No community fish tank should be without a few of these fish. They are extremely hardy, colourful, and constantly active. They grow to about 1.5" And they are undemanding, and will accept a wide range of temperatures. But extremes of pH and hardness should be avoided. They will eat and thrive on any good quality flake food, although they should be given the occasional treat in the form of bloodworms or Daphnia.
Photo By Pete
(Pete says trying to photogragh these fish with a digital camera. Is like trying to nail jelly to the ceiling, lol)
These fish make a very good first egg layer for the novice fish breeder, because their requirements are very easily met. I have bred these fish accidentally, just by maintaining them at a temperature of 80 f. with no special feeding or conditioning. and in the presence of other fish, even under these circumstances a few of the fry made it to adulthood. But to breed these fish properly a little bit of preparation is required, this is as follows.
First of all, separate the males and females. They are easily told apart because the females are slightly bigger and the much fuller than the males, you should select two females and three or four males.The simplest way to separate the fish is to use a tank divider. Set the temperature to between 80 and 84 degrees Fahrenheit, and feed the fish with extra live food, or its frozen equivalent. (I have found one of the best conditioning foods available is freeze dried tubifex worms). Maintain the fish like this for you between five and seven days. Make sure the floor of the aquarium is covered in marbles (if you can get them) or failing this, small round pebbles. This is because the eggs are none adhesive and will fall between the marbles or pebbles, and will be safe from the parents, who would otherwise eat them. A bunch of plants should also be included, as this will act as a focus point, when the fish begin spawning.
After about one week, remove the tank divider, and allow the fish to mix, spawning should take place over the next few days. There is no rush to remove the parents because the eggs should be quite safe on the floor of the aquarium out of reach of the parents. It is best to allow all the breeding fish time to recuperate before returning them to their tank. At this stage a mature sponge filter should be introduced into the tank containing the eggs. And then it is just a matter of waiting.
After about six days, the young fry will be seen clinging into the sides of the aquarium, they will make short swims and cling on again. At this stage they should be fed using a prepared liquefied food. They should only be fed very small amounts but quite regularly. After a few days you could start to feed, finely ground flake food (use of one of the manufactured brands not one of your own, because the properly manufactured one will be of a finer consistency then you can make it yourself). The young fish will grow rapidly, by about three months of age they should be ready for selling.
Most aquarium outlets should be happy to take these popular aquarium fish. But keep a few for your own aquarium, and discover the immense satisfaction of having your own home grown fish in your community tank. Once you have discovered this, you will need no another incentive to progress further in this hobby.
Most other Danios can be bred in exactly the same way.
Back To Novice Selection
