The Zebra Danio or Zebrafish is a small dither fish with a light brown body and darker brown/black stripes. These little fish belong to the minnow family and are native to the Himalayan’s.
Tank Requirements
- Community with non-aggressive tank mates.
- They have been known to nip at long-finned fish such as Guppies, Angels & Bettas
- Temperatures between 18°C and 24°C
- Water between pH 6.4 and pH 7.0
- A school of at least 5 fish is desirable
- Lots of live plants & driftwood are preferred with some open swimming room too
- Minimum of 25 gallons (80 litres) per school
- These fish can do well in cold water as well as tropical waters
Temperament wise, these fish are about as docile as you can get but due to their small size, they are best kept with smaller, non-aggressive fish.
They are busy little fish and will spend the majority of their time cruising up and down your tank and maybe having a bit of a chase around with each other. One of their favourite things to do at feeding time is to grab the biggest chunk of food and swim around with it in their mouths.
Feeding
- These are omnivores
- They will eat pretty much anything that is put in the tank.
- They are fairly fast eaters and will gorge themselves if given the opportunity.
- Flake food, live food, pellets, frozen food are all readily accepted.
Male & Female Zebra Danio
Size: Maximum length 6cm
Colour: Brown base with dark brown/black stripes. These fish are also available as albino’s, long-finned, “glo-fish” colours & golden.
Sexing: Males tend to be slimmer, the females tend to have a more rounded belly. Though they can be tricky to sex, they are very easy to breed in captivity and are prolific egg layers.
Personal Review
The Zebra Danio is a true beginners fish. They are easy to care for, hardy and very active throughout your tank. Being peaceful and adaptable to a wide range of tank parameters, it is easy to see why they are a hobby favourite.
I like that they are active, and easy but, I just wish they had a bit more flare about them. A bit more colour on them and they would make the perfect dither fish. I do like the look of the long-finned versions of these fish and if I were to buy any more Zebrafish, I would by them rather than the standard ones, just to add something a bit different.
They are very easy to breed, which new hobbyists in particular, enjoy watching and trying to raise the fry. They are bold and confident in the aquarium and make a great addition, but in my humble opinion they don’t look half as nice as a Rummy-Nose Tetra and for that reason alone, I wouldn’t add any more to my tank. I would rather have the Rummies in there!
