All fish / Danionidae

Pearl Danio

Danio albolineatus

Also known as pearl danio, gold pearl danio, blue-redstripe danio, kedah danio, yellow danio, golden pearl danio, brachydanio albolineatus, pearl zebra danio, ปลาซิวข้างขวานใหญ่, パールダニオ, ikan danio mutiara, 珍珠斑马鱼

A slim, active danio whose body shows a pearly blue and violet sheen with a reddish orange stripe along the rear half, which glows best under side lighting. Keepers like it for its hardiness, constant movement near the surface and how well it suits community tanks with similar sized fish.

Care at a glance

Care level

Easy

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

5.5 cm

Temperature

20 to 26 °C

pH

6.5 to 7.5

Smallest tank

80 litres

Keep as

Shoal of 8 or more

Diet

Omnivore: quality flakes and micro pellets with live or frozen bloodworm, daphnia and brine shrimp

Swims

Top of the tank

Lifespan

3 to 5 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia and Sumatra (Indonesia)

Breeding

An egg scatterer that spawns readily over fine leaved plants or mesh, usually at dawn, and gives no parental care. The adults will eat the eggs, so remove them after spawning; the fry hatch in a day or two and take infusoria then baby brine shrimp.

Good to know

Very fast swimmers that jump, so a tight fitting lid is essential, and their activity can stress slow or long finned tankmates. The 'Kedah' and blue-redstripe forms are regional colour variants rather than separate valid species.