Diseases of the zebrafish aquarium fish. Danio pink disease
Often one of the reasons for the disease of fish is their improper maintenance, so you need to closely monitor aquarium fish. If the fish grow up in unfavorable conditions, then they become unarmed to infectious diseases. Often, fish get sick due to low water temperatures and insufficient oxygen content in the water.
Also, one of the reasons for the disease of fish is improper feeding. Fasting for adult fish practically does not harm them, but for fry it is a big disadvantage. In the first days of life, fry need to be well fed in order to grow. Overeating for adult fish causes obesity, which later leads to their death, since obesity is not treated. Feeding monotonous food can lead to inflammation of the stomach and intestines. With such a disease, the appetite, as a rule, does not disappear in the fish, but their color becomes darker, and the movements are more constrained. Inflammation of the stomach and intestines in fish weakens them, and this is a great chance that the fish will catch infectious diseases.
How to cure fish?
1. When adverse conditions of detention, improper feeding and when the fish are injured, the treatment is just to create optimal conditions for the fish.
Curable diseases: clouding of the fish's eyes, damage to the fins, mucus on the gills, discoloration of the gills, tarnishing of the color of the fish - all this is treated with short-term, but repeated baths (water 30-32 ° C with a high concentration of methylene blue). Baths are also used if the fish move a little, are covered with all the various specks or spots. In the intervals between the baths, the fish are kept (as described above) in a separate vessel.
Incurable diseases:
If a fish loses its balance and swims with its tail down or sideways, then such a fish is incurable.
Bulging in one or both eyes is incurable.
Tumors on the gills and skin of fish are incurable.
Danio is one of the most common aquarium fish. She is unpretentious and lives even in small aquariums. Danio is a mobile fish, it keeps in the upper or middle layer of water. If frightened, it can jump out of the water, so it is better to cover the aquarium with a tight lid. You need to keep it in a group of 8-10 fish. Males constantly chase each other.
To prevent diseases of the Danio fish, you must adhere to simple rules. All items brought into the aquarium must be disinfected: in a manganese solution, in boiling water or with the help of other disinfectants.
When buying Danio, special attention should be paid to the integrity of the skin and fins. At the same time, the fading of the color does not always indicate an illness, just a move - a transplant during the sale process could cause a shock. But even if the zebrafish looks healthy, it must be kept in a separate quarantine aquarium for a couple of weeks.
Danio fish are very resistant to diseases. Despite the fact that she rarely gets sick, you need to have aeration in the aquarium. For the correct maintenance and prevention of diseases in zebrafish, a clean water regime is very important. When feeding her, you must adhere to the rule - it is better to underfeed than overfeed. It is overfeeding that is usually the cause of the Danio fish disease.
Most often, Danio suffer from bulging eyes. The disease usually affects them at the age of several years during spawning. The color of the body does not change, but the abdomen increases noticeably, which looks natural during the spawning period. Over the course of two weeks, both eyes bulge more and more out of their orbits, then one by one they fall out. The blind fish die of exhaustion. When opened, a thick white mass is found behind the eyeball, which causes bulging. The reason is poor quality water. Treatment: partial water change every 2 days.
Another disease that Danio suffers from is trichodinosis. The causative agent is the ciliate Trichodina, which has spiny processes, with the help of which it is attached to the fish. It is localized on the gill petals and the skin. It enters the aquarium with plants, soil and food if they have not been properly disinfected.
Signs of illness: the fish begins to rub against hard objects and plants, more often than usual swims up to the aeration bubbles. As the disease progresses, the color of the fish fades, a grayish-white bloom is visible on the skin, which is separated by flakes. Treatment of trichodinosis: increasing aeration, raising the water temperature to 31 degrees. Healing baths are done in a separate or shared aquarium with table salt or trypaflavin.
The fish is also known as Zebra Fish, Striped Danio and others. Over the years, breeders have bred new subspecies that differ in color, which, nevertheless, can interbreed with each other, which leads to further speciation and blurring of the clear boundaries of one species / subspecies. The most famous varieties of Danio Rerio are Danio Rerio albino, Leopard Danio, Golden Danio, Blue Danio. There is also a genetically modified species, in the genome of which a fluorescent element has been added, so that the fish can glow in the dark. Fish first appeared commercially in the United States in 2003.
