Zebra Danio are lovely freshwater fish and are one of the most popular fish amongst beginners.
Not only do they add flashiness to any tank and will light up any dull or boring tanks, they are also relatively easy to maintain.
They are social fish and will get along with pretty much any fish placed in their aquarium, they will school with each other and are active fish.
Not only do they add flashiness to any tank and will light up any dull or boring tanks, they are also relatively easy to maintain.
They are social fish and will get along with pretty much any fish placed in their aquarium, they will school with each other and are active fish.
The following table will give you an idea of what is required to maintain these Zebra Danio.
| Temperature Required | 65 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit or 18 to 25 degrees Celsius |
| pH Required | 6.5 to 7.2 |
| Minimum Tank Size | 10 Gallons for each 5 Zebra Danio and 3 gallons extra per extra fish |
| Ideal Tank Habitat | Freshwater with Plants |
| Diet | Omnivores |
| Maximum Size | 2 inches |
| Family | Cyprinidae |
| Bearing | They are peaceful and active. |
| Colors | Silver, albino, gold, Blue, Glo Morphs (red, green, purple & pink) |
Quick Review
Zebra Danio are one of the best fish for beginners as they are hardy and beautiful. They can survive without a heater and enjoy playing in strong currents.
Their peaceful bearing makes them a great tank mate for almost any fish.
They are far from picky when it comes to food and will eat pretty much anything, but we would recommend feeding them pellets and the occasional bloodworm.
These fish can be found in almost all pet stores at a price of around USD $2. There are various colours to choose from and there are glo morphs which glow when you have the correct lighting.
These fish are commonly experimented on by scientists as they are considered the model vertebrate species.
Fun fact, but did you know we share 70% of our genes with Zebra Danio?
Behavior
These fish are commonly found shoaling, they are very playful but not aggressive. Shoals will have a certain dominant fish or two but those dominant fish will not fight against each other.
Although they are usually a very peaceful and playful fish, we do not recommend keeping Zebra Danio with fish that have long fins, as they are known for nipping at them.
Keeping a single Zebra Danio can cause sickness as they are social fish and benefit from being with others of their species.
Appearance
Zebra Danio have 5 blue horizontal stripes that start near the gills and end at the tail.
The males are smaller than the females and are slimmer, the females have an oval-like body.
There are various species of Zebra Danio such as:
Glo Morph Zebra: They share colours with Jellyfish and glow in proper lighting.
Long-fin Zebra: As their name suggests they have long fins.
Dwarf Spotted Danio: As their name suggests they are a species of Danio with spots all over their lower body, they have two lines that go across their upper body.
Giant Danio: These Danio grow up to 4 inches, they come in a blue and orange color.
Pearl Danio: These Danio have a silver-like color with orange tips on their fins.
We would recommend only keeping Zebra Danio in a tank as they get along well with each other and add a nice look to your tank, keeping glo morphs with proper lighting makes your tank look like an exotic light show.
Rosy Danio: These Danio have a rose gold or light pink color, they are a recent addition to the aquarium business.
White Cloud: These Danio only grow up to an inch and a half and have a silver color with red fins.
Habitat & Tank Conditions
Zebra Danios are found in rivers or streams with low water flow.
During the summer the temperature can rise up to 82 degrees Fahrenheit or 27 degrees Celsius but the recommended temperature is 25 degrees Celsius or 78 degrees Fahrenheit.
Over 25 degrees Celsius or 78 degrees Farhenheit would make the fish uncomfortable.
A planted aquarium would be best as they could hide eggs in the plants and it would make your tank the closest to their life in the wild. Sand or some type of soft ground should be used in their tank.
Plants such as Java Fern or Amazon Sword Plants are recommended.
Keeping a filter with a strong water flow is recommended as they enjoy swimming through it.
You will need an aquarium light that illuminates the tank for at least 12 hours a day. Don’t keep it on all day because fish relate light with when to be active and when to rest, keeping the lights on could stress your fish as they wouldn’t know when to rest.
Keeping driftwood or Bogwood to replicate the roots engraved in the river beds that they usually swim by will make the fish feel safe and adds a nice and natural look to your aquarium.
The green from the plants and the blue Zebra Danios make a beautiful color combination, add some driftwood and you have an incredible, natural looking tank which also makes your fish happy and relieves stress.
The minimum tank size required is 10 gallons or 40 liters. The recommended water to Danio Ratio is 1 Danio for every 2 gallons of water, avoid overstocking at all costs as it creates a lot of ammonia in your tank and could damage or even kill your fish.
Tank Mates & Compatibility
Zebra Danios are peaceful fish and will get along with most creatures in your aquarium, the only thing that would turn a Zebra Danio aggressive would be fish with long tails. Zebra Danio shoals tend to pick and nip on fins of long tailed fish.
They can be kept with any non aggressive fish, but we would recommend fish like tetras or other Zebra species such as pearl Zebra or even Giant Zebra as they will shoal with them.
Bronze Cory and bottom dwellers also get along with Zebra Danios as they like to swim near the top section of your tank. Zebra Snails are tank cleaners and will get along with your Zebra Danios.
If you see your Zebra Danio nipping each others tails it means that their shoal is too small and they require more members, keeping Zebra Danio in groups of under 5 is dangerous and can stress out your fish or even kill them.
Diet
Zebra Danio are omnivores and are not picky at all, the main source of food in their diet should be an algae based flake food.
Feeding the occasional zucchini or bloodworm is a nice treat for them and provides the nutrients they require.
When breeding Zebra Danio only feed them high quality live foods such as bloodworms or Daphnia.
When not in breeding, only feed live food once every two weeks and only feed broiled veggies once every couple weeks.
We would recommend feeding your Zebra Danios 3 times a day and only feed them a pinch of food.
When you have fry you should feed them specialized fry fish flakes as it helps them grow healthily.
Zebra Danio Breeding
When attempting breeding with Zebra Danio you should slightly raise the temperature in your tank to recreate the monsoon season in which they breed.
You should feed the fish live food such as bloodworms or daphnia for two weeks, when the females start rounding up, you will be able to tell them apart from the males by the shape of their body, as the males are thin and long, while the females are more ovular and will start to have a round belly.
Once you have identified the females and males you want to breed, you should transfer them to a breeding tank, where they will lay their eggs and fertilize them. The male to female ratio should be 2 males to 1 female.
Once placed in the breeding tank and identified, the fish will begin to spawn in the next 24 hours.
After spawning the Zebra Danios should be removed and the eggs should be left alone in the tank. The eggs will be white and will take around 3 days to hatch into fry.
The first days of life for the fry will be hard as they are tiny and food will be hard to eat. The fry are transparent which makes them hard to spot. Boiled egg yolk can be used to feed the fry as its inexpensive and has most nutrients they require. Sometimes crushed food flakes will do.
General Care And Diseases To Watch Out For
Zebra Danios are a very sturdy fish and will avoid most common diseases but one disease that is dangerous and commonly found in these fish is Mycobacteriosis. This can be identified by skin inflammation on your fish.
Outbreaks are caused by poor water quality, distilling your water before adding it to the tank will help avoid bad water quality and high chlorine levels in water.
Complete eradication of the sick fish is required as there are no effective treatment methods.
Changing water once a week is recommended as that water can contain many bad bacteria for your fish.
This bacteria can also affect humans so when treating this disease you should wear gloves and cover all wounds, avoid treating any tanks with this disease when you have an open wound.
Zebra Danio are also prone to intestinal infections.Some signs that your fish suffers from an intestinal infection is discoloration or weight loss.
You must always remove the infected specimens and quarantine any fish that are beginning to show signs of infection.