Southern redbelly dace

Care at a glance

Overview

Southern redbelly dace are active, mostly peaceful shoaling fish that should be kept in a group of at least eight, as a strong shoal keeps them confident and encourages the males to color up. They swim in the middle water and suit a coolwater community with other temperate, gentle species of similar size. They are eager feeders that take flake, small pellets, and frozen or live foods, and they graze on soft algae too. Cool, clean, well oxygenated water is essential, so they are best kept in an unheated or lightly cooled tank rather than a tropical one. A tank around 230 liters or larger gives an active shoal the space it needs.

In the wild

The southern redbelly dace is native to clear, cool streams and spring fed creeks across the central and eastern United States, where it lives over gravel in flowing, well oxygenated water, often near undercut banks and cover. It is a coolwater fish, comfortable at about 14–21 C and a near neutral pH of 6.5–7.5. Recreate its home with brisk current, a gravel and pebble base, and clean, oxygen rich water. Some rock, driftwood, and hardy planting help, but flow, oxygen, and cool temperatures matter most.

Good to know

This dace is a North American member of the family Cyprinidae that reaches around 10 cm. It carries two dark stripes along a golden flank, and in the breeding season males light up with a brilliant red belly and fins set against yellow. It is often placed today in the genus Chrosomus rather than Phoxinus. It is an egg scattering spawner, frequently laying over the gravel nests of other stream fish, and it is difficult to breed deliberately in the aquarium.

Did you know

The name says it plainly: erythrogaster comes from Greek words meaning red belly, and in spring the breeding male delivers, its underside blazing scarlet against a gold and black striped body. For a fish from cool North American creeks, that display holds its own against many tropical species.

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