Requirements and conditions:
- The volume of the aquarium is from 40 liters.
- Temperature - 18-24 ° C
- PH value - 6.0-8.0
- Water hardness - from soft to medium hard (5-19 dH)
- Substrate type - dark fine gravel or sand
- Lighting - dim
- Brackish water - no
- Water movement - moderate
Fish parameters:
- Size - up to 7 cm.
- Food - any food floating on the surface
- Life expectancy - 3 to 4 years
Habitat
Danio Rerio received a scientific description in 1822 while studying the flora and fauna of the colonial possessions of the British Empire in the territories of modern India and Pakistan. Fish are widely represented in the river systems of Asia from Pakistan to India, including Southeast Asia in Burma (Myanmar).
The fish lives in the lower reaches of rivers, channels, canals, as well as in ditches near settlements and ponds. The habitat can vary significantly with the seasons. In the rainy season, fish rush to flooded areas of fields (in particular rice fields), where spawning takes place in a quiet backwater with dense vegetation. Adult fish return back to the rivers, and after them, in a few days, the juveniles that have appeared.
Description
A beautiful slender fish, has a body compressed from the sides, the tips of each lip are crowned with small antennae, characteristic of most cyprinids. The color is pale yellow or silvery, five horizontal dark blue stripes run all over the body, which also continue along the tail and anal fin.
Nutrition
Fish accept almost any food intended for aquarium fish, the main condition is that they must float on the surface, they will never pick up Danio from the bottom. Specialized dry or freeze-dried food for this type of fish is widely presented on sale, taking into account all their needs for vitamins and microelements. You can diversify your food by adding sometimes live food, mainly bloodworms.
Since the fish has been living in an artificial environment for many generations, it is well adapted to various conditions, so there are no problems in keeping. It is enough to provide good filtration and aeration of the aquarium, both of these processes also create water movement, which is beneficial for Danio. The fish lives in the upper layers of the water and leads an active lifestyle, during their games they can jump out of the aquarium - take care of the protective cover.
Optimal conditions are those that mimic their natural habitat. Large swimming areas in the upper parts of the aquarium, dense vegetation on the sides along the walls. A medium of dark gravel or sand will accentuate the color of the fish.
Social behavior
An active peaceful fish, distinguished by a peaceful temperament, it never shows aggression towards other species. Joint keeping is possible with other types of Danio, as well as with some small (no more than 5-6 cm) peaceful species. You should be careful with the choice of slow fish, the excessive activity of Danio Rerio can negatively affect their well-being.
Mandatory keeping in a flock of at least 5 individuals, with single or pair keeping, the fish becomes lethargic, susceptible to various diseases.
Breeding / reproduction
Sexual differences are weakly expressed, females are only slightly larger than males, body color is the same in both sexes. Danio Rerio often form couples who stick around for life, but this is where romanticism ends. Parental instincts are poorly expressed, they can eat their caviar with pleasure and do not participate in raising offspring. A separate tank is required for spawning.
A spawning aquarium can be small, 20–25 liters. The bottom should be strewn with balls 1 cm in diameter or similar in size gravel. Arrange the plants in dense groups. The composition of the water can be the same as in the general aquarium.
When it is noticed that two fish are constantly sticking together, and one of them has a swollen abdomen, it means that the female will soon lay eggs. The female is the first to be transplanted into a separate tank, the male joins only the next day. Spawning is stimulated by a rapid drop in temperature, you can pour a glass of cold water directly into the spawning aquarium - this is an imitation of the rainy season. The female releases eggs directly into the water, and the male fertilizes them. Sinking to the bottom, they roll into the spaces between the soil particles and become inaccessible to their parents. At the end of spawning, the pair is returned back to the common aquarium, and the fry appear after 7 days.
Diseases
Fish are very hardy; only a significant deterioration of conditions or contact with sick fish can provoke the disease. Read more about the symptoms and treatment methods in the section "Diseases of aquarium fish".
