All fish / Cyprinidae

Rasbora ennealepis

Rasbora ennealepis

Also known as nine-scaled rasbora, seluang, wader

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This is a slim, silvery rasbora with a dark lateral stripe and faint yellow tones in the fins. It comes from forest streams and peat swamps in Sundaland. Hobbyists who like regional biotope tanks keep it, and it is an active, peaceful fish that does well in a group.

Care at a glance

Care level

Easy

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

7 cm

Temperature

23 to 28 °C

pH

5.5 to 7

Smallest tank

100 litres

Keep as

Shoal of 8 or more

Diet

Omnivore: small live and frozen foods such as bloodworm and daphnia, plus quality flakes and granules

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

4 to 6 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

Southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo

Breeding

It scatters its eggs among plants and gives no parental care. Spawning in captivity is seldom reported, but it is probably similar to other Rasbora: a well-conditioned group in soft, acidic water with fine-leaved plants, and the adults removed once eggs are laid.

Good to know

It is rarely sold and is easy to confuse with other striped Rasbora such as R. trilineata or R. einthovenii, so check the identification. It may jump, so keep the tank covered.