Green neon rasbora

Microdevario kubotai

Also known as Kubotai rasbora, Neon green rasbora

FreshwaterFish

Green neon rasbora (Microdevario kubotai) — BottomDog · CC BY-SA 3.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–79°F; 22–26°C
pH: 6.0–7.0
Adult size: 0.8 in; 2 cm
Minimum tank: 10 gal; 38 L

Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Shoaling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: Egg scatterer · Medium
Rarity: Common
Family: Cyprinidae
Origin: Peninsular Thailand and Myanmar (Ataran River basin)

Overview

The green neon rasbora is a tiny, peaceful shoaling fish for a planted community tank. It is easy to keep in a mature tank.

Did you know

The green neon rasbora's bright green only really shows when it feels safe in a tight group over dark substrate. In a small school or a bare, bright tank, the color washes out to a dull, pale silver. Many people write them off as plain in a crowded, stressful shop tank, then watch them turn green once settled at home.

Caring for the green neon rasbora

Keep green neon rasboras in a group of 8 to 10 or more, in a tank of at least 10 gal (38 L). In small numbers they hide in the plants. Give them a heavily planted, mature tank with floating cover up top, a dark substrate and quiet movement at the surface. Let the tank settle before you add them, since they do poorly in anything new or unstable.

Hold the water soft, at 72 to 79°F (22 to 26°C) and a pH of 6.0 to 7.0. Keep the flow gentle, since they are weak swimmers at this size. Their mouths are very small, so feed crushed micro pellets and fine flakes. Add small live or frozen foods such as baby brine shrimp and microworms.

They are peaceful and swim in the middle of the water column, schooling together once they feel settled. They are shrimp-safe and pair well with other tiny, calm fish. Skip anything big enough to treat them as food.

Green neon rasboras are egg scatterers with no parental care. They drop their eggs among plants and moss, then ignore them. Breeding them is doable but takes some setup, since the adults will eat their own eggs.

Good to know

The green neon rasbora is Microdevario kubotai, a tiny cyprinid in the family Cyprinidae, also known as the kubotai rasbora. Most fish in the trade are wild caught, though tank-bred stock turns up now and then.

In the wild

Green neon rasboras come from slow forest streams in Peninsular Thailand and Myanmar, in the Ataran River basin. The water there runs soft, warm and a little acidic. These are shaded, plant-choked stretches with leaf litter and gentle flow.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The green neon rasbora is a peaceful, shoaling 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 a green neon rasbora need?

A green neon rasbora needs at least 10 gal (38 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a green neon rasbora need?

A green neon rasbora is comfortable at 72–79°F (22–26°C) with a pH of 6.0–7.0.

What does a green neon rasbora eat?

A green neon rasbora eats crushed micro pellets and fine flakes, plus small live or frozen foods such as baby brine shrimp and microworms. Its mouth is very small.

How big does a green neon rasbora get?

An adult green neon rasbora reaches about 0.8 in (2 cm).

Does a green neon rasbora need a group?

Yes. A green neon rasbora is a shoaling species and should be kept in a group, not singly.

How does a green neon rasbora breed?

Green neon rasboras are egg scatterers that drop their eggs among plants and moss and give no parental care. Breeding them is doable but takes some setup, since the adults eat the eggs.