Peculiarities
- Flock keeping at least 5 individuals
- Can jump out of aquariums
- Requires food floating on the surface
Danio pink was brought to Europe in 1911. The fish is native to Asia. Belongs to the carp family. Habitat - cool, vegetated parts of tropical rivers.
Under natural conditions, the fish grows up to 8 cm, in aquariums 4.5–6 cm. They look spectacular with the right lighting. When they start to rush around the aquarium, the illusion of multi-colored sparks is created.
Appearance
Elongated body, compressed at the sides. A pair of antennae above the upper lip.
The color is pink with a blue tint, the abdomen is shiny. The fins are yellow-orange or yellow-green, on the anal - a strip of pink. Wedge-shaped red stripes on the sides are pronounced in young fish, fade with age. Juveniles are gray-blue.
Aquarists have developed a hybrid of pink zebrafish with pearl. These fish have reddish fins.
Behavior
The zebrafish has characteristic behavioral features:
- Fish prefer to spend time in the upper layers of the water.
- Change the direction of movement abruptly.
- They prefer to swim in flocks.
Life span
They live in captivity for 2-3 years.
Danio pink in content is simple - it adapts to new conditions, not picky about food, the arrangement of the aquarium is suitable for many species of fish.
Aquarium
Choose a long, shallow aquarium, 70 cm long and 40-50 cm high. Danios live in flocks, for 7-10 individuals, a volume of 50 liters is needed, for 20 of 100 liters.
A tight-fitting lid is required.
Water parameters
Danios love cleanliness and freshness. They are not picky about the chemical composition.
However, the temperature fluctuations of 16-26 degrees will not harm the fish either. Change the water weekly at a rate of 20-30% of the volume.
Plants
For zebrafish pink, set up plant clumps and open areas in the aquarium. Choose plants that create shaded areas:
- eleocharis;
- hydrophilous Siamese;
- Caroline kabomba.
Priming
Place small stones and several large boulders without sharp edges on the bottom. Install some driftwood.
Equipment
Use filters with centrifugal pumps or circulating pumps to create a flow so that there are areas in the aquarium without water movement.
Aeration is moderate, zebrafish needs oxygen, but it is enough to get into the water during changes.
Lighting
Zebrafish look brightest in daylight. Install 45–69 W lamps against the front glass. Then the scales of the fish will sparkle with bright colors.
Feeding
The diet of wild zebrafish consists of small insects and their larvae. When kept at home, they eat ready-made industrial feed. As an additive, give bloodworms, daphnia, brine shrimp.
When buying food, pay attention to the date of manufacture and store it in a vacuum package.
Eat zebrafish from the surface. Remove food that has sunk to the bottom or floating in the middle layers of water.
Feed the zebrafish once a day. Overfeeding causes problems with internal organs.
Compatibility
Peaceful zebrafish are well compatible with other fish. Due to the high degree of adaptation to any conditions, they become excellent neighbors for the inhabitants of other countries, such as titles and rainbows. Get along well:
- neons;
- guppy;
- gourami;
- catfish.
Danios are schooling fish and, when kept in an amount of less than 8, experience stress, which is why they become lethargic, inactive. In the group, the fish are bright, active. A flock of zebrafish in the amount of up to 8-10 individuals is aggressive towards neighbors. Increase the population to 12-14 to avoid fights.
Veil will not get along with barbs.
Not compatible:
- goldfish;
- acne;
- cichlids;
- discus.
Reproduction
Breeding zebrafish is available to beginner aquarists, subject to the following principles:
- Avoid spawning in a shared aquarium. The adults will destroy the eggs.
- The female spawns before the age of 1 year.
- Take 1 female and 2 males to spawn.
- Fish reach sexual maturity in half a year.
- The pink zebrafish breeds in the aquarium all year round.
- After spawning, create conditions for the female to re-spawn in order to prevent the development of cysts.
Sex differences
It is difficult to distinguish between a male and a female by external characteristics. Before puberty, the fish are very similar. From the age of six months, the differences are insignificant and require attention.
Adults of the same age differ in size: the female is larger and more rounded. The stripes on the sides of the males are brighter. The anal fin of females is larger.
Another way to determine gender is by observing mating games. The female is always in the center, and the male swims around, showing himself.
