Wilpita rasbora

Rasbora wilpita

Also known as Sri Lankan copper rasbora

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–81°F (23–27°C)
pH: 6.0–7.2
Adult size: 3.3 in (8.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 29 gal (110 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Nilwala, Gin and Kalu drainages, southwestern Sri Lanka
Family: Danionidae

Overview

The Wilpita rasbora is a peaceful, coppery schooling fish that settles best in a group of at least eight, ideally alongside other wet-zone Sri Lankan species such as cherry barbs for a coherent island community. It swims in the middle of the tank and, once acclimatised, is steady and undemanding. Feed a varied diet of flake, small pellets, and frozen or live foods to keep its colour up. Give a group a planted tank of around 110 liters with cover, gentle flow, and subdued light; a tight lid matters, as this fish is a capable jumper.

In the wild

It is endemic to shaded rainforest streams in the wet zone of southwestern Sri Lanka, in the Nilwala, Gin and Kalu drainages, shallow, slow, heavily shaded water. Recreate that with a planted tank, driftwood, leaf litter, and soft, well-oxygenated water that is not pushed by strong current. Keep the temperature between 23 and 27 C and the pH from 6.0 to 7.2.

Good to know

Rasbora wilpita, family Danionidae, was described in 1991 from the Wilpita forest area and reaches about 8.5 centimeters, one of Sri Lanka's endemic rainforest rasboras. It is also sold as the Sri Lankan rainbow rasbora. Its aquarium breeding is not recorded. Wild populations are restricted and tied to shrinking wet-zone forest.

Did you know

Sri Lanka's wet-zone forests hold fish found nowhere else on earth, sometimes in streams narrow enough to step across; the Wilpita rasbora is one of these single-region endemics, and it is listed as vulnerable in the wild.