Breeding Danios and Devarios
There are many ways to breed the Danionins. Bearing in mind, that they are
notorious for eating their own eggs the various methods used, all involve
keeping fish and eggs apart.
It has long been said, that the easiest egglayer to breed, is the Zebra Danio:
Danio rerio. In research institutions the world over, they are bred in vast
quantities. One reason for this is that they are capable of producing at least
three generations per year. So, if you happen to be studying genetics then the
Zebra Danio will give results quite quickly. I know of one research facility
that has in excess of 30,000 Zebra fish at any one time. That's a lot of fish
in a lot of tanks!
So what is the best way to bred Danionins? The short answer is that there is
not a best way just a way that happens to work when you try it.
The first item on the agenda is to find out the differences between male and
female. Generally, the males are the most colourful and are slimmer. Females
when they produce roe, start to become fatter. Having sexed them, what next?
Well as a rule, I always separate males and females and condition them in
separate tanks. Plenty of good live foods – Daphnia, Bloodworm or Mosquito
larvae are all excellent foods. After about two weeks, the breeding process is
ready to commence. Most Danionins will spawn at what we consider quite low
temperatures. Anywhere between 18 and 24°C is fine. A small tank 18 x 10 x
10 inches is set up with part fresh and part ‘stock’ tank water . The next
thing is to decide how to stop eggs and fish being in contact. Many people used
a layer of marbles over the base of the tank. The eggs then fall into the
spaces between the marbles and the fish are unable to eat them. I favour a
different approach. The basket pictured below, is place on the 'side straps' of
an 18 x 10 x 10 inch tank. The water level in the tank is adjusted so that the
fish have about 1 to 1½ inches to swim in. This ensures that they are unable to
eat the eggs. The fish are then placed in the basket – I like to use a ratio of
two males to one female. This gives a better chance of the eggs being
fertilised. It is possible to spawn one male and one female – it's just that
bit more hit and miss!
Usually, they will spawn within 24 hours and you will see the base of the
tank, covered in small clear eggs. If they do not spawn immediately, leave them
for a further 24hours. If they still have not spawned, then return them to
their separate tanks for further conditioning. If the species inhabits fast
flowing waters, it is sometimes an advantage to have a couple of air stones in
the breeding tank to simulate the flow in a stream. Having got the eggs, what
next? First thing is to remove fish and spawning basket. I do not usually
remove any infertile eggs. There are always far too many fertile ones that it
makes little difference. The eggs should hatch within 24 to 36 hours. At that
stage, they will still have their yolk sacs and will rely on that for food for
the next 24 hours or so. During this stage, the fry attach themselves to the
tank sides and cling there. When they have absorbed the yolk sac, they become
free swimming and then require feeding. The best food I have found is ZM
Systems 'Infusoria grade food'. This is a high protein food and is in a very
finely ground state. A little of this, dispersed in water makes and excellent
food for the first few days. At this stage, it is a good idea to add a small
bio sponge filter and a few snails. The snails do a good job in clearing up
uneaten food. As the baby fish grow, they are then introduced to newly hatched
brine shrimp – Artemia nauplii. I feed brine shrimp once a day and dried food
another twice. I now like to start doing daily water changes. About 20 to 25%
is carefully siphoned off from the base of the tank. Check to make sure you
have not caught any fry before throwing the water away. Replace with fresh
water at a similar temperature. As the fry grow, they can be introduced to
other foods, frozen Cyclops, chopped tubifex worms and live Daphnia etc. At
approximately half an inch, they should be moved to larger quarters. The
Danionins are very prolific and it is not unusual to have a spawning of several
hundred fish from two or three females.
Other methods can be used to save the eggs when spawning occurs. Floating
woollen mops are effective , as are mops placed on the floor of the tank.
Plastic mesh – sold in garden centres is excellent. The easiest egg layer to
breed? Possibly but beware those that decide they are not going to oblige so
easily.