Types of Danio Fish

Aquarium dancers are very fond of aquarium dancers all over the world. And this is not surprising - with its external attractiveness and decorativeness, zebrafish is absolutely unpretentious, even a beginner can take care of it. From our article you will learn what types of fish exist, how to choose them correctly, as well as all the nuances of keeping the fish at home.

Most often in aquariums you can find zebrafish or striped zebrafish. It was first described in 1822, when they studied the natural features of the colonies of England located in the territories of modern Pakistan and India. The zebrafish lived in the rivers of these countries, and their range extended to the southeast of Asia - to Myanmar. Danio rerio prefers shallow reservoirs: the lower reaches of rivers, canals, ponds and even grooves. In the rainy season, these fish swim in the flooded rice fields, spawn there, and then, together with the young growth, return to their usual habitat.

Appearance of the zebrafish: a small (up to 7 cm in length) fish, having a narrow body, as if squeezed on the sides. The colors of the classic rerio are longitudinal ink-blue stripes extending to the caudal and anal fins, on a silver or light yellow background. The zebrafish have many varieties bred both naturally and artificially. Interestingly, representatives of these subspecies are capable of interspecific crossbreeding, which contributes to the birth of unique offspring and blurring of breed boundaries.

We list the most famous varieties of zebrafish.

• Veil. A characteristic feature are veiled lateral, ventral and dorsal fins.
• Cherry. The type of coloring is no different from the classic zebrafish, but it was singled out as a separate subspecies for a special color scheme - dark purple stripes on a pinkish little body.
• Leopard. From the name it is clear that the stripes of this species were replaced by spots. The general background is greenish-pearly, the spots are dark, the fins are also mottled.
• Albino. It is characterized by a bright pink color of the carcass and red eyes.
• Glofish (GloFish). This subspecies deserves to be described in more detail. The fact is that the concept of a fishfish itself does not only refer to zebrafish - it is a generalized, internationally patented, commercial name for genetically modified aquarium fish with a fluorescent genome introduced from coral and jellyfish. So ordinary fish became luminous.

The zebrafish were the pioneers in this experiment. Owners of the coral genome - RFP - under UV irradiation emit neon red light, those who have introduced the jellyfish gene (GFP) - green. Individuals that both genomes “mixed in” glow yellow.

In addition to zebrafish, there are other interesting varieties of this cute aquarium fish. Let's get to know them.

It has an elongated body, flattened on the sides, about 6 cm long. On the lips you can see 2 pairs of small whiskers. The color of the fish is silver-blue or greenish-pearl. From the caudal fin almost to the middle of the body, a light pink wedge-shaped strip with a blue edging looms. The younger the pearl zebrafish, the more striking this pattern will be. In old individuals, on the contrary, it turns pale and can, in general, disappear.

Not too prominent zebrafish representative. Aquarium enthusiasts only found out about it in 2005, although the subspecies was described in 1937. There is no definite pattern on the body, scales depending on lighting can shimmer with silver, gold and even steel color.

It has an interesting coloring: a greenish back, sides and abdomen are silver-green, on the body there are longitudinal stripes of bright turquoise, bordered by orange. Closer to the caudal fin, these strips merge. The fins of zebrafish can be either yellowish gray or reddish-orange.

This representative has a higher back than other zebrafish varieties, which makes him appear more rounded. The color of the Bengal is as follows: from above there is a golden hue, smoothly turning into bluish-green, and then again in gold. A yellow “ray” stretches from the tail to the middle of the carcass, giving way to a cluster of shapeless spots.

The name speaks for itself: a characteristic feature of a whiskered zebrafish is an elongated mustache hanging from the lower lip. The color of this fish is rather dull: a silver-pearl background, on which barely noticeable stripes and spots are visible. Near the gill cover there is a single dark spot of a round shape. The size of the mustachio zebrafish is from 6 to 13 cm.

Two variations of the name of this species give us an idea of ​​the appearance of the fish: on its sides there are black stripes that are separated by a white side line, and it’s as if a series of black spots runs parallel to them.

Very interesting representative. Its “banding” is not longitudinal, but transverse. The stripes are emerald blue and orange golden. The ventral, anal fins, as well as the “cheeks” are red. There is a bright black spot at the base of the tail.

It is logical to assume that in its appearance the dominant role is played by fins, on which orange stripes clearly show. They are on the body, alternating with dark blue.

The color of this zebrafish is simply unrealistically beautiful. By the way, breeders participated in breeding, who were able to artificially achieve such a juiciness of color - in the wild, pink zebrafish still looks more modest.

Representative color ranges from coral to fuchsia (special food can affect its intensity). On the sides there are thin white longitudinal stripes, the fins are also striped, but transparent.

And again, before us is a fish, striking in its bright color. The electric color body is crossed by gold stripes running along the sides from the gills to the tail. Eyes are radiant, golden. The fins are transparent, have a yellowish-green tint.

Another name is Microsampling Galaxy. It is easy to understand why she was so called, just by looking at her color: on the gray-green background of the body the "stars" are scattered randomly - bright yellow spots. The abdomen of the galaxy is orange-red, stripes of the same color are on the fins.

The baby among zebrafish is only 3 cm long! The shades on the body of this zebrafish form overflows from turquoise to orange and from gold to silver. Transverse stripes are visible on the sides.

Another miniature representative of zebrafish - its height is 2-3 cm. The color of the tinvini is a mass of black spots of different sizes, enclosed in gold "rims". On the transparent fins there are also spots.

The story about varieties of zebrafish, which was previously mistakenly attributed to parsing, concludes and gave it the name golden parsing. Danio Gates is very small - up to 2 cm, so that he would not be "lost" among the larger species of fish, it is better to populate them in a nano-aquarium with a flock of 8-12 individuals. Appearance: narrow, thin body, large eyes, color - golden, a thin turquoise line passes from the tail to the middle of the carcass.

The choice of residents for your aquarium should be approached with all responsibility - there are many cases where an illiterate approach forever discouraged a beginner from doing aquarium work, as pets did not breed and quickly died. So what are the nuances to consider when choosing a zebrafish - let's figure it out.

• Danio is a school of fish. She will not live alone. Therefore, when filling your aquarium, choose a minimum of 6 zebrafish.
• When filling your tank with underwater plants, make sure that there is enough room left for maneuvering. Danios are very mobile, and they like to swim and frolic in the upper level of the aquarium - try not to let any floating leaves interfere with them.
• If your choice fell on the veil zebrafish, do not hook on them aggressive fish (in particular, barbs) who like to eat their beautiful fins.
• Some zebrafish species are prone to jumping out of the aquarium, so make sure the container is covered with glass.
• Now for the feeding. In principle, these fish are omnivorous and love both live and dried, as well as frozen food. But the best solution would be food in the form of flakes that do not sink, but remain in the feeder - from there the zebrafish will be happy to “snatch” them.
• Now let's talk about the "neighbors". If you are attracted by an interspecific aquarium, and you have chosen several zebrafish as inhabitants, then you can fearlessly add neon, tetra, rassbori, corridors, thorns, minor, and, of course, other zebrafish to them.

In the next video you will find interesting facts about zebrafish.