From Aqua Guide, the free encyclopedia
Chili Rasbora
Boraras brigittae
- Temperature
- 20–28 °C
- pH
- 4 – 7
- Min. tank size
- 41 L
- Lifespan
- 4 years
- Diet
- omnivore
- Care level
- moderate
| Scientific classification | |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name: | Boraras brigittae |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Origin: | Indonesia (southwestern Borneo blackwater swamps) |
| Care Characteristics | |
| Care Level: | moderate |
| Diet: | omnivore |
| Max Size: | 2.00 cm |
| Water Type: | freshwater |
| Temp Group: | tropical |
| Temperament: | peaceful |
| Min Group: | 8+ together |
| Varieties: | No cultivated strains, and the appeal is precisely the wild fish — there is no albino, long-finned or colour-selected form in circulation. Some suppliers advertise selected lines for deeper red, and well-kept captive-bred fish from good breeders are noticeably more intense than mass-market imports, but nothing is established as a named strain. Most fish in the trade are wild-caught from south-western Borneo, which is worth knowing given that the peat swamp biotopes they come from are under pressure from rubber and palm oil plantations and building development. Captive-bred chili rasboras exist and are worth seeking out. The genuine issue is species confusion. B. brigittae is often misidentified as B. urophthalmoides, from which it differs in being larger and more uniformly, brightly red. Boraras maculatus, the dwarf or pygmy rasbora, carries distinct dark blotches rather than a continuous stripe, and B. merah and B. naevus also appear. All are similar in care and mix peacefully, so a mixed shop tank is not a husbandry problem — but a "shoal" of twenty split across three species is three small groups. |
| Lifespan: | 4 years |
Quick Tips
- Bioload:Very low
- Min Tank:41 L
- Substrate:Dark sand; densely planted with botanicals/tannins
- Plant Safe:Plant-safe
- Filtration:Low (very gentle flow)
Chili Rasbora (Boraras brigittae) is a species of fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is native to Indonesia (southwestern Borneo blackwater swamps). The chili rasbora is 20 mm long and among the most intensely coloured freshwater fish there is — a deep translucent red carrying a dark lateral stripe, glowing against a dark planted tank in a way photographs undersell. It comes from blackwater streams and pools associated with ancient forest peat swamps in south-western Borneo. That habitat is the reason it looks like this and the reason it is worth being careful about: these biotopes are under pressure from rubber and palm oil plantations, building development and other human activity. It is peaceful, timid, and produces almost no waste, which makes it close to an ideal nano fish — provided you buy enough of them and give them the tank they want. The two things people get wrong are numbers and lighting. A small group under bright light in a bare tank is a pale, hidden fish. A shoal of twenty over dark sand and leaf litter is something else entirely.
Compatibility
- Temperament
- peaceful
- Keep in
- Groups of 8+
- Swims
- middle
- Fin nipper
- No
- Delicate fins
- No
Species similar to Chili Rasbora
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