Red-striped Rasbora

About

The red-striped rasbora (Rasbora pauciperforata) is a slender, modestly sized fish from the peat swamps and forest streams of Southeast Asia, ranging from Thailand and Cambodia down through the Malay Peninsula into Indonesia. In the wild it inhabits slow or still, shallow waters beneath dense forest canopies. The kind of dark, tannin-stained blackwater you find in peat forest drainages. That habitat tells you a lot about what this fish needs in captivity: soft, acidic water with some color to it, ideally recreated with driftwood or dried botanicals. The species gets its common name from the vivid red-orange lateral stripe that runs the length of its body, a simple but clean look that really pops against a dark substrate and background. It's a mid-water to surface swimmer and a true schooler, so keeping a group of eight or more will bring out natural behavior and reduce shyness. In the wild it feeds on zooplankton and small insects, and it accepts a variety of prepared and live or frozen foods in the aquarium without much fuss. That said, the specific water chemistry requirements, genuinely soft and acidic conditions, put it more in intermediate territory than a beginner setup. Reefers of blackwater biotopes will find this a rewarding and active addition.