Which preggie fish to separate from 38 gal to 10 gal tank?

[horseridingirl]

Hi all, I have a 10 gallon tank that I'm going to set up this weekend for some of my fish from the 38-gallon.

I have a pregnant zebra danio (or so it seems). I have 2 other zebras and am not sure which is the male. Do I put them all in the tank together to get the eggs fertilized or should I try to find out which is male? What if they are both males?

I think I also have a pregnant guppy. Should I put her in the 10 gallon with the zebras? Should I bring the male guppy over too or leave him in the larger tank?

Another option is to put one pregant fish into the 10 gallon and leave the other one in the big tank and forgo those fry.

Also, should I try to take some of the water from the 38 gallon to start the 10 gallon to help it cycle? I have an undergravel filter and a Penguin 330 with biowheels in the 38 gal. Would it be a good idea to put one of the biowheels in the 10 gal to help promote the good bacteria for awhile?

Should I set up the tank and let it cycle before moving the fish into it? If so, how long should I wait? How long before the fish have their fry from when I notice they look swollen?

I just found out that my friend has a 55 gallon tank that he isn't using. Should I try to get it and separate some of the fish. My boyfriend will probably want to claim one of the tanks as he is interested in starting some cichlids.

 

[N8DOGG]

I guess first question would be what are you going to do with the fry? try to sell, keep all of them, feed to larger fish? If you don't have the space to grow out just let them have babies in the community tank.

If you had to make a choice on which fish you want to breed which would it be? I'd pick the danios just b/c they will be more of a challenge.

You can sent up the 10 gallon. It will make a good grow out tank or QT tank.

What other fish do you have in the 38??

Do you have another filter for the 10 gallon? I use spounge filters in my 10's and when they are not in use I put them back into my main tank. The water from the 38 will do very little in helping the cycle but using the filter will work.

If you can get the 55 go for it free tanks are always great.

 

[benedictj]

I agree with everything N8 asked, they are all valid points for consideration, but I would add that if you are interested in breeding, you'll probably have an easier go of it with the platys.

Danios aren't livebearers, they don't get pregnant in the traditional sense. Instead, they are egg scatters, which are much harder to breed than livebearers. There are a lot of specific requirements that need to be met to breeed egg scatters. Danios apparently also have tendency to eat their own eggs, making them somewhat difficult to breed. A 10g is, however, the recommended size for breeding them. If you are interested there is an article in this month's Tropical Fish Hobbyist about breeding egg scatters, check it out.

 

[z71silverado98]

my danios have been easy to breed. just fill the 10 w/ a double layer of marbles & 3-4" of water to prevent the parents from eating the eggs.

as for finding the male, he should be alot slimmer than the females. mine also seem to be pink compared to the girls.

put all your danios in the 10 gal. dont feed for 2 days. If the preg female has gone back to normal size she has layed her eggs. if not, then on the third day feed lightly (pref. frozen bloodworms) and wait some more. i like to seperate all the fish after 2 or 3 days and pour about 1/2gal in, just enough to stir the water up. if you see little clear eggs floating around then your doing something right. let them all settle under the marbles and put the fish back.

have only 1 species breeding in a tank, and dont use the 55 water, throw some gravel from your 55 in the corner, anacharis or another easy propagated plant and a sponge filter.