🌿 Perfect Scale for Aquascaping & 100% Shrimp-Safe
The Dwarf Maculatus Rasbora is a top-tier selection for meticulously designed aquascapes, Dutch-style planted layouts, and desktop nano systems. Because of their incredibly compact adult size, they provide a fantastic sense of expansive scale to your layout, making the aquarium appear much larger and deeper without adding a heavy biological load or creating excess waste.
They are exceptionally peaceful and stand as one of the absolute safest fish options for dwarf shrimp colonies. Thanks to their tiny micro-anatomy, they pose zero threat to adult dwarf shrimp and will live alongside them in perfect biological harmony. They create a beautiful visual dynamic as they school closely together through dense green stem plants, mosses, and dark driftwood configurations.
🐟 Fish Specifications & Water Parameters
Parameter | Specification | Technical Notes |
Scientific Name | Boraras maculatus | Established pure bloodline with bold, well-defined spot markings |
Common Names | Dwarf Rasbora, Spotted Rasbora, Pigmy Rasbora | High-traffic search terms featuring highly active online buyer intent |
Maximum Size | 0.8 – 1.0 inch (2.0 – 2.5 cm) | Slightly more robust than its cousins, making it exceptionally hardy for a micro-fish |
Diet | Omnivore / Micro-Predator | Readily accepts crushed high-quality flakes, micropellets, baby brine shrimp, and daphnia |
Behavior | Peaceful Schooling Fish | Must be kept in groups of 6 or more (10+ highly recommended) to prompt schooling and top color |
🛠️ Lighting, Water Parameters & Care Guide
Schooling Dynamics & Coloration: Must be kept in numbers. The Maculatus Rasbora depends heavily on its school for security. Keeping them in a proper group completely eliminates stress, causing dominant males to actively display a stunning, deep crimson sheen as they interact.
Lighting & Habitat Preferences: Thrives beautifully under full-spectrum LED fixtures. They prefer aquariums with plenty of live plants, floating vegetation to diffuse intense light, and dark substrates or driftwood, which naturally mimic their wild peat swamp habitats.
Water Chemistry Parameters: Prefers soft, stable, and slightly acidic to neutral water with a pH range of 6.0 – 7.0, a gH of 1–5, and a stable temperature range of 20°C – 28°C (64°F – 82°F). Consistent parameters are key to ensuring maximum longevity.
Ideal Tankmates: Perfect for cohabiting with other ultra-peaceful nano fish like smaller rasboras, pygmy corydoras, otocinclus, freshwater snails, and various dwarf shrimp species. Avoid housing them with large or aggressive fish that could easily swallow them.