Graceful rasbora

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep graceful rasboras in a group of at least eight to ten in a tank of 60 litres or more, with soft, acidic water at 22 to 26 C and a pH of 5.0 to 7.0. Leaf litter, dark substrate, and gentle filtration through peat bring out the blue stripe. Feed small foods such as micropellets, crushed flake, and frozen daphnia, cyclops, and baby brine shrimp. It is a gentle schooler that suits a quiet blackwater community with other small, calm species.

In the wild

The graceful rasbora comes from soft, acidic blackwater streams and peat swamps of Southeast Asia. It shoals in midwater in shaded, tea-stained water among roots and leaf litter. A dark, often blue-tinged stripe runs along a slim reddish-tan body. It is a peaceful blackwater shoaler for a soft-water tank.

Good to know

Once placed in Rasbora as Rasbora gracilis, the species now sits in the genus Trigonopoma with the glowlight rasbora. It reaches about 5 cm and shows a blue sheen over the flank stripe in good conditions, which is why it is sometimes called the blue-line rasbora. It shares its blackwater home with fish such as chocolate and licorice gouramis.

Did you know

In soft blackwater the dark side stripe picks up an electric blue shimmer, which is easy to miss in a bright, hard-water shop tank.

Related species

• 

  Red-striped rasbora

  Trigonopoma pauciperforata

  2.8 in (7 cm)22 gal (85 L)70–79°F (21–26°C)

• 

  Cherry barb

  Puntius titteya

  2 in (5 cm)20 gal (75 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)

• 

  Five-banded barb

  Desmopuntius pentazona

  2 in (5 cm)20 gal (75 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)

• 

  Harlequin rasbora

  Trigonostigma heteromorpha

  2 in (5 cm)15 gal (55 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)

• 

  Stoliczka's barb

  Pethia stoliczkana

  2 in (5 cm)20 gal (75 L)64–79°F (18–26°C)
• Cuming's barb

  Pethia cumingii

  2 in (5 cm)16 gal (60 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)