Zebra danios mating?

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f1shy

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 24, 2012
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My adult zebra danios keep fighting all over the tank and it looks really bad. Is this a mating ritual or something? One keeps brutally DESTROYING the other one. The male has been chasing the females for 2 weeks now. Now he's fighting with the older female. Can I please have info on their breeding habits and what to do and if they are breeding? He's going more insane than any other fish I have ever seen. He's splashing water because the fight is so intense. Now he also likes to chase EVERY female in the tank. Any help is great! Thanks in advance!
 
f1shy
Hi...
Zebra Danios are schooling fish & if you only have a couple of them you probably have aggression. :nutkick:
I recommend getting a few more (:mwave:) to see if the bullying stops. :popcorn:
If the one remains a bully :devil: after adding the new zebras you can rehome him or move him into his own tank.:cry:

Good Luck
Jill :feedback:
 
How many do you have? If you have less then 4, expect a lot of nipping. Danios prefer to be in groups of 6 or more.

I've bred Danios before and the hardest part is collecting eggs. If you really want to have Danio fry, you should setup a barebottom tank for them to breed in. The first stage of the process is the male picks a "spot" in the tank and guards its from other males. He will try to lure the female to the spot or if they swim by, display to them to lure them in. If the female is interested, she will follow the male and he will kind of "wrap" around her, releasing her eggs. You will be able to see them scatter everywhere. They will do this a few times. Also when Danios are ready to breed they will display their barbels, which are very tiny and hard to see.
 
If indeed you did want to breed them i would set up a seperate tank with marbles as substrate big help because they eat their own eggs......i noticed my male turned a slight pinkish color before mating and would pin the female into a corner to get her to breed.......been a few years tho so trying to go from memory.... i had two successful breedings but he never went for another female....just the one
 
I remember reading somewhere that Zebra Danios actually pair up and mate for life. I had a school of ten and my Leopard female would always pair off with the same Leopard/Zebra cross male. She had 4 other males to choose from but it was always him. Had the same amount as females to males.

I always kept them in barebottom and removed them after spawning, so they wouldn't eat the eggs but putting in large rocks or marbles is a good idea. I also put in Flame moss for the babies to hide in. Good luck!
 
Ok I think they are still trying to breed because he is still chasing her, I have 6 zebra danios so schooling is ok there. Thanks for the info about the marbles. I'm going to buy a new tank soon if this continues any longer. What's a good size tank for the fry until I can put them in the normal tank? Any good food suggestions for them?
 
Ok I think they are still trying to breed because he is still chasing her, I have 6 zebra danios so schooling is ok there. Thanks for the info about the marbles. I'm going to buy a new tank soon if this continues any longer. What's a good size tank for the fry until I can put them in the normal tank? Any good food suggestions for them?

A ten gallon tank should be able to house all the fry until their able to go into a tank with other fish, a five gallon could also work if there's fewer fry
 
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