and that is that you will never get rich breeding fish unless you go into it in a big way, or breed top quality hard to breed strains.

You've got to look at it this way....

Any money you make will assist in paying for the food, or helping with the power bills, and every fish you breed is a personal acheivement that you should be proud of.... even if it were just common guppies.

Most shops are fair with what the pay you, and if the fish are of good standard and healthy, then you will have no probs getting rid of your surplus fish.

Other shops prefer to take your fish in trade against goods, but either way, you will gain some benefit from your efforts.

You watch half a dozen guppies get swallowed, by your bigger fish.... an expensive meal, but at the time it seems insignificant, but those six fish could be worth twelve bucks, or a lot more depending on quality.... the price of a couple of tubs of food.

Money in the bank if you do it right..... not a lot... but still money :)

Regards,

Bill (Pegasus)

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Cool is the word :):)

You gotta admit.... It's pretty "cool" seeing those eggs in the bottom of the tank, and pretty "cool" when you see the fry swimming around.

Never fails to excite me.... and I've bred a lotta fish over the years.

Plants it is then.... or perhaps a nice breeding pair of........ (who knows) :)

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What's next? I'll have to wait til i've moved all these on, only got the 1 breeding tank :( Considering I've never had any success breeding fish - before these zebra's I think I've had 2 guppies I'd brought in a pregnant state give birth but none of the fry survived, I better not get too carried away.

Saw some nice swordtails today, I like the ones with the standard body forms, nothing selectively bred to produce weird fins etc so maybe i'll give them a go one day.

Although I suppose you dont really breed swordtails, they just breed themselves!

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