Largescale rasbora

Rasbora paucisqualis

Also known as Largescaled rasbora, Burmese gold neon rasbora

FreshwaterFish

Largescale rasbora (Rasbora paucisqualis) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–81°F (22–27°C)
pH: 5.5–7.0
Adult size: 2 in (5 cm)
Minimum tank: 20 gal (75 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Mekong basin and Malaysia
Family: Danionidae

Overview

Keep this small rasbora in a school of eight or more in a planted tank with open lanes; a moving group catches the light off its oversized scales like flecks of beaten metal. It is peaceful and stays in midwater, suited to a calm community of similar-sized, gentle fish. Feed small foods it can handle, such as crushed flake, micro pellets, and frozen daphnia, cyclops, and baby brine shrimp. A tank of around 75 liters with soft, slightly acidic water suits it.

In the wild

The largescale rasbora lives in clear, swift forest streams and pools from the Mekong basin south into Malaysia, in soft, slightly acidic water. Recreate that with a planted tank, a dark substrate, gentle to moderate flow, and some leaf litter or wood to tint and soften the water. Keep it at 22 to 27 degrees Celsius with a pH of 5.5 to 7.0.

Good to know

Rasbora paucisqualis is a danio-family rasbora, Danionidae, reaching about 5 centimeters. Ahl described it in 1935; the name means few-scaled, since its scales are noticeably larger, and therefore fewer, than those of most rasboras. Its breeding remains undocumented in aquaria.

Did you know

Fewer scales means bigger ones, and that is the whole point of its name: each plate along the flank is large enough to pick out by eye, tiling the fish in visibly coarse mail.