Burmese Golden Rasbora

About

Sometimes traded under the name 'Burmese golden rasbora', Microdevario gatesi is a miniature cyprinid from Myanmar that barely clears an inch at full size. It belongs to a genus defined by true miniaturisation, sexually mature adults that remain under 20 mm, a trait that has evolved independently across several cyprinid lineages and is thought to be linked to a preference for still or slow-moving, nutrient-poor waters. In the wild this species is associated with pond habitats, and that calm-water preference should guide how you set up its tank. This is a thoroughly peaceful fish, but its small size means it really does best with comparably tiny tankmates. Other diminutive Myanmar natives like Celestichthys choprae or Pethia phutunio fit the bill nicely. As with most schooling cyprinids, the magic only happens in numbers. A group of eight to ten is a reasonable minimum. Kept in a decent-sized school, individuals settle down, show less skittishness, and the males begin to compete for female attention in ways that bring out their best coloration. Breeding has not been widely documented for this species specifically, but closely related congeners scatter eggs among fine-leaved plants without any parental care, and conditioned adults in a mature planted setup may well produce the occasional surprise batch of fry.