Care Level: Easy

Temperament: Peaceful

Live Plant Safe: Yes

General Description: The Scissortail Rasbora is a desirable fish among beginner and seasoned hobbyists alike. Not only are these rasboras simple yet elegant with their shimmering silver bodies, but they’re easy to care for and fun to watch! Scissortail rasbora have a torpedo-shaped body, with black spots on each tip of the caudal fin. When these fish swim, each tip of the caudal fin comes together in a twitching-fashion like a closing pair of scissors. Native to forest streams and swamp forests of Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, wild specimens are rarely encountered as all of the Scissortail rasbora available within the aquarium trade are commercially produced. Scissortail rasbora are natural schooling fish, requiring at least 6 individuals but the more the merrier when it comes to this species. A larger group of Scissortail rasbora does make for a more intriguing display! An adult Scissortail rasbora can reach a size of approximately 5″.

Diet Requirements: Scissortail rasbora are omnivores. A diet made up of various high quality vegetable based and protein based flake foods, sinking micro pellet foods and bug bites are ideal, in addition to offering frozen foods such as bloodworms, brine shrimp and daphnia. Variety is the spice of life in order to maintain color, immune function and longevity of your fish.

Care Requirements: A minimum 10 to 15 gallon aquarium is ideal for a group of young Scissortail rasbora. Size up accordingly to accomodate adults or a larger school. Scissortail rasbora are one of our listed “hardy fish” because they are able to endure the initial break-in cycle of a newly set-up aquarium. While their wild environments have gentle water flow, neutral water and a slightly acidic pH, the Scissortail rasbora is a very adaptable species to a wide range of parameters. The aquarium does not need to be aquascaped with anything in particular to keep a school of Scissortail rasbora happy, but a darker substrate, driftwood and other natural-looking arrangements will bring out the beauty of this rasbora. Some unobstructed swimming space is important for this species. Scissortail rasbora would benefit from some floating plants to dim the lighting if it is intense, and incorporating live plants into the aquascape, such as Anubias or Cryptocoryne, would still thrive under such conditions. Scissortail rasbora are extremely peaceful and rarely conflict with tank mates, even given their somewhat large adult size. They are a great filler fish for the middle area of the aquarium, with a lot of energy and movement. Because of this, Scissortail rasbora can be successfully kept in a wide range of community-type aquariums. Given that Scissortail rasbora are always out and about, they serve as a good “dither” fish for more shy fish species. Recommended water conditions, 74-82° F, KH 2-12, pH 6.5-7.5.

Purchase Size: Medium: 2”

Note: Your item may not look identical to the image provided due to variation within species. Purchase sizes are approximate.