Glowlight Rasbora

About

Found in the peat-stained rivers and forest streams of Sumatra and Borneo, this small cyprinid, Trigonostigma hengeli, is sometimes sold under the name glowlight rasbora. Though that name is shared with another species, which causes no end of confusion at fish shops. The easiest way to pick it out from its close relatives is the body color: where T. heteromorpha runs pinkish and T. espei leans copper-red, hengeli has a largely grey, almost colorless body that makes the bright orange pigmentation along the upper and front edge of its lambchop-shaped flank marking really pop. It is the smallest of the group and tends to be a touch more reserved than larger rasboras, but it is no less rewarding to keep. Because it is a genuine schooling fish, a group of eight to ten individuals is really the minimum worth considering. Kept in decent numbers the fish settle in, show bolder color, and the males will actively display to one another in a way that is genuinely interesting to watch. It asks very little in terms of water chemistry and gets along well with other small, peaceful community fish. A planted tank suits it well, and patient keepers who provide soft, slightly acidic conditions may eventually find fry appearing among the leaves.