Pet Talk - Zebra Danio


Animal-World Information about: Zebra Danio

   The Zebra Danio is a deservedly popular aquarium fish for its charm, grace, and above all hardiness!
Latest Comments
Doug - 2009-03-13
Don't know why it's not on here but zebra danios will kill neon tetras. I have had fish for 15yrs & every time I put zebras in my tank they kill my neons. It's happened 6 differnt times. Has anyone else had this problem?

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  • chad - 2010-02-19
    I have 4 glofish and one zebra danio. I recently added one glow light tetra and it was very calm. I thought these fish would get along, but now two days after I buy the tetra; I come home and my glofish had killed my tetra.
  • Gord - 2010-04-21
    I have had the same experience. I have introduced neons to a community of danios and bloodfins twice, and the neons disappeared within a two or three weeks. I would advise against trying to house them together.
  • caity - 2010-05-24
    eeee really I have not got them yet but I am getting soon. Do the zebra danios eat the neon tetras I have them :(
  • lps - 2010-07-25
    I'm having that same exact problem! How do I stop it from happening?!
  • w. r - 2011-01-16
    Yes, I first started my new tank with 1 zebra danio and yesterday I bought a neon tetra soonest I put it in the tank the zebra started to chase him, I return it to the store and came with another zebra and the biggest one started to chase the small zebra, are this fish crazy or what?, I think that they might need xanax.
  • Alden Finnie - 2011-09-10
    Wow, That's weird. I have 18 neon Tetras and 6 Zebra Danios. They get along fine and it's been 8 months. The Danios only seem to harmlessly bother each other. Chasing each other in a big circle around a rock.
    Thanks though. I'll keep an eye on them.
  • carla - 2011-09-15
    Hi I would just like to say that I disagree with you, as I have danios and tetra living together, and have had no problems. They are highly compatable. Mine have been living together for over 6 months and are very happy together,
  • Toby Jungle - 2011-09-15
    You can have two different kinds of fish, dogs, cats, humans and they can live in the same vacinity for months or even years. It does not mean that at some time, one human or dog or cat will not hurt the other. Much depends on and set up of the tank. If you have 2 danios and 2 tetras in a 1000 gallon tank - vs a 1 gallon. There are only "better chances" that two types of fish will get along. There are many variables - size of tank, plants, type of fish, size of fish, sex of fish, individual fish, conditions of tank --- There are natural predators and community fish but even if community fish - no guarantee that anything will get along. You get as much information as you can and take the best shot you have.
  • Anonymous - 2011-10-18
    We have had 2 danios in with our tetras for over a year and there has been no problem. The male danio chases the female and the tetra very aggressively, but that is all.
  • Kim - 2011-12-01
    I have 8 big zebra danios and I had 24 neon tetras, I now have 7 neons left! I had never thought of this before, but they are the only fish big enough to eat the neons, so it has to be them! Damn it they have decimated the neons, going to have to sell the danios I think.
  • Tanya Altice - 2012-02-20
    When I had my tank I learned that a) you have to provide schools for each fish danios like at least 5 like fish in the tank. Neons like even more than that. b) generally you buy neons very small! and and small new fish don't do well with established bigger fish. So I would say get a small 5gal tank and set it up for a school of about 8 neons and let them get bigger than what you normaly buy them. Then put them in your tank with the others and give your danios some friends to play with so they will leave the others alone. Also neons aren't very hardy. I have had several trips around and around with neons where they simply die within a week of buying them. So be prepared to spend some time building a good school of neons.
  • Alonzo T. Fells II - 2012-04-15
    I have to disagree with that. I had group of 5 zerbra danios and they never had bother the neon or the rest of mine tetras. Yea, a little bit of fish nipping but they play tag with mine rams lol
  • Maeve - 2012-05-20
    Oh, really? I didn't know that. Do danios get along with goldfish?
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Maeve - 2012-05-20
I have heard about them being agressive and that they eat alot, but i found that out after i had bought him. It seem to eat a lot of tubiflex so i let him eat alot of that. But he doesnot eat much of the flake food i give him. I have an oranda and 2 platties in my tank as well as him though 1 of the platties is in a breeding net as she is pregnant. I have seen no signs of him showing agression to the others. Will he get more agressive soon or what? I do not know what to do! Plz help!