Spawning ground preparation
Create spawning grounds for pink zebrafish using these guidelines:
- Take an aquarium with a volume of 10 liters per female.
- The water level is 7-9 cm.
- Place a separator net or small-leaved plants 2 cm above the bottom.
- Boil 30% water and top up with settled. Achieve hardness values up to 10, acidity at 7.0.
- The temperature is within 20-23 degrees.
Spawning
Place females and males in separate tanks for 2 weeks. Feed only live food during this time. A rounded abdomen in a female is an indicator of readiness for spawning.
In the evening, place the male in the prepared container, after a few hours the female. Increase the temperature by 5 degrees and turn off the light.
In the morning, aquarium zebrafish begin to spawn. In a few hours, the female will lay about 200 eggs. When finished, remove the adults from the tank.
Fry care
Gently shake the eggs off the safety net or plants and remove them from the aquarium. Fish hatch from one to three days. On the fourth, start feeding the fry, feed them, crushed into dust. Change to a larger feed after two weeks.
Place the fry in flocks based on their height.
Re-spawning
After spawning, place the female on re-spawning in a week. Without this, cysts will develop and the individual will become sterile.
After 4 weeks, the fish are ready for re-spawning.
Diseases
Fish are hardy and have good immunity. Diseases of the pink zebrafish appear due to improper care: pollution and poor-quality nutrition.
Bloating
Signs:
- enlarged abdomen;
- carp lies at the bottom;
- lack of contact with the flock.
As a treatment, dilute 1 tablet of Trichopolum in 30 liters of water. The procedure can be carried out in a common aquarium; it will not harm healthy inhabitants.
Growths
A rare disease. Place the affected individual daily for 15 minutes in warm water with the addition of salt (1 tablespoon per half liter).
Swimming in a circle
An unusual way of swimming causes nitrate poisoning. Change the entire volume of water and change 1/3 of the aquarium every day for a week.
Ophthalmic eye
Frequent illness caused by pollution. In the absence of help, the fish lose their eyes and go blind. As a treatment, rinse the entire contents of the aquarium and replace 1/3 of the volume of water every other day.
Trikhodinoz
The disease develops due to ingestion of the ciliate Trichodina into the aquarium with soil or food.
Signs:
- the fish itches on glass and plants;
- scales grow dull;
- light bloom.
- increase aeration;
- raise the temperature to 30–31;
- feed a bloodworm with antibiotics for a week;
- salt baths as with growths.
Tuberculosis
It is treated with antibiotic feed for 2 weeks. If the fish has no appetite, quarantine it and dissolve the medicines in water:
- kanamycin - 3 g / 100 l;
- rifampicin - 600 mg / 100 l.
Do not add antibiotics to the general aquarium.
Beautiful and bright, like precious stones, zebrafish were brought to Europe in 1911. They first appeared in Russia in 1958. The homeland of these fish is Southeast Asia: Thailand, Myanmar, and the Sunda Islands. The peculiarity of zebrafish is that their translucent body changes color. Sometimes the fish takes on a pink tint, sometimes bluish or olive. A clearly visible reddish stripe with a border runs along the entire length of the fish. In young individuals it is more noticeable, in adults it disappears completely. The body of the fish is somewhat flattened on the sides. The dorsal and caudal fins are greenish-yellow. The anal fin is yellowish-spotted. If you look closely, aquarium zebrafish have small whiskers pointing down.
Today, aquarists breed these species.
Rerio
A silvery fish with a body length of up to 70 mm. The body is mottled with longitudinal stripes of dark blue color. There are stripes on the fins. Sometimes the fins are decorated with a yellowish border.
Devario
These fish, in comparison with the rerio, are larger. They grow up to 100–120 mm. The main background is silvery with bluish stripes. The spaces between the stripes have a golden yellow tint.
Dangila
The adult length of this species is 100 mm. The main background of the fish is gray-olive, with patterns-chains of a darker tint. There are also dark spots behind the operculums.
Erythromicron
It is a miniature zebrafish species, with a length of up to 25 mm. The background is golden with a bronze tint. The stripes are dark blue, transverse, tiger-like. The color of the operculums and fins is orange with a slight reddish tint.
