Differences Between Zebra Danios And Leopard Danios?

[ey2006]

Hi everyone, apart from their appearance, what are the main differences between these 2 danios? I did a bit of research but can't find much info on the leopard danio.

Are the zebras much more hardy than the leopard ones? Would leopards be recommended for a newly cycled aquarium?

Also, would a group of Leopards go well together with a group of Zebras, in the same tank? Or would they fight?

 

[The-Wolf]

what are the main differences between these 2 danios?

hardieness
it is all in the scientific name
zebra danio danio rerio
leopard danio danio "frankei" rerio
the "frankei" refers to the man who created the colour morph leopard* from
selectivly breeding Zebras, so the lines broke up and eventually became spots.

due to the amount of selective breeding the leopard is not as hardy as zebras but hardier than say dwarfs or glowlights.

all danios will school with eachother, so ZD+LD= danio school

* I have still been unable to determine if Frank was the guys first or last name
I assume it to be a last name, given most scientific names are adopted from that.

 

[ey2006]

what are the main differences between these 2 danios?

hardieness
it is all in the scientific name
zebra danio danio rerio
leopard danio danio "frankei" rerio
the "frankei" refers to the man who created the colour morph leopard* from
selectivly breeding Zebras, so the lines broke up and eventually became spots.

due to the amount of selective breeding the leopard is not as hardy as zebras but hardier than say dwarfs or glowlights.

all danios will school with eachother, so ZD+LD= danio school

* I have still been unable to determine if Frank was the guys first or last name
I assume it to be a last name, given most scientific names are adopted from that.

Thanks for the informative reply The Wolf!

Hopefully the group of Leopards I got will do well! I'm thinking of getting some Zebras to add to the Leopards to form a danio school like you mentioned , but I read on your site that Zebras and Leopards can be fin nippers, would this be a problem for other fish? So far, the Leopards seem to be really peaceful, but just very hyperactive!

The photo of the Leopard Danio you have on your site shows it with very dark blue spots, however, my Leopards have grey spots....is this again due to selective breeding? Their colours and patterns aren't that dark, so hopefully once they settle in, their true colours will show!

Really nice danio site by the way, I never knew there were so many Danios! lol

I just checked out your site again and noticed there is a golden variant of the Leopards...however, mine doesn't look like this one either! The body has the same colour, but the spots are slightly darker than the yellow/gold spots on the golden leopard in your photo.

 

[The-Wolf]

I read on your site that Zebras and Leopards can be fin nippers, would this be a problem for other fish?

avoid fish with long flowwing fins, like bettas, guppies and longfin varieties of other fish, having said that longfin danios are ok to be kept with std danios.

The photo of the Leopard Danio you have on your site shows it with very dark blue spots, however, my Leopards have grey spots....is this again due to selective breeding?

that could just be down to lighting and diet.
Natural light and a well balanced diet, may chage the spots to a blue.
(who says a leopard can't change its' spots )

I just checked out your site again and noticed there is a golden variant of the Leopards...however, mine doesn't look like this one either! The body has the same colour, but the spots are slightly darker than the yellow/gold spots on the golden leopard in your photo.

so let me get this straight you have a golden bodied leopard but you have colour on the spots correct?
I'd love to see a pic, but I also know how hard that can be with danios.

 

[Bloo]

it is all in the scientific name
zebra danio danio rerio
leopard danio danio "frankei" rerio
the "frankei" refers to the man who created the colour morph leopard* from
selectivly breeding Zebras, so the lines broke up and eventually became spots.

How interesting - learnt something new

 

[ey2006]

I read on your site that Zebras and Leopards can be fin nippers, would this be a problem for other fish?

avoid fish with long flowwing fins, like bettas, guppies and longfin varieties of other fish, having said that longfin danios are ok to be kept with std danios.

The photo of the Leopard Danio you have on your site shows it with very dark blue spots, however, my Leopards have grey spots....is this again due to selective breeding?

that could just be down to lighting and diet.
Natural light and a well balanced diet, may chage the spots to a blue.
(who says a leopard can't change its' spots )

I just checked out your site again and noticed there is a golden variant of the Leopards...however, mine doesn't look like this one either! The body has the same colour, but the spots are slightly darker than the yellow/gold spots on the golden leopard in your photo.

so let me get this straight you have a golden bodied leopard but you have colour on the spots correct?
I'd love to see a pic, but I also know how hard that can be with danios.

luckily i dont have any of those fish. apart from appearance, are there any differences between longfin and standard danios? i do have one or two longfins in the group

its funny because when i just fed the fish now, i observed the danios patterns and the leopards actually do have blue spots! but i am certain that it wasn't blue when i got them! or maybe i was just colour blind? lol

 

[The-Wolf]

are there any differences between longfin and standard danios? i do have one or two longfins in the group

again hardiness, due to the amount of selective breeding required to attain the long fins.
I would put l/f ZDs on the same hardiness level as leopards.