Tragic lessons for baby Zebra Danios

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TML29

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Jan 11, 2007
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Missouri
So I believe our ignorance that killed all but one baby Zebra Danios. Probably not useful for a lot of you but for those who are keeping Zebra for the first time and do not have a lot of experience, you may find a couple of new things if you read on. Here's what has happened so far.

About over a week ago I spotted a bunch tiny baby Zebra Danios in my 10g tank which was solely occupied by 6 Zebra Danios. The first count was 5 so instantly I knew that a majority of them had been sucked in the filter and suffered a rather unpleasant death. The rest were probably hiding from their own cannibal parents who seemed to have a hard time distinguishing their own babies from flake food (!!!). Immediately I turned off the filter, which for some reason freaked all the Zebras out to no end. Carefully we then transfered all the babies we found to a vase (that's the best we got at the time) by sucking them out with a tube. One of them broke his body in half as he fell from the tube in to the vase and subsequently became the next casualty. The rest (6 of them) made it safely.

Over the next few days we kept feeding them crushed flake food and did small water changes. They appeared happy after 2 days of being timid. Most started swiming around and making noises (alright, you got me there!). The next day we decided that the vase was too small for the babies so we went to Pet Smart and got a betta bowl for them, plus some baby fish food and a bag of white gravel (yep, this one is the fatal one!)

We once again faced the task of transferring the babies with a little tube. However, with a bit more experience, nobody got hurt this time. An hour later one of them started floating up side down. Further examination confirmed that he was in fact now in a better place. I guess we had not recycled enough water from the vase so the bowl was full of fresh water, causing the shock of moving. An hour later 4 of them just disappeared into thin air. Thinking they were probably just hiding, we were concerned but managed to keep our patience. Yesterday, we finally found out what happened to those 4. One of them got down the gravel, unable to find his way back up, drowned. The rest were probably suffered the same fate. Only one is now left alive in the bowl. We're keeping our fingers scrossed.

We had been so happy because of the new experience and the fact that we somehow saved them from their parents. Now we are just sad and disappointed. So my conclusion here is: minimize moving, keep water change contant but limited amount, and of course gravel is the old mean DEVIL.
 

daayda3

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Sep 21, 2006
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I am very sorry for the ones that died, but its great that you saved the one! It must be cute:D
 

TML29

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Jan 11, 2007
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Missouri
One of them got down the gravel, unable to find his way back up, drowned. The rest were probably suffered the same fate. QUOTE]

You do know that fish have gills and don't breathe fresh air. I think it's impossible to drown a fish. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm not an expert here either but I think they use their gills to extract oxygen from water. If the amount of oxygen is poor, they will have to swim to the surface to get more.
 

TML29

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Jan 11, 2007
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Missouri
I am very sorry for the ones that died, but its great that you saved the one! It must be cute:D
They were :( cute. We actually liked them a lot better than the adult Zebras. The way the moved was adorable.
 

daayda3

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Sep 21, 2006
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Aww, thats sweet:D
Perhaps, when he is old enough to stay still long enough, could you get a pic.? LOL;)
 

jyanagi

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Sep 5, 2006
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Don't feel too badly.. As hardy as the adults are, the fry are difficult to keep alive. I know that I've lost a lot when I first started by simply doing water changes. They are so small, I simply did not see them. Another time, I tried to save them in a breeder net. No good, they all either swam through or got stuck in the fibers in the net. Your danios will continue to spawn. The fry are so slow and will hang in the corners and the adults will regularly eat them. Believe me, the adults ate a lot more than died when you tried to save them. You'll have failures, but hopefully, you will have successes too. Just watch for them... maybe you'll be able to save the next batch.
 

wataugachicken

The Dancing Banana
Jul 14, 2005
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Charlotte, NC
well, now that you've gotten some babies, you might get more.

the best way to save them all is to have a dedicated, cycled fry tank. no gravel or sand, some floating plants to hide in, and a mild filter - either a sponge filter or a traditional filter with a sponge or pantyhose over the intake. regular water changes are good, as well as using a tiny vac to get all the uneaten food and waste out of the tank. a vase or bow isn't going to work so well because of the low oxygen in there, and maybe it was too cold?

good luck with the next batch
 
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