Burmese
These beauties have a body length of up to 80 mm. Golden specks are scattered over the bluish background. An orange-yellow spot behind the gill covers is characteristic of this variety.
Bengali
The main tone is light gray, speckled with longitudinal bluish and yellow stripes. Bengal danios have a long dorsal fin. The average length of an adult is 70–80 mm.
Kerry
Some of the most beautiful zebrafish. The fins are olive-colored, and the body is bright blue with two pink stripes. The dimensions of these fish are 50 mm.
Point
In color, they resemble a rerio: the same silvery with dark stripes. But there is also a difference. At the bottom of the body, the stripes are not solid, but, as it were, form a dotted line. These fish grow up to no more than 40 mm.
Pearl
The color of these fish is light blue, up to 50 mm long. The bluish tint intensifies towards the tail. The tail is adorned with a bright orange stripe, which is the hallmark of pearl danios.
Pink
Small fish - 45mm zebrafish. In the lower part, the body is painted in a bright pink color. The main tone is bluish-silver. The anal fin is decorated with a pink stripe.
Firefly
Another miniature view. The fish grows up to only 30 mm. The color is bright, sunny, orange-yellow. The area from head to fin on the back is adorned with a shiny stripe in a sunny orange hue.
Margaritatus
The most colorful and elegant type of zebrafish. The body of the fish is dark gray with yellow spots, and the fins are decorated with bright red (sometimes orange) stripes.
Proper arrangement of the aquarium
Zebrafish belong to the schooling category. A school of 5–6 adult fish needs a fairly large aquarium of 50–100 liters. If you only have 3 fish, they will get along well in a smaller vessel, but there is a high risk of stress or aggressive behavior. A small tank of the order of 10-30 liters is absolutely not suitable.
Gravel or sand that has been washed clean is excellent as aquarium soil. The soil is poured onto the bottom of a dry aquarium and carefully leveled. It is advisable to place plants in the aquarium around the perimeter so that its central part remains free for the movement of fish. The zebrafish are very active. For a normal existence, they need constant movement. The decor will not hurt, especially since the inhabitants of the aquarium sometimes like to hide there. But too many decorative elements are not needed. Nothing should restrict their movement.
For an aquarium, tap, previously settled water is suitable. The duration is up to 12 hours.
Water requirements:
- The average temperature is 22-26 degrees.
- PH level from 6.5 to 7.5.
- dH ranges from 5 to 15 0.
The set of aquarium devices is standard: a lighting device, a filter, a compressor, a device for temperature control. The optimum temperature for zebrafish (rerio, pink) is 21-24 degrees. For hybrid fish, higher temperatures are acceptable. If your home is cool, you will need a water heater.
Take your time to put fish in the aquarium before the nitrogen cycle is established there. Otherwise, it can harm the capricious aquarium residents. Keeping fish in a vessel without a stable biological environment is harmful to aquarium inhabitants. Water parameters can be estimated using special indicators that indicate the concentration of substances such as nitrates, nitrites and ammonia. Until a safe concentration of these compounds is obtained as a result of measurements, it is impossible to populate the aquarium with fish. Keeping zebrafish is not particularly difficult, but requires a certain scrupulousness.
It is a pleasure to watch the fish. If there is enough territory, they get along remarkably well. There are no fights or other manifestations of rivalry. Zebrafish are very mobile. Especially active are males who love to chase each other. It must be remembered that pets are great jumpers and occasionally jump out of the water. If nothing is done, one day you may see your pet on the floor or table. Cover the reservoir with a special lid with ventilation holes. In this case, it is necessary to leave an air gap of at least 5 cm from the surface of the water to the lid, otherwise the pet may simply break when performing its acrobatic exercises.
It is desirable to maintain an optimal temperature regime, but the inhabitants of the aquarium feel good with a slight increase or decrease in water temperature. But they are extremely demanding for the purity of the water. We have to renew the aquarium water by about a third every week. The frequency of general cleaning of the aquarium is once a month.
Most often, zebrafish can be seen in the top and middle of the aquarium. But sometimes they hide in the sand at the very bottom. So that the inhabitants of the aquarium can have a secluded corner and live comfortably, the bottom must be covered with a layer of sand. It is advisable to plant low-growing varieties of algae, but free space for the fish to play should be mandatory.
