# Sticky  Pregnant Zebra Danio??



## NatBarry

Hi, ive had 2 zebra danios for a few weeks and lately one of them has become really fat..im guessing its the female because she's more rounder than the other danio. Could someone please tell me if that zebra danio is pregnant?
....
A picture that isn't that clear!








And here's a video..you should notice which one but shes realy fat and about to burst!


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## NatBarry

The picture isn't that good so click on the link to see the video.


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## TheOldSalt

Pregnant? No. 
Creatures that lay eggs are never called pregnant when full of eggs. They are instead called "gravid."
Pregnant livebearing snakes are also commonly called gravid as well, but that's just laziness at work since most snakes lay eggs and people are used to using the word gravid with snakes.

Anyway, yes, your danio is swelling with eggs.


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## NatBarry

Im so glad How many eggs will she lay?


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## NatBarry

So what exactly do i have to do when the eggs are laid?


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## TheOldSalt

Well, first of all you need a male or two to chase her around while she's laying them. She'll lay 200-400 or so. You'll need a shallow tank with large-sized substrate like marbles on the bottom for the eggs to fall through to safety, or else the fish will eat them.
Next, you'll need another tank to put the adult fish back into after spawning so the eggs can hatch in safety.

While you're waiting a couple of days for the eggs to hatch, make ready some teeny-tiny food for the fry. There are lots of things you can use. Greenwater is my personal favorite for the first week. If you look up greenwater I'm sure you'll find plenty of info on how to make and use it. Other popular choices are things like eggyolk emusion or microworms. After that first week of headaches with tiny foods they'll be big enough to gobble up ordinary fishfood flakes which you have ground up into a fine flour.


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## NatBarry

Thanks Will all the eggs hatch?


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## TheOldSalt

No, not even close. That's why they lay so many.
In fact, the ones that don't hatch will make a big mess of things, so that brings me to the next part, namely, moving the babies to yet another tank where they'll be safe. You don't need an actual glass tank for this, either. A clearish plastic tub works fine, and you can get them at WalMart for cheap. A long, shallow one works fine for this, as it provides a lot of surface area and swimming room. A simple sponge filter is all you'd need for it. Change some water every other day and the fish will grow quickly.
Alternately, you could just scoop out the fry and put them into something temporarily, IN THEIR OWN WATER, while you totally clean up their tank. Once their tank is back up and running a few days, you can put the fry back in it. Naturally, it would be imperative that the tank was cycled since fry and cycling don't mix.


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## NatBarry

That helps a lot
In what sort of way does it make a mess of things?


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## TheOldSalt

They rot, they fungus, they stink.

Okay, maybe it won't be all that bad. In fact, it probably won't be. Be ready if it is, but assume it probably won't. It would take a lot of bad eggs to have any real negative impact.


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## NatBarry

When the times comes, would it be best to move the danio to a breeder trap so i can make sure the bad eggs dont go into the tank?


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## TheOldSalt

No. Danios need a lot of room for eggspraying.


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## NatBarry

Well, i haven't got another spare tank and so what shall i do...i dont want it to make a mess of things?


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## TheOldSalt

Just ignore it. If you don't have any males, the eggs won't get laid. Eventually they'll just be reabsorbed. Just one pair can spawn, but they don't often TEND to. Zebras are group spawners, you see, and the preferred way of spawning them is to put several into one shallow tank and let them rip.


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## NatBarry

I think thats whats happening, the last couple of days she has become thinner.


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## simonssymfony

i have a quick question..i have a pregnant zebra danio also..but it seems she has been pregnant for quite awile..


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## iheartfish:)

Well, she is gravid  Other than that, like TOS said, she should reabsorb them. You can try spawning them I guess... But she should be fine if you don't.


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## TheOldSalt

I just noticed how useful this thread is, so I'm making it sticky.


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## Trout

Yeah, I've got the 3 Pearl Danios in my tank, and I've had them for quite a while now. I'm VERY certain one is a male and one is a female and I don't know which gender the other is, but the male and female have been doing a lot of chasing back and forth in the tank and the female's pretty fat-looking. I'm just saying, I hope they don't spawn. I'm not really in any danger of that happening, am I? I mean, in a tank with 6 fish, and only 1 (maybe 2) male danios. I just don't have the time to take care of the fry. I suppose if they DO spawn I can just open a buffet for the other fishes...


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