Volcano rasbora

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep a school of at least six, and ideally more, to bring out their color and natural behavior. They occupy the middle of the tank and stay active, picking at the water column. Feed small foods: quality flake, micro pellets, and frozen items like daphnia and baby brine shrimp. They want clean, soft water with steady parameters, so regular water changes matter.

In the wild

This little rasbora comes from clear, flowing forest streams in Sumatra, over rocky bottoms with patches of plants. To suit it, give the tank some current, soft and slightly acidic to neutral water, and good cover. Aim for a pH around 6 to 7.5 and temperatures in the low to mid 20s C.

Good to know

It is a small cyprinid in the family Cyprinidae, reaching only about 4.5 cm. Like most small rasboras, it is an egg scatterer with no parental care, and breeding takes some effort to pull off in a home tank. It was only described fairly recently, so it is still uncommon in the hobby. Expect a typical small-cyprinid lifespan of a few years.

Did you know

Despite the volcano name, the epithet vulcanus points to the fiery red color of breeding males, after Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, not to any volcanic landscape. It comes from highland stream habitats in Sumatra, and fish like this often have small, specific ranges, which means their wild populations can be hit hard by changes to a single stream system.

Related species

• 

  Red-tailed rasbora

  Rasbora borapetensis

  2.4 in (6 cm)18 gal (70 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)
• Sidestripe rasbora

  Rasbora paviana

  3.1 in (8 cm)32 gal (120 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Brilliant rasbora

  Rasbora einthovenii

  3.5 in (9 cm)20 gal (75 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)

• 

  Slender rasbora

  Rasbora daniconius

  3.9 in (10 cm)32 gal (120 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)

• 

  Scissortail rasbora

  Rasbora trilineata

  5.5 in (14 cm)45 gal (170 L)72–77°F (22–25°C)

• 

  Clown rasbora

  Rasbora kalochroma

  3.9 in (10 cm)34 gal (130 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)