Even a novice aquarist will not be difficult to get the offspring of a zebrafish aquarium fish. Despite the fact that this is not a viviparous fish, but spawning, it will take little time and costs: a small horizontal aquarium, a few plants, pebbles and two weeks of patience.
Danio are small, peaceful schooling fish of the carp family. In nature, they live in flowing or stagnant water bodies of Asia. They can even live in flooded rice fields. They are not demanding on living conditions and are suitable for beginners.
Aquarium zebrafish grow up to 5 cm long, have an oblong body. The color can be of different shades - from whitish to silver, golden, pinkish, depending on the color of narrow longitudinal stripes on a light background. Danio are omnivorous. In aquariums, they usually live for 2 years, sometimes 4-5 years.
Spawning ground preparation
The zebrafish are small, so a glass horizontal container with a volume of only 3-5 liters is suitable as a spawning ground. 3-4 plants are laid out on the bottom, which are pressed down with smooth pebbles. Standing water is poured into the container, with a temperature of 24-25 ° C.
Zebrafish reach maturity at 4-10 months. For better spawning, experts recommend changing up to 20% of the water in the aquarium a week before. Fresh water should be settled and have a cool temperature - about 20 ° C.
Then, 3 days before spawning, females and males are best planted in different aquariums. The female from the male zebrafish is distinguished by a more rounded abdomen and more distinct stripes on the back. During this period, fish are actively fed with high-calorie food, for example, bloodworms or koretra.
On the appointed day, the spawning ground is transferred to a well-lit place and one female with a clearly thickened abdomen at the anus and two or three active male zebrafish are planted in it.
Breeding zebrafish
After landing the fish, spawning occurs the next morning, at dawn, or every other day. It is interesting to observe how the males begin to chase the female and chase her throughout the spawning grounds, striking directly at the belly of the fish. Thus, they stimulate her to release eggs, which are fertilized immediately.
Eggs are gradually, about an hour, settling and attached to the bottom of the spawning ground. After the end of spawning, the zebrafish are transferred to a common aquarium. Pebbles from the bottom of the spawning ground are removed so that the plants emerge. At the same time, transparent egg balls are clearly visible at the bottom.
After 3-5 days, fish appear from the eggs. They grow quite intensively. Youngsters are fed with ciliates, "live dust", special feed for fry.
The female zebrafish lays up to 400 eggs, but no more than 100 fry survive to adulthood. Within a week, the female is again ready for spawning.
