How to Breed Zebra Fish
These are a perennially popular fish and are named for the stripes running the length of their body. They are happiest in groups and love to zoom around the tank, continually on the move. They can be bred in community tanks quite readily, but egg and fry survival is much better in a separate breeding tank.
Step by Step Breeding Zebra Fish
First, we should start with the water chemistry, because this is obviously very important to the fish. This species are tolerant of water temperature and conditions. However, for breeding purposes, it is best to maintain a PH of 6.6, but no higher than 6.8. As for the temperature, you should keep it between 78 and 82 degrees F.
What about sexing the zebra fish? Obviously, this is just as important. Males have blue and gold stripes while females have blue and silver stripes, but it takes quite a close look to distinguish them. Other distinguishing signs are that the females have a body that is more compressed looking. They also have an extra girth at their abdomen when they have eggs. The males have an appearance that is more streamlined.
Now, we are going to look at conditioning the breeders. It is important that you feed them a variety of flake and live food anywhere from three to five times each day until you notice the females are ripe with eggs. This could take up to three weeks. Then it is time to transfer the breeding pair, if using a separate breeding tank. Often breeders will use two males to one female that is egg rich. Having this type of ratio will make sure the eggs get fertilized.
Spawning Zebra Fish
Spawning typically occurs at daybreak, so the best time form the transfer is late in the evening. Some breeders position the tank so that it will get early morning sun light to facilitate spawning.
Setting up a Breeding Tank
When setting up the breeding tank, a five and a half gallon tank with a twenty five watt heater will be quite suitable. You should also have air stone that is supplied with air coming from a vibrator pump. Don't set the air stone up until after the fish have laid eggs. Make sure you include enough marbles on the bottom of the tank. The marbles should be two and a half inches deep going across the entire tank bed. The marbles will protect the eggs from being eaten, as they sink down between them where they are safe from hungry fish.
Once the tank has been properly conditioned, the fish should breed after a couple of days. If they do not start to breed, then you should raise the temperature by a couple of degrees. You may also want to change five percent of the water in the tank. If they still haven't started, then change another five percent of the water and put the temperature to eighty two. On the third day, if breeding still hasn't started, then only change five percent of the water and don't raise the temperature.
Following these simple procedures, you will find that breeding zebra fish is not only quite easy to do but also very captivating.
How to Breed Zebra Fish Article by: Ezinearticles
