| The Zebra Danio or Zebra Fish, Brachydanio rerio or | | | | The Zebra Fish is reasonably flexible in its water |
| Danio rerio is a very popular aquarium fish which | | | | preferences, but I suggest neutral to slightly alkaline |
| comes from Eastern India and Bangladesh. | | | | water. The hardness does not seem to be critical. |
| This fish is often regarded as a cool water fish, but in | | | | They do not like ammonia or nitrites, so the water |
| fact can survive in water of a very wide range of | | | | should be kept clean and well filtered. |
| temperatures. I have heard reports of them surviving | | | | Food |
| through the winter with pond temperatures as low | | | | The Zebra Fish is very easily fed. They are usually |
| as 4C (3S F). This is the temperature water gets | | | | the first fish to come to the top to eat. It is an |
| under ice. However, I do not recommend them as a | | | | omnivore and will eat any normal fish food. They |
| pond fish for these conditions. At the other extreme, | | | | usually eat at the surface, but are happy enough |
| I have read that they can survive very high | | | | feeding at any level of the aquarium. Catching the |
| temperatures. Again, I would not suggest very high | | | | Zebra Fish |
| temperatures for it. | | | | If you can catch your fish before they are disturbed, |
| In practice the Zebra Danio is happy in either cold | | | | the Zebra Fish is very easy to catch. They will swim |
| water or tropical aquariums. | | | | into the net. However, once they are disturbed they |
| Leopard Danios | | | | are extremely good at evading capture. The |
| The Leopard Danio is sometimes given the scientific | | | | horizontal stripes combined with its speed of |
| name Brachydanio frankei or Danio frankei but is | | | | swimming make seeing it more difficult. |
| probably not a true species, but rather a variation of | | | | Counting |
| the Zebra Danio. It crosses readily with the Zebra | | | | Occasionally an aquarium shop will have a competition |
| Danio producing fertile young. Care of these two fish | | | | to guess the number of fish in an aquarium on |
| is identical. The striped colouration appears to act as | | | | display. The fish chosen is usually the Zebra Fish |
| a dominant single gene to the spotted pattern of the | | | | because they are very difficult to count. |
| Leopard fish. | | | | Breeding |
| Note that hybrids can occur within the genus, but | | | | The Zebra Fish is easily conditioned because they eat |
| they are normally sterile. | | | | so readily. Live daphnia or mosquito larvae (wrigglers) |
| Companions | | | | are good. If these are not available, there are plenty |
| The Zebra Fish grows to about 2 inches (5cm) long | | | | of good dry and frozen foods. I use frozen blood |
| so it is a small fish. It is usually peaceful, but I have | | | | worms. |
| observed enough aggression to class it as slightly | | | | It is an easily bred egg scatterer. They are also avid |
| aggressive, rather than peaceful. It is a strongly | | | | egg eaters. One common way of protecting the |
| schooling fish and, as with most schooling fish, they | | | | eggs is to have the water shallow with marbles or |
| tend to be more likely to be aggressive if there is | | | | small rounded pebbles on the bottom. Most of the |
| less than a school. However, I have known a school | | | | eggs will fall between the stones or marbles and |
| of Zebra Fish attack a Siamese Fighting Fish, so I | | | | have a chance of hatching. |
| would avoid slow moving fish with long fins in with | | | | Increasing the temperature a few degrees will often |
| Zebra Fish. | | | | stimulate spawning. A temperature of about 26 C (78 |
| Suitable companions for the Zebra Fish include White | | | | F) is suitable for spawning the Zebra Fish. Eggs can |
| Cloud Mountain Minnows, most tetras, including Neon | | | | hatch in a day. One female will produce between 200 |
| Tetras, Cardinal Tetras, Glass Bloodfin Tetras, | | | | and 800 eggs, so the eggs and the fry that hatch |
| Emperor Tetras, Black Widow Tetras, small Goldfish | | | | from them are small. |
| and other similar sized fish. | | | | The natural food of the fry is protozoans (Infusoria) |
| I would avoid slow moving, long finned fish like | | | | in the water. This can be supplemented with |
| Guppies, Endlers Guppies and Siamese Fighting Fish. | | | | commercial fry food. Live food is very good including |
| Water | | | | screened daphnia or newly hatched brine shrimp. |