Galaxy Rasbora Care and Breeding Guide

The Galaxy Rasbora is a tropical fish that remains a favorite amongst aquarists since its discovery in 2006. This fish is one of the latest addition to the aquarium trade that that really caused a great hit with fish keepers all around the world. The fish has got an amazing coloration on its body the reason why it is one of the most sought tropical fish for aquarium. Indeed its amazing colors look so good that a section of fish keepers were skeptical of it and thought that the colors were sort of a ploy to hoodwink the public into buying it. Surprisingly, the fish when seen in an aquarium looks even more stunningly beautiful then even from photos.

The name of the fish has just been recently changed from Galaxy Rasbora to celestial pearl danio. This was done after it was established that the fish is closely related to the Danios fish species. When the fish was first discovered it used to be called the Microrasbora sp. Today it has been given the official name of Danio Margaritatus.

Appearance of Galaxy Rasbora

This fish has a bizarre body shape in comparison to other fish that it has close relations with. It has a nose that appears somewhat stumpy, with its body length being about three times that of its height.

There is a striking difference in the colors of the males and females. The males exhibit rather bright blue body coloration with more coloration in their fins. Females on their part exhibit duller bluish-greenish background coloration with a tint of yellowish color to their bellies.

Both the female and the male sexes exhibit a pattern of what appears to be small dots on their bodies. The gill plates of both the sexes are so transparent so that you can visibly see blood vessels through them.

Habitat

The first discovery of this fish was made back in the year 2006 in Asia, Myanmar at an area near the Salween River Basin. It is a fresh water tropical fish that is already on the list of quickly declining fish species. The reason for the declining numbers or populations of the fish can be attributed to the huge demand it has attracted from aquarists and hobbyists alike. This has led to the destruction of the natural environment of the fish usually resulting in over-collection of the fish thus hindering its smooth breeding.

Tank requirements

The waters conditions in the natural habitat from which the fish are gotten from are usually slightly alkaline and the temperatures there can reach ups of 24°C. In an aquarium setting, the fish will need sufficient space because they are schooling fish and therefore may need to be kept in groups of up to 6.

For a detailed list of ideal tank conditions to keep the fish in an aquarium, you can follow the guide below:

• Because the fish need to be kept in a bigger tank with more water, setting a tank that is at least 10 gallons of water is advised.
• The tank water hardiness should be slightly hard.
• Ideal temperature for the tank water should range between 73 – 79°F.
• As for the pH having one that is between pH 6.0 – 7.5.
• Having a number of aquarium plants in there will also go a long way in ensuring that the environment is made lively and natural for them.
• Because the fish need to stay in clean environment doing frequent water changes at least once a week is advisable. You can do this by changing a quarter of the water and also doing filtration.
• Lighting should be moderate but should not be a major concern because even in the wild they are used to direct sunlit ponds.

You can put other tank mates with them but just ensure the other mates are not overly temperamental and aggressive. The Galaxy Rasbora is generally peaceful fish and will feel not attack other fish of the same size or smaller.

On average the fish will easily adjust to varied water conditions and therefore should not prove a herculean task to keep even by a beginning aquarist. Just remember to follow the basic rules of caring for aquarium fish though.

Feeding

The fish is omnivorous that is they feed on both plants and other animals such as invertebrates. You can better feed them tiny live foods such as micro-worms, brine shrimp, and Daphnia.

They can as well be fed tiny crumbled fish flakes, tetra mini granules, and live Tubifex.

Breeding

The female of the Galaxy Rasbora is known to scatter eggs when it is time for breeding then the male will over the eggs to fertilize. During this period it is best for the water in the tank to be made soft with minimal lighting.

Here below are some things that you can do to aid the fish in breeding successfully in the tank:

• Providing a shallow tank that is fitted with a sponge filter that is air driven.
• You can set the tank temperature to be approximately 24°C then you can then introduce the female and male into the tank.
• Essential you may not need to condition the male and the female for them to start spawning but providing them with lots of live or even frozen food will help to speed things up.

It is the males that usually initiate the breeding process in most instances you will see the male starting to show some sort of a dance near the female. The dance is an attempt to persuade the female to start laying the eggs.

As soon as the female lays her eggs and they are deposited on spawning mop provided for them, the male will then hover over them to fertilize. Please note that the female will not lay too many eggs at once but it is a process that may take a few hours with the male repeating the same thing over.

Once you are sure that the spawning and fertilization is complete ensure that you remove the adult fish from the breeding tank. This will help to avoid the possibility of the male and even the female from feeding on the fry that will hatch in a period of 24 hours after successful fertilization.