Zebra Danio Fry Advice

Hi

I was looking at my tank today and saw one tiny little fry. In the tank I have platies, guppies, WCMM, zebra and leopard danios, dojo loaches and amano shrimp. It doesn't look like a livebearer fry, is quite darkly coloured and fast and I've heard dojo loaches are very difficult to breed so I've decided it's a zebra danio. The zebra danios seem to lay eggs every week but I think they always get eaten.

I've put it in a tub (about 0.5 gallons) of tank water. I don't have a spare heater or filter. I've put it on top of the tank so it gets warmed up a bit by the lights.

Any tips on feeding?
Any tips on general care?
I know they are schooling fish so will it be stressed alone?
Could I put it in with my goldfish fry which hatched today in a 5 gallon tank?

I will update this thread with pictures as it grows.

Thanks in advance

 

I do not know about the goldfish, I would go to Wal-Mart or your local fish store and by a breeder net, they are like 5 bucks, and feed it crushed flakes/pellets. I would raise it alone but put in hiding places so it feels comfortable and when it gets big enough to live with your other fish add it back in

 

I am currently raising up zebra danio fry!

You can feed them fry food, crushed flakes, crushed fish food, etc. I feed mines crushed bottom dweller food.

They'll be fine by itself. They are still little, so doesn't really matter, IMO.

 

Platy and guppy fry can look dark, by the way

If it is a zebra danio, same care as livebearer fry. Feed very small, crushed up flakes.

It'll be fine alone for a while.

Not sure if goldfish fry will grow faster than it, and they they might try to eat it as they get bigger.

 

I do not know about the goldfish, I would go to Wal-Mart or your local fish store and by a breeder net, they are like 5 bucks, and feed it crushed flakes/pellets. I would raise it alone but put in hiding places so it feels comfortable and when it gets big enough to live with your other fish add it back in

I have breeder nets but it is so small that it would easily swim through the gaps

I am currently raising up zebra danio fry!

You can feed them fry food, crushed flakes, crushed fish food, etc. I feed mines crushed bottom dweller food.

They'll be fine by itself. They are still little, so doesn't really matter, IMO.

Cool!

I tried to feed it some flakes crushed up really tiny but it didn't seem hungry

Platy and guppy fry can look dark, by the way

If it is a zebra danio, same care as livebearer fry. Feed very small, crushed up flakes.

It'll be fine alone for a while.

Not sure if goldfish fry will grow faster than it, and they they might try to eat it as they get bigger.

Yeah it's mostly the size and shape that makes me think it's not a livebearer fry. It looks nothing like my platy or guppy fry.


How long until it needs some other danio buddies?

 

I've had Zebra fry before - they are very thin ( hair like ) with 2 eye balls. The best thing for them is if you can put in a mesh breeder ( not the plastic breeders ) inside the tank they were born in. This way they will be protected and be in a cycled tank. They are very delicate at this point and you don't want to upset their environment too much.
As other have pointed out, crushed flakes is good. You could even take a shrimp pellet or algae wafer and crush it with the back of a spoon.

 

Does the fry look like this:

The first few days, my zebra fry didn't seem hungry too. But, later when they grew a bit larger, I can see them eating it.

Do they seem to swim through the flakes?

 

This is what my 1 day old platy fry looked like:

 

I've had Zebra fry before - they are very thin ( hair like ) with 2 eye balls. The best thing for them is if you can put in a mesh breeder ( not the plastic breeders ) inside the tank they were born in. This way they will be protected and be in a cycled tank. They are very delicate at this point and you don't want to upset their environment too much.
As other have pointed out, crushed flakes is good. You could even take a shrimp pellet or algae wafer and crush it with the back of a spoon.

It is so small it could just swim through the holes in the breeder net.

Does the fry look like this: zebra danio fry - Google Search

The first few days, my zebra fry didn't seem hungry too. But, later when they grew a bit larger, I can see them eating it.

Do they seem to swim through the flakes?

Yep it looks like that.

No it didn't go near the food

 

This is what my 1 day old platy fry looked like:
View attachment 284662

Yeah I'm raising platy fry at the moment, it doesn't look anything like them

 

It is so small it could just swim through the holes in the breeder net.


Yep it looks like that.

No it didn't go near the food

Even the breeder net like the one I have in the previous picture? Is that the one you have? The netting is super small.......

 

Even the breeder net like the one I have in the previous picture? Is that the one you have? The netting is super small.......

I'll have a good look in the morning. If it looks big enough I'll put it in a breeder net.

 

Congratulations! Zebra danios are fun to raise! Hope you find some more.
I had surprise fry awhile back - they are 2 years old now

 

Thanks everyone for the help, I really appreciate it

 

Even the breeder net like the one I have in the previous picture? Is that the one you have? The netting is super small.......

I had a look today. He would definitely swim right through it. He's a thin as a hair with a slightly wider head. Now that I think about it he swam through one of the breeder nets when I was trying to catch him. He's a lot smaller than platy or guppy fry.

 

Wow! Your breeder must be much bigger than the net one I have because I had my zebra's in mine. I wonder if you can get some mesh stuff at the craft store and put it around the breeder? You know, like the stuff they use for bridal decorations or something?????

 

I might be able to get some

Here's a picture of the little guy

 

Yeah mine were like hair with eye balls! So cute!!! they would turn sideways and disappear!

 

Yeah, those look like zebra danio fry!

Are the crushed flakes like powder? Maybe the crushed flakes are too big for the fry.

 

Yeah, those look like zebra danio fry!

Are the crushed flakes like powder? Maybe the crushed flakes are too big for the fry.

Yeah, what I did was I crushed the flakes into a powder then mixed into a bit of tank water so it was like a liquid for him.

 

Please help!

I cleaned out the filter and found many more (around 60) fry living in the filter. I upgraded the tank. Split them up into separate tanks. I have been doing 50% water changes daily. I feed them 3 times a day and remove uneaten food an hour after feeding. All 3 tanks had 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 10ppm nitrate.
This past week 3-6 have died every day! I added an airstone to every tank but more seem to die when there is an airstone than when there isn't one. How do I save them? I am really really upset by this.

 

It may just be the fry. Some fail to thrive.

 

I have about 10 left. Really sad that this has happened.

 

Sorry for your unfortunate loss

 

Thanks aquatickeeper

I expected them to be reasonably hardy for fry as the adults are very hardy and tough