Annandale danio

Devario annandalei

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

FreshwaterFish

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
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Chao Phraya, Salween and Mekong basins
Family: Danionidae

Overview

This is one of the larger, more active danios, so keep it as a school of six or more in a long tank where it can swim hard along the midwater. Temperament is peaceful, but it is a fast, boisterous fish, so choose robust companions such as barbs, loaches, and other river cyprinids rather than shy or slow tankmates. It is a strong jumper, so a tight lid is essential. Feed a varied omnivore diet of quality flake and micro pellets with regular frozen bloodworm, daphnia, and the occasional small insect. A tank of around 160 liters gives a group the length it needs.

In the wild

The Annandale danio ranges across mainland Southeast Asia in the Salween, Chao Phraya, and Mekong basins, living in streams and foothill reaches with steady flow. Recreate that with well-oxygenated, moving water, a substrate of sand and rounded gravel, and some open swimming length rather than heavy planting. Keep it at 20 to 26 degrees Celsius with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5.

Good to know

Devario annandalei belongs to the danio family, Danionidae, and reaches about 11 centimeters, one of the true giant danios. Chaudhuri described it in 1908 and named it for Thomas Nelson Annandale, the zoologist and anthropologist who founded the Zoological Survey of India and collected the first specimens. Like other danios it is an egg-scattering spawner, though captive breeding is not well documented.

Did you know

Thomas Nelson Annandale collected so widely across India that taxonomists attached his name to animals throughout the region, on fishes, frogs, and more. This danio is the Devario that carries it.