Neon Rice Carp - Oryzias cf. woworae - DNZ

Oryzias cf. woworae, the Neon Ricefish from flowing waters of the Indonesian island Sulawesi grows only up to 5 cm long. It belongs to the family of the very popular Medaka, the rice fish from Japan. Its small mouth makes it predestined for socialization with less robust dwarf shrimps . Also with other small fishes it can be socialized very well. Since the Neon Ricefish tends to live in the lower area, keeping it with crayfish is not recommended. Although this pretty ornamental fish was only scientifically described in 2010, the rice fish has already established itself in the aquarium hobby and is indispensable without it.

The 4-5 cm long growing Oryzias cf. woworae are characterized by their colorfulness. Both sexes are strikingly colored and look about the same, although the females often have somewhat less intense colors. The flanks are a bright metallic blue, as are the irises of the eyes. The pectoral fins are bright red, and the caudal fin has two red fin rays above and below. The red coloration extends as a stripe along the lower abdomen to in front of the anal fin. Depending on the light, the eyes shine light blue to turquoise. Females can be recognized for sure by the fact that they carry their spawn as a spawning cluster on their abdomen after mating, before they scrape them off on moss, plants or even on a spawning mop.

The attached eggs together with the spawning substrate can be transferred to a rearing aquarium for breeding, where the fry hatch after 1-2 weeks. They are fed with fine dust food and with infusoria, and later you move on to artemia euplii.

A species aquarium is highly recommended for these rather reserved group fish, and socialization with dwarf shrimp definitely works. Ricefish can also be kept with other small peaceful, rather quiet fish. An aquarium of 54 liters is well sufficient for keeping a group of ten. Soft to medium hard water with a total hardness up to 15, a carbonate hardness up to 10 and a pH of 6 to 7.5 is very suitable. In the habitat the fish have sandy substrate. Planting is helpful. Temperatures of 22 to 26 °C are well suited.

The predominantly animal food eating Neon Rice Carp have small mouths and therefore need high quality fine frozen food or live food. Artemia nauplii are suitable as well as copepods or micro worms. As a supplement you can give the beautiful aquarium fish a fine dry food.

Our food recommendation: This NatureHolic Main Feed is a professional staple feed for all aquarium fish. Main feed we supply in the form of soft granules, which thanks to its grain size of half a millimeter can be easily absorbed by small to medium-sized fish. The soft consistency resembles the texture of insect larvae in nature and protects the fish mouth from micro-injuries.

Our plant recommendation: For planting, use NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planaria 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.