Things You'll Need
- Strong piece of furniture or aquarium stand
- 40-gallon aquarium
- Aquarium gravel
- Two pieces of driftwood
- Three to four round, river stones
- Chlorine neutralizer
- Hook on external filter
- Filter floss
- Nylon bag of activated carbon
- Bio balls
- Aquarium heater
- Test kit to measure pH of the water
- PH booster agent
- Ten aquatic plants
- Plastic peg
- High quality flake food
Instructions
Source a strong piece of furniture on which to place your aquarium. Alternately, place the aquarium on a tank stand level. Position your aquarium away from drafts and windows which receive full sun light. Strong sun causes unwanted algae growths.
Place a 1-inch thick layer of pre-rinsed, aquarium gravel onto the bottom of the tank. Slope the gravel from back too front. Debris will work its way down this natural slope and accumulate along the front glass, where it can be easily siphoned out.
Place three or four rounded, river stones and two attractively shaped pieces of driftwood, onto the gravel.
Fill the aquarium with tap water. Pour the water slowly onto the pieces of driftwood, to prevent disturbing the gravel. Add four teaspoons of aquarium chlorine neutralizer to the water.
Set the thermostat on an aquarium heater to between 65 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Slide the heater into its holder and use the adhesive suction cups to secure it to the aquarium glass. Turn on the heater.
Place filter floss into the mechanical compartment of a hang on, external filter. Put a nylon bag containing activated carbon into the chemical compartment of the hang on filter and fill the biological compartment with bio balls.
Position the hang on filter onto the rim of the aquarium and turn on the filter.
Test the pH of your water with a dip and read test kit. Add a pH booster agent to achieve a pH of 5.0 to 7.0.
Place ten, tall aquatic plants along the back wall of the aquarium. Hide the plastic pots in which the plants are planted, behind the driftwood. Leave the front open for these fast swimming little fishes.
Open and secure the plastic bag in which your zebra danios arrive, to the rim of the aquarium with a plastic peg. Add a quarter of a cup of aquarium water to the bag every 15 to 20 minutes, to acclimatize your fishes to the specific chemistry of their new aquarium.
Catch your zebra danios in a net and place them into the aquarium. Discard the water from the travelling bag.
Feed the zebra danios a high quality flake food on a daily basis. Feed only that amount, which the fish will easily consume in a five minute period. Supplement the daily flake food with a pinch of mosquito larvae, three times a week.