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Annandale danio

Devario annandalei

Also known as Annandale's giant danio, Burmese blood tail giant danio

FreshwaterFish

Annandale danio (Devario annandalei)

Care at a glance

Temperature
68–79°F
20–26°C
pH
6.5–7.5
Adult size
4.3 in
11 cm
Minimum tank
42 gal
160 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Schooling
Swim level
Middle
Diet
Omnivore
Difficulty
Easy
Breeding
Egg scatterer
Rarity
Rare
Family
Danionidae
Origin
Chao Phraya, Salween and Mekong basins

Overview

The Annandale danio is one of the larger, more active danios, a peaceful schooler for a long community tank. It is an easy fish to keep.

Did you know

The Annandale danio is the Devario that carries the name of Thomas Nelson Annandale. He collected so widely across India that taxonomists attached his name to fishes, frogs and more throughout the region.

Caring for the Annandale danio

Keep Annandale danios as a school of six or more. A long tank of 42 gal (160 L) or larger gives a group the length it needs. They swim hard along the midwater, so leave open swimming length rather than heavy planting. A substrate of sand and rounded gravel suits them, and a tight lid is essential, since they are strong jumpers.

Give them well-oxygenated, moving water at 68 to 79°F (20 to 26°C) and a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. Feed a varied omnivore diet of quality flake and micro pellets, with regular frozen bloodworm, daphnia and the occasional small insect.

Annandale danios are peaceful, but they are fast, boisterous fish. Choose robust companions such as barbs, loaches and other river cyprinids, rather than shy or slow tank mates. Like other danios, they are egg-scattering spawners, though captive breeding is not well documented.

Good to know

Devario annandalei belongs to the danio family, Danionidae, and is one of the true giant danios. Chaudhuri described it in 1908 from the first specimens, which Thomas Nelson Annandale collected. Annandale was the zoologist and anthropologist who founded the Zoological Survey of India.

In the wild

The Annandale danio ranges across mainland Southeast Asia, in the Salween, Chao Phraya and Mekong basins. It lives in streams and foothill reaches with steady flow.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The Annandale danio is a peaceful, schooling species that keeps to the middle. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does an Annandale danio need?

An Annandale danio needs at least 42 gal (160 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does an Annandale danio need?

An Annandale danio is comfortable at 68–79°F (20–26°C) with a pH of 6.5–7.5.

What does an Annandale danio eat?

An Annandale danio eats a varied omnivore diet. Feed quality flake and micro pellets, with regular frozen bloodworm, daphnia and the occasional small insect.

How big does an Annandale danio get?

An adult Annandale danio reaches about 4.3 in (11 cm).

Does an Annandale danio need a group?

Yes. An Annandale danio is a schooling species and should be kept in a group, not singly.

How does an Annandale danio breed?

The Annandale danio is an egg-scattering spawner, like other danios. Captive breeding is not well documented.

Related species