I've only recently 're-started' my aquarium hobby after many, many years, and I was in the process of populating my 50-gallon freshwater community tank with fish I'm familiar with. When I bought the Zebras, they were the last 3 left in the store. I thought 2 of them looked fat (they couldn't possibly be pregnant? could they?). So I knew I possibly had 2 females and a male.

Next morning, I knew I had 2 females and a male and that the females were pregnant. The male was chasing and nudging (not pecking) one of the females all over the tank. My Swordtails and Angels were happily nibbling at their tails, which meant they were probably eating the Zebra's eggs. So I hurriedly took out the other female and placed her in a 2.5 gallon tank which I had been readying for a pregnant Swordtail.

I later introduced the male into the 2.5 gallon tank, and he started to chase and nudge her, too. After about an hour I came back to find the female nipping and chasing the male! I took out the male and returned him to the community tank. The female remained fat so I assumed the breeding was unsuccessful.

I tried reintroducing the male a few days later, but she again chased him all over the tank. Then I read somewhere that these guys were loyal to their mates so I thought that must be it. I also read somewhere that I should be introducing the males right before sunset, and that I should use a ratio of 2 males per female. I soon found some other stores selling Zebras. Unfortunately, all seemed smaller than my female. I also read somewhere that the biggest Danio dominates and bullies the smaller Danios in the tank (whew... I really love the Internet!).

Anyhow, I ended up introducing 3 males in the tank with her late one afternoon. She was soon chasing and bullying all 3 like before and I just about gave up. Next morning, the female was being chased and nudged by all 3 males in the tank. Her body seemed to have deflated so I assumed everything went well. By the way, as suggested, I had previously covered the bottom of the tank with marbles so that the eggs would fall between the marbles and not be eaten by the parents.

I returned the female into my community tank, while I placed the males into another 15 gallon tank. After about 2 days, the sides of my 2 gallon tank was dotted with vertical dashes. They were freely swimming a day after.

Infusoria

I put some lettuce leaves in a jar, and covered them with boiling water. I let the whole thing cool, and then I added some water from the overhead filter receptacle of my main tank. Most books tell you to get water from a pond, but we don't have any ponds nearby, so I figured the filter was a good place to look for micro-organisms. I left the jar in a sunny spot. After a day the mixture starts to get cloudy. This cloudy part contains the micro-organisms that the fry can feed on. I normally use a medicine dropper to transfer this stuff to the aquarium. (Warning: this stuff can stink after a few days so keep it outdoors! Or else have several cultures running so you can dump a batch when it starts to stink.)

Feeding Frequency

Yeah, frequent small feedings seem to be the right way to do it, but I'm at work weekdays. Tsk...tsk... I'll know in a few days.

Hi-Fins

The parents weren't hi-fins, but who knows, some hi-fins may have crossed their breed and I just might find some in the brood. I hope!

Whew! Can't believe I wrote this much. Oh, one final bit of news: The other female seems ready to spawn again!

Lorenzo Enriquez
Metro Manila, Philippines