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Kevin LoPresti - 2012-04-12
Not so. I have Zebra Danios and they do not even bother the Neons. They do not bother any of the other fish not even the Guppies. That person may not feed his Danios enough food. You should feed them several times a day in small portions.

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  • Jeremy Roche - 2012-04-13
    Zebras Danios are pretty peaceful. They do nip fins at times but other then that are very easy going little fish. Their fast group swimming can however stress other fish out.
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Steeport - 2011-12-10
i just started and i have 3 zebra daino and 3 lepeord daino as any one got any suggestions on what fish i should add to my tank

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  • nm123 - 2011-12-16
    maybe some plecos and evan long and short finned anglefish can be mixed with them
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daniel - 2011-02-22
Is there a certain time in the year for which I should set up a zebra danio breeding tank and will I be able to see the eggs or fry?

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  • nm123 - 2011-11-02
    The answer to your qustion is you will be able to see the eggs and fry
    and acording to where they live it would probably be a good idea to mimic there natural enviorment so they feel more used to there surroundings.

    Here is a tip on zeabra danio breeding one is make sure its a spacious tank this is where they feel most safe.

    your welcome


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Anonymous - 2010-03-06
How much do you have to feed them per day ?

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  • Sean - 2010-11-21
    A lot, if you don't feed them enough they will defend any available food on the bottom of the tank and kill any weak counterparts for food, which I have noticed by losing a fish per weekend we have been away.
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Sean - 2010-11-21
I HAD 5 Zebras, yes they are flashy, energetic, and fun to watch. I recently read a comment about them killing neon tetras and didn't believe it. The last 3 weekends we have been staying away for a night and each Saturday we returned home I had a dead fish. The first being a danio, the second being another danio, and this last saturday, my biggest female neon.I noticed that the Zebras are VERY aggressive feeders and they consume more than any of the other species in my tank. I have concluded while we were away everyone was picking the bottom of the tank and the Zebra's survival instincts said to defend any available food. Keep your Zebras fed, fish-heads!

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The Crazy Fish Lady - 2010-10-08
I have three males of these currently in a ten gallon with some young goldfish. They are so energetic and I love their games of "tag." They play with the goldfish even! They were a great choice for my tank, because of the fact that they have caused my goldfish to become more active. I have had them for a few months now and they are no longer afraid of me coming up to the tank and are actually very affectionate. Maybe they caught on from the goldfish? Either way, they are a happy and healthy family.

