Boraras merah
The Boraras merah naturally inhabits water bodies located in the southern part of Borneo. The fish can be found in wetlands and forest channels that run through tropical forests. The water in these areas is brownish in colour due to a high concentration of tannins released during the decomposition of fallen tree leaves at the bottom. The fish are small, undemanding and can be recommended for novice aquarists.
Boraras merah have a red colouring, the back is grey. A sort of calling card fish is a dark spot, located in the middle part of the body. Smaller dark spots can be found at the anal fin root and on the front of the dorsal fin. Adult females have a rounded abdomen and are slightly larger than males. The coloration of the males is more striking. The size of the fish is 1.5-2 cm.
The Boraras merah are peaceful fish. Due to their small size, keep them not recommended in conjunction with larger fish, even with the peace-loving. The most suitable option would be to keep Merah Rasborah in a separate species aquarium or in a general aquarium together with fish of comparable size, such as Boraras naevus, Boraras Micros, Boraras urophthalmoides, Rasbora espei and others.
Keep fish in a flock of at least 8-10 fish. In this case, the fish will be less shy, and males in competition with each other for the attention of females will show a bright coloring and interesting behavior. Although these fish are very small, they nevertheless require plenty of room to swim freely. In addition, the dominant males form temporary territories during the spawning period, so it is advisable to keep the fish in an aquarium with a base size of at least 45x30 cm.
The aquarium should be densely planted. Preferably, floating plant bushes should be placed on the water surface. Place snags and large stones at the bottom.
Water parameters: temperature 20-28° C, hardness dH 1-5°, pH 4,0-6,5. Filtration should be moderate, as fish naturally keep in calm areas. Aeration and a weekly change of 1/3 of the aquarium water with fresh water is essential.
Sandy soil is desirable. Pre-dried beech or oak leaves can be placed on the bottom, which brings the aquarium conditions even closer to the natural ones. Furthermore, the leaf litter will eventually develop bacterial colonies which serve as a valuable secondary food source for the fry. Leaf litter should be changed once every 3-4 weeks.
The lighting is low, with an intensity of about 0.25 W/l. Select plants that can thrive in these conditions.
The Merah Rasbora feeds on small insects, worms and crustaceans in nature. Under aquarium conditions, the menu of fish consists of daphnii, artemia, flakes and pelleted food. The fish should be fed twice a day.
Reproduction
Like many species of carp, Boraras merah during spawning scatter eggs among the leaves of plants and do not show parental care for future offspring. In the aquarium, where permanently reside these fish fry will occasionally appear, but their number will be small. To control the process of spawning is desirable to apply spawning aquarium of about 15 liters.
At the bottom of the spawning tank should be placed separator mesh. In the spawning tank is launched producers. The water temperature in the spawning tank should be around 28°C. Immediately after spawning, the spawners should be removed. The fry emerge after 24 hours and will feed on nutrients in their yolk sac for the first day of their lives.
During the first days of life, the fry are fed with infusoria and after 1-1.5 weeks they will be large enough to eat artemia. The fry should be fed 3-4 times a day.
The life expectancy of a Boraras merah under aquarium conditions is about 3 years.
