Graceful rasbora
Trigonopoma gracile
Also known as Blue-line rasbora, Rasbora gracilis
FreshwaterFish
Care at a glance
- Temperature
- 72–79°F
- 22–26°C
- pH
- 5.0–7.0
- Adult size
- 2 in
- 5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 16 gal
- 60 L
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Social behavior
- Schooling
- Swim level
- Middle
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Breeding
- Hard
- Rarity
- Rare
- Family
- Cyprinidae
- Origin
- Native to blackwater streams and peat swamps of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo.
Overview
The graceful rasbora is a slim, peaceful schooling fish with a dark stripe along its reddish-tan body. It suits a soft-water blackwater tank and a keeper who has kept a few fish before.
Did you know
In soft blackwater, the graceful rasbora's dark side stripe picks up an electric blue shimmer. That shimmer is easy to miss in a bright, hard-water shop tank.
Caring for the graceful rasbora
Keep graceful rasboras in a group of at least eight to ten, in a tank of 16 gal (60 L) or more. Leaf litter, a dark substrate and gentle filtration through peat bring out the blue stripe.
Give them soft, acidic water at 72 to 79°F (22 to 26°C) and a pH of 5.0 to 7.0. Feed small foods such as micropellets and crushed flake, plus frozen daphnia, cyclops and baby brine shrimp.
They are gentle schoolers and mix well with other small, calm species in a quiet blackwater community. Breeding them is hard.
Good to know
The graceful rasbora was once placed in Rasbora as Rasbora gracilis. It now sits in the genus Trigonopoma, in the family Cyprinidae, with the glowlight rasbora. It is sometimes called the blue-line rasbora for the blue sheen over its flank stripe.
In the wild
The graceful rasbora comes from soft, acidic blackwater streams and peat swamps of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo. It shoals in midwater in shaded, tea-stained water among roots and leaf litter. It shares this home with fish such as chocolate and licorice gouramis.
Weekly picks
Tank mates
The graceful rasbora 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.
Neocaridina shrimp
Neocaridina davidi
Freshwater1.6 in (4 cm) · 5 gal (19 L)59–84°F (15–29°C)
Guppy
Poecilia reticulata
FreshwaterBrackish2.4 in (6 cm) · 10 gal (38 L)64–82°F (18–28°C)
Neon tetra
Paracheirodon innesi
Freshwater1.5 in (3.8 cm) · 11 gal (40 L)70–77°F (21–25°C)
Gold rabbit snail
Tylomelania gemmifera
Freshwater2.8 in (7 cm) · 16 gal (60 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
Fire-tail dwarf cichlid
Apistogramma eremnopyge
Freshwater1.8 in (4.5 cm) · 16 gal (60 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)
Fanning characin
Pyrrhulina rachoviana
Freshwater2 in (5 cm) · 16 gal (60 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)
Common questions
What size tank does a graceful rasbora need?
A graceful rasbora needs at least 16 gal (60 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.
What temperature and pH does a graceful rasbora need?
A graceful rasbora is comfortable at 72–79°F (22–26°C) with a pH of 5.0–7.0.
What does a graceful rasbora eat?
A graceful rasbora eats small foods such as micropellets and crushed flake. Frozen daphnia, cyclops and baby brine shrimp suit it too.
How big does a graceful rasbora get?
An adult graceful rasbora reaches about 2 in (5 cm).
Does a graceful rasbora need a group?
Yes. A graceful rasbora is a schooling species and should be kept in a group, not singly.
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