Pets do not need constant aeration, but they love light very much. If the duration of daylight hours is less than 10–12 hours, then soon the fish will become less active and mobile, and their color will be less bright.
Reproduction
For at home, females up to a year old are chosen. Approximately 2 weeks before spawning, the female should be kept separate from the males and plentifully regaled with high-quality live food: enchitrea, tubifex, bloodworms. During this time, the female is noticeably rounded. This is a sign that she is ready to spawn.
For successful spawning, there are 2 to 3 males per female. Place them separately in the aquarium. The volume of spawning ground for 1 female is about 10 liters. The water temperature in the spawning aquarium is 26-28 degrees. Under favorable conditions, the female lays eggs. Males pursue the female, "knocking out" eggs from her. This is immediately followed by the process of fertilization of eggs with milk. This continues until the female has completely consumed the eggs. At the end of spawning, the activity of males drops significantly, and the female, rather round at the beginning of spawning, “loses weight”.
After spawning is over, the producers have nothing else to do in this aquarium. The number of eggs per litter is about two hundred. To preserve caviar and prevent it from being damaged by a fungus, you need to properly care for it using special antifungal agents. Good antifungal prophylaxis is penicillin (25 thousand units per 10-liter vessel) or 2% iodine solution.
After two days, larvae appear from the eggs, which attach to what they can for 6 days. After 6 days, the larvae turn into fry. The initial feeding for babies of zebrafish is ciliates on a banana peel. A week later, brine shrimp and cyclops replenish their diet. With good filtration, it is permissible to give chopped dry food. The amount of feed increases as the young grow into adulthood. The fry become sexually mature at 6–8 months of age.
How many danios live
With adequate care, small-sized zebrafish species (up to 5 cm) live for about 3-4 years. Large species have a lifespan of 5 to 7 years.
Compatibility with other fish species
Danios get along well with such species:
- cockerels;
- scalars;
- guppy;
- mollies;
- swordsmen;
- platies;
- labeo;
- catfish corridors;
- battles;
- with different types of gourami.
Limited compatibility of zebrafish with barbs, shrimps and eels.
Danio will not be able to get along with such species as astronotus, discus, goldfish, koi carp. They will not be able to get along with cichlids either.
Feeding features
A few words about how to feed zebrafish. In terms of feeding, zebrafish are unpretentious. Therefore, many owners feed their pets with dry food. With good care, fish can live long enough and even produce offspring, but their immunity is poor, and the risk of disease is greater. For this reason, if it is not possible to feed the fish live food, then at least it should be regularly introduced into the diet.
Diseases
Many questions about zebrafish are caused by their content during illness. Sometimes, despite good care, pets can get sick. Here is a description of typical diseases.
Plistophorosis
The disease begins with the appearance of white spots on the body of the fish, which turn into ulceration. The fins are disheveled, the fish swims at an angle of 45 to 90 degrees, and is severely depleted. The aquarium needs to be disinfected, remove the soil from it. A 5% hydrochloric acid solution or bleach is suitable for disinfection. Fish should be treated with feed additives.
Medicines:
- Erythrocycline - 50 mg per liter of water.
- Trichopolum - 5 mg per liter of water.
- Methylene blue solution - 10 mg per liter of water.
Those fish whose condition, despite treatment, worsens, must also be destroyed.
Trikhodinoz
The source of the disease is ciliates. The fish rubs against plants and objects in the aquarium. The body is covered with flakes of gray bloom. Treatment consists of increased aeration of the reservoir. At the same time, the water temperature rises to 31 degrees. Table salt is gradually added to the water (1 tablespoon per 10 liters of oxen). The healing process of fish lasts from a week to a month. The salt concentration must be maintained until the aquarium inhabitants are fully recovered. Then, as you change the water in the aquarium, the water becomes less salty.
Conclusion
Proper maintenance and care of fish, a spacious aquarium, high-quality and varied food are the key to the longevity of your pets. A good neighborhood with other fish in the aquarium is also important. You cannot lodge them with large and overly aggressive fish. If these conditions are met, zebrafish will delight you for a long time, and their breeding will turn into a sheer pleasure.
