Triangle Rasbora

1 Triangle Rasbora Overview

The Triangle Rasbora, also called the Harlequin Rasbora, is a cyprinid. At 24–28°C its appetite is strong and growth rapid. Gentle, it gets along with other fish but not large ones.

English name: Rasbora heteromorpha

Type: Tropical freshwater fish

Origin: Malay Peninsula, Singapore, Thailand, Sumatra (Indonesia)

Breeding: Egg-laying (oviparous)

Water quality: hardness 1–3 dGH, pH 6.2–6.4

Care level: Easy

2 Appearance

Gentle, it mixes with similarly gentle small tropical fish; never with large fish. Its look is fun, visible in pictures.

Body and habits: length 3–5 cm. Prefers soft old water, pH 6.6, 24–28°C; tolerates 2°C lower but daily change must not exceed 2°C. Likes live food and dry food. Lively and gentle, gets along with others but not large fish, or it becomes thin and dull.

The dorsal, anal and caudal fins are red with white edges; pectoral and pelvic fins are colorless and transparent; a black triangle runs from the pelvic fin to the caudal base, hence the names blue triangle or black triangle fish.

3 Habitat

Breeding and normal keeping need different environments; mind this. Small and gentle, it mixes with similarly gentle small fish.

Keep at 24–28°C, where appetite is strong and growth rapid, unaffected by outside temperature. Foods include daphnia, tubifex, micro-worms, mealworms, small live fish, pellets. Schools in still or slow water.

Sexing is hard but males are more vivid when breeding. The male swims above the female; when they rotate back-to-back the female spawns. Breeding temperature 28–30°C, hardness 1–3 dGH, pH 6.2–6.4, so use rainwater. Need broad-leaf plants as spawn site; female lays 50–200 eggs, hatching in 1–2 days. Remove parents; fry swim in 3 days.