Bad Luck with Zebra danio Breeding

[Dr Peter Cattin]

Hi John,

You are getting a good bit of  advice from all around the place.  For 
my tuppence worth, I would suggest the following. Your breeding 
tank should only be a litre or so or the females will our run the 
males. You need a screen 3 - 4 mm porosity) to allow the eggs to 
fall out of the main body of water, away from the adults, or they will 
be eaten very quickly. A couple of males to 3-4 females works well. 
Remember the ovarian cycle of the females is about a week so 
don't try to re-spawn females inside 7 days. If you want to get real 
techo, elevate the water of the fish 2 degrees for 2 days pre spawn 
i.e. from 26 degrees C to 28 degrees C using a standard water 
bath.  This makes a huge difference especially to reluctant 
spawners such as some of the strains and ENU mutagenised 
females. Ensure good water quality and a good live feed - Artemia 
is great, for a week before spawning.  

I assure you - it all gets very simple and routine after a bit!!!!

Regards,


Peter Cattin

--
Peter Cattin PhD
Division of Molecular Medicine
Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences
University of Auckland
Park Road, Grafton, Auckland.
Private bag 92019, Auckland,
New Zealand.

Tel: +64-9-373-7599 xtn. 6373
Fax: +64-9-373-7492

John Bignell wrote:

> I set up two 5g tanks with males and females separated, after five
> days I moved the 5 males into the 4 female tank.. I did this at
> night time and covered the tank till I got up the next day. But I
> didn't notice any eggs or mating, after five hours I moved the males
> out and left my biggest female ( about 3-5cm) in the breeding tank.
> how long should I wait till I try again and should I only place one
> male back in with her or 3 males........
>
> Any suggestion will be of great help......the easiest egg layer is
> give me so many problems :)
>
> thanks for your time
>
> John
>