Rosy bitterling

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep them in a group of six or more, in a tank of 80 liters or larger, since they are peaceful and a little shy and only settle and color up properly in numbers. They swim in the middle of the water column and do best at room temperature, about 18 to 24 C, with a pH around 6.5 to 7.5, not in a warm tropical tank running 26 C or higher. Feed flake, pellet, and frozen or fresh foods, since they are omnivores. Pair them with other cool-water species like White Cloud Mountain minnows or other bitterlings rather than warm tropicals. They have established themselves outside their native range in some regions, so never release them into local waterways and check your local rules before keeping them.

In the wild

Rosy bitterlings come from rivers and slow, weedy waters across East Asia, ranging from the Amur River basin south to the Pearl River basin and Taiwan. These are temperate waters that cool right down in winter, so keep them unheated at room temperature, roughly 18 to 24 C, and let them have a cooler rest over the colder months. Give them a tank of at least 80 liters with dense planting, some rockwork or bogwood to duck behind, and a bit of current. Water on the soft to moderately hard side suits them, with a pH from about 6.5 to 7.5.

Good to know

This is a member of the family Acheilognathidae, a relative of the carps and minnows, reaching around 8 cm as an adult. Its standout trait is how it breeds. The female grows a long ovipositor and lays her eggs inside the gill chamber of a living freshwater mussel, where they develop and the fry emerge after two to four weeks. Males color up reddish to purple through the spring and summer spawning season.

Did you know

They cannot breed without a live freshwater mussel in the tank. The female uses her ovipositor to place eggs into the mussel's gills, and the young grow there in safety before swimming out. In return the mussel's own larvae often hitch a ride on the fish, so the two species depend on each other. That is why breeding is rated hard. The challenge is keeping a mussel alive long term, not the fish themselves.

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