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Holly - 2007-01-01
MY EXPERIENCE WITH SPAWNING THE ZEBRA DANIO: Hi..i bought 10 Zebra danios at walmart along with 2 giant danios less than a week ago. They are in a 55 gallon tank with plenty of water current from two power filters (aqua-tech and whisper) and an air pump(whisper) with an airstone and bubble wall. They are in there to help cycle the tank( you can cycle your tank three ways: chemical cycling, fishless cycling, and you can cycle with fish. I absolutely love my little danios! they are extemely playful even with the giant danios who are nearly twice their size! I have at least 4 females and i believe 6 males. Also when i brought them home I found out i had a little leopard danio mixed in with them. They sometimes pick on him it seems, but other than that they all get along just snazzy! And much to my excitement they spawned once already! On 12-30-06 and i bought them on 12-26-06, 4 days in the tank! The tank temperature is set on 80 or 81 (this is a tad high for this species of fish, but they all are happy and healthy). I also use about 1 rounded tablespoon of salt per 5 gallons of water and Novaqua. Some websites and books that I`ve read say unless its absolutely necessary, you should never add salt to freshwater aquariums. But salt helps fish in alot of different ways so i added it. When i purchsed my zebra`s from walmart they had some scales missing and a few scrapes due to the less than great conditions of the tanks and the fact that they were very over crowded (think 50 fish in a ten gallon). But within days the scales had grown back and the scrapes had completely healed up not to mention they felt so good they spawned!
Spawning activity usually occurs around daybreak first thing in the morning and mine lasted the rest of the day. Several males would eagerly follow the "chosen" female swimming very close beside her.(Not all of my females spawned and not all of them looked interested in spawning either even though their fellow tank mates surely were) Zebra danios will often choose mates and will usually only spawn with their mates. They do not however form the close bond that some other fish species do. Well the chosen male (usually chosen by the female or the only male with enough energy left to still chase the female) and the female would swim to the bottom of the tank around the base of some of the plastic plants or in a slight depression in the gravel..and then they would get very very close together and swim quickly in circles the female depositing her eggs and the male fertilizing them. I saw this happen many times in a single day. Fortunately( as i dont know what i would do with hundreds of babies!) they polished off all of their eggs. If i really wanted to raise zebra danios i would separate the sexes and condition them on live foods for several days in seperate tanks. Crank the heat up to atleast 80 degrees F and when the females are really plump, put the conditioned sexes together in a 10+ gallon aquarium with a bed of good sized marbles in the bottom. (Not to big or else the parents can get stuck trying to eat their young, but not too small because the eggs and fry then cant escape their parents). Add a sponge filter (sponge filters will grow rotifers that the fry can eat on their surface AND they wont suck up the fry OR cause turbulence in the water). Dont use sponge filters for anything other than breeding/fry tanks or hospital tanks because they tend to clog easily and just work better in those types of tanks were you cant use much else.
So, add a sponge filter and some live or plastic plants (If you use live plants it may up your chances of getting a good spawn. There are microscopic one-celled organisms(protozoa) that live in and around plants that your babies most likely will eat). You will need to either use brights lights on the tank for atleast 12 hours or use some very hardy low-light plants like java moss or java fern. Also you dont necessarily HAVE to use an aquarium. Those big clear plastic storage tubs you can buy at any dollar store or walmart will work just as well. just follow the same principles and make sure to rinse it out well before using it and punch some holes in the top for air. Add you male and female danios the night before you want them to spawn and feed them once before you turn their lights out.
Wake up the next morning and sit back and watch the action (hopefully)! After you see the spawning winding down or that afternoon remove the parents. To feed the fry you neednt go to extremes as you would with anabantids or other small fish species. Tiny micro-organisms (infusoria) arent really needed with egglayers like zebra danios as they are with most of the anabantids for a fry food. Most danio fry emerge large enough to eat finely crushed flake food or you could even try that commercial fry food(i've never tried it and i would be iffy about using it, just crush your flakes). Baby brine shrimp can also be fed but they arent necessary. Sit back and watch your babies grow!
P.S.
Hopefully this will work for you too! ^.^

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  • Kevin - 2010-08-15
    Hello Holly,
    Nice article, with my zebras spawning as you said they will spawn at daylight, after spawning i wait about 2 days than i will siphon the bottom of the tank into a white bowl, i will change about 2 gal of water every other day, every time i siphon i find about 10 fry in the siphon bowl, i than place them in a 2 gal tank with an air stone, i feed the fry wardly small fry liquid for a week than switch to frozen baby brine and the HBH baby bites, after about a month i have about 40 fry, i tranfer the bigger ones in a separate tank until big enough to put in fishtank, im still getting fry everytime i siphon tank, but be careful as they are so small you can overlook them, and repeat the growing cycle, this is working well for me
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stephen - 2010-07-13
So far I have 6 zebra danios. My 10g tank is about 1.5 months old right now. I have also put a live streaming webcam on them, check it out if you like!

http://www.stephencarr.net/fish_tank_web_cam.php

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