Flying Minnow

About

The flying minnow (Laubuka caeruleostigmata) is a slender, active little fish from the Mekong and Chao Phraya river systems of Southeast Asia, where it spends its life at the water's surface in large rivers and seasonally flooded forests. It migrates back into main river channels as floodwaters recede each spring, feeding almost entirely on insects it picks off the surface film. A lifestyle that explains both its common name and its alternative nickname, the leaping barb. In the aquarium it stays true to that surface-oriented habit, so a well-fitted lid is genuinely important. Identification is fairly straightforward once you know what to look for: a bright blue spot on top of the head, a subtle row of four or five short bars along the front half of the body, and a noticeably deep body profile relative to length. This species was once a fairly regular sight in the ornamental trade but has become scarce in recent years, so finding a group may take some patience. And a group is really the way to go. A school of at least eight to ten individuals settles the fish down considerably and produces much more natural behavior. It's a peaceful, beginner-friendly species that mixes well with a wide range of community fish of similar size and disposition.