# Opinions on Boraras merah (Phoenix rasbora)?



## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

Hi everyone,

I'm planning on swapping the harlequin rasboras in my Fluval Edge for a school of these fishes and I'm looking for members' opinions on them.










Any feedback is welcome!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

They're beautiful and easy to keep.

B. brigittae are my favorites, but the B. merah are nice, too.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

It's kinda amazing how long these little guys live. I've had mine for 3-4 years now.


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

Thank you for the replies, Laura and mistergreen.

My only concern is that I have hard water with a pH of 7.8. According to this site, they'd prefer a pH range of 4.5 - 6.5 and 1 - 5° hardness.

I have celestial pearl danios, pygmy and regular cories, and RCS living in nearly identical water conditions and they've been thriving so far.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Drip acclimate them when you get them and they'll probably be OK.

My B. brigittae are kept in water with the same pH as yours and my gH and kH are off the charts. I've had mine for several years with no issues I can tell.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

My tap water is 7.8 PH too but I keep these guys in a low tech tank where I don't change the water. The PH is considerably lower in this tank, around 6.8. These guys will adjust to whatever condition you have.

Breeding them is another story. I haven't seen these guys show any interest. I might have all males too.


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

Just an update...

I went ahead and bought 15 of them this morning to replace the 6 harlequin rasboras in my Edge. These guys are the smallest fishes I've ever kept (only 1 cm long). I wouldn't be able to notice them in the tank at all if I didn't get a decent quantity of them. I drip acclimated them for about an hour and now they're all swimming happily in the tank. They form a tight school and occupy the upper areas of the tank. These guys are about as bold as the harleys they replaced (and a lot bolder than the CPDs that I have). They're eating the NLS Small Fish Formula that I gave them. Hopefully they'll continue to do well as time passes.

Their colors were pretty drab when they were in the tank at the shop. Considering the dull colors and small size, at $3.49 each, I highly doubt many were sold unless people knew exactly what they were. 

Here's a picture:


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## SearunSimpson (Jun 5, 2007)

I have had various Boraras species over the years and they are one of my favourite fish, and cheap too!
I also fed them NLS Small Fish formula and one thing I did was took a pinch of it and sorta 'ground' it in my fingertips as I was feeding them, making a something similar to a powder. 
By doing this, less food really was more, and I found they were able to eat it easier.

In regards to water params for them, they are really easy to breed so I wouldn't be surprised if the ones you purchased were in fact tank bred, and therefor a little more hardier and adaptable to various water conditions.

Cheers.


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