Pregnant Zebra Danio??

[nathanbarry]

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!

[nathanbarry]

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

[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.

[nathanbarry]

Im so glad How many eggs will she lay?

[nathanbarry]

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

[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.

[nathanbarry]

Thanks Will all the eggs hatch?

[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.

[nathanbarry]

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

[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.

[nathanbarry]

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?

[TheOldSalt]

No. Danios need a lot of room for eggspraying.

[nathanbarry]

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

[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.

[nathanbarry]

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