All fish / Cyprinidae

Greater scissortail

Rasbora caudimaculata

Also known as giant scissortail, red-tailed rasbora, spot-tail rasbora, greater scissortail rasbora, redtail rasbora, ラスボラ・カウドマクラータ, 大剪刀尾波鱼

A large, slim silvery rasbora with a deeply forked tail whose lobes carry red or orange flushes and black tips. It is kept as an active, hardy shoaling fish for bigger community tanks with plenty of open swimming space.

Care at a glance

Care level

Easy

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

12 cm

Temperature

22 to 26 °C

pH

5.5 to 7

Smallest tank

300 litres

Keep as

Shoal of 6 or more

Diet

Omnivore: quality flakes and granules, frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp and daphnia

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

5 to 8 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo (Malaysia, Indonesia, southern Thailand)

Breeding

An egg scatterer that gives no parental care and will eat its own eggs. Captive spawning is rarely reported and is best tried in a separate tank with soft, acidic water and fine-leaved plants.

Good to know

Grows far larger than most rasboras and is a fast, jumpy swimmer, so it needs a long tank with a tight lid. Often confused with the smaller scissortail rasbora, Rasbora trilineata.