Blueline rasbora

About

Found across the Malay Peninsula and Indonesia, Rasbora einthovenii is a mid-sized rasbora from shaded forest streams, where it feeds on worms, small crustaceans, and insects. One of its most useful identification features is the distinctive lateral stripe running from the tail through and past the eye. In this species the stripe has noticeably uneven, almost wavy edges, unlike the cleaner lines seen in closely related species. The body carries a soft pinkish background tone, and individuals from different parts of the range can show variation in how bold or broken that stripe appears. Most fish in the hobby are captive-bred, so wild-locality variants are rarely encountered. This is a sociable, active fish that does best in groups of six or more. Kept in smaller numbers it tends to be skittish and the natural schooling behavior never really comes together properly. A well-planted community aquarium suits it well, and it pairs happily with other peaceful cyprinids, small tetras, loaches, and dwarf cichlids. It places no unusual demands on water chemistry, which gives the keeper a fair amount of flexibility when choosing tankmates. That said, its intermediate care rating is fair. It rewards attentive maintenance and benefits from a mature, stable setup. Breeding is possible but requires a bit of deliberate effort to get reliable results.