How to Breed a Zebra Danio for Eggs

Seeing fish eggs at the bottom of your tank can be a time of fun anticipation, and zebra danios, or zebrafish, are one of the easiest egg-laying aquarium fish to breed. You might find baby danios swimming around the tank without needing to do anything. As with many other tropical aquarium fish, zebra danios will often eat their eggs and newly-hatched young, so taking a few steps will help the babies survive until they are too large for the adults to eat.

Things You'll Need

  • 20-gallon aquarium
  • Aquarium hood
  • Air pump
  • Marbles
  • Flake tropical fish food
  • Fry food
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Instructions

    • 1

      Set up an aquarium using a tank that holds at least 20 gallons of water to provide plenty of room for zebra danios to swim. Cover the aquarium with a full hood to prevent the danios from jumping out of the tank. Include an air pump but no filter, as it will suck up the eggs and newly-hatched babies, or fry.

    • 2

      Add a layer of glass marbles to the bottom of the tank. Marbles will provide space for the eggs to fall into and prevent adults from eating them. Add plenty of aquarium decorations as hiding places for the fry when they hatch.

    • 3

      Purchase at least six danios as they are shoaling fish and must be kept in groups. Choose a variety of males and females because danios often mate for life. Females are less colorful and have a more rounded appearance than males.

    • 4

      Feed your zebra danios small amounts of flake tropical fish food two to three times daily to avoid overfeeding. Danios also enjoy fresh or freeze-dried tubifex worms.

    • 5

      Inspect the tank for zebra danio eggs that have fallen to the bottom after the male has fertilized them. Look for fry to hatch in about seven days. Feed young fry small amounts of fry food several times daily to encourage quick growth. After a few weeks, feed them crushed, flake fish food.