Dwarf danio - Boraras maculatus

The dwarf danio (Boraras maculatus) lives on Sumatra mainly in stagnant and very slow flowing heavily weedy waters. Their small size of only 2-3 cm, their very small mouth and their preference for soft water with a pH value of maximum 7 makes them a popular by-fish for bee shrimp, tiger shrimp and other soft water shrimp. A 60 cm standard aquarium is sufficient to keep a small school of 10 Dwarf Beardlings. However, a shoal of 30-40 of these rasboras looks very impressive in a larger well-planted aquarium.

Boraras maculatus has a reddish base color and shows three black spots: one in the middle of the body (surrounded by a bright orange-red border), one at the base of the anal fin and one at the base of the caudal fin. The dorsal fin, caudal fin, and anal fin have glowing red spots.

The Dwarf Dwarf Boraras maculatus is a gregarious little fish and needs the security provided by a school of conspecifics. A minimum group size of 10 specimens is a requirement.

This mini fish can be socialized well with other danios of about the same size and also goes very well with dwarf shrimp. Even small juveniles are hardly eaten. With dwarf crabs, however, one should not associate these small scurrying nano fish in the aquarium, since Boraras maculatus likes to stay in the plants also near the bottom, the little fish would be preyed upon by the crabs.

The Dwarf Crab can be fed with finely grated flake food or granulated food, but it prefers to eat very small frozen food or live food such as slipperfish, Artemia euplii, cyclops, rotifers, vinegar euplii, microworms or banana worms.

Breeding the dwarf danio is considered very difficult. The fish spawn in soft, humic water, but they are not very productive. The parent fish should be caught from the breeding aquarium right after mating and spawning, because they would eat the eggs. The really tiny fry are initially raised on infusoria. Later they can also eat artemia euplii.

Our food recommendation: The professional NatureHolic Nanofeed is a staple food for all small aquarium fish. This mini fish food and rearing food is a fine soft granulate which, thanks to its softness, resembles the consistency of tiny crustaceans and insect larvae and protects the delicate mouths of nano fish and fry from micro-injuries.

Our plant recommendation: Use for planting NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planarians and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free of algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend for fish keeping the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and keeping.