Redline

About

Found in the river systems of Assam in northeastern India, Devario assamensis is a deep-bodied schooling fish that has only occasionally surfaced in the hobby, sometimes traded under informal names like 'Mirik red', 'redline', or 'blood stripe'. It belongs to a group of larger, robust danionids and carries a prominent dark lateral stripe, the so-called P stripe, that runs along the flank and extends into the fork of the tail, a pattern shared with a handful of close relatives from the same region. It's a fish that's always on the move. While not aggressive, it's boisterous enough at feeding time and active enough throughout the day that shy or slow-moving tankmates can end up stressed. Robust companions of similar size, other cyprinids, loaches, larger characins, are far better choices than anything timid or delicate. Like all schooling species in this group, it really does need numbers to settle in properly; a group of eight or more makes a noticeable difference to both the fish's confidence and the visual impact of the display. Males in particular tend to develop better color when kept alongside rivals. Breeding follows the typical egg-scattering pattern of the broader danionid family, and the species is generally considered a workable choice for beginners given some attention to tank size and compatible company.