Aquarium and Fish Care: Fact Sheet: SCISSORTAIL RASBORA

2017-03-18

Fact Sheet: SCISSORTAIL RASBORA - Rasbora trilineata

(Original: Scissortail Rasbora Fact Sheet)

Three-lined rasbora Rasbora trilineata (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Scissortail Rasbora, Rasbora trilineata, is also called the Scissortail Shark, and simply the Scissortail. Alternative scientific names are Rasbora calliura and Rasbora stigmatura. It is not shark like in its behavior and only vaguely shark like in its appearance. It grows to about 4 inches (10cm). It is fairly peaceful and is suitable for a mixed collection of small fish.

The Scissortail Rasbora comes from South Eastern Asia, including Malaysia and Indonesia.

This fish has attractive black and white markings on its tail, and the movement of these as the fish swims reminds some people of the action of Scissor blades.

Water Conditions

The Scissortail Rasbora comes from soft acidic waters and these are the ideal conditions for it in an aquarium. They will adapt to neutral pH (7) and some hardness in the water. 24 degrees C (75 degrees F) is a suitable temperature. In the wild, the Scissortail Rasbora often inhabits flowing water, as in a river or stream. Some water movement from a filter in the aquarium is beneficial.

Food

The Scissortail Rasbora is an omnivore. It will eat any normal fish food and loves live food like mosquito larvae and daphnia. Frozen blood worms and frozen brine shrimp are also gobbled up eagerly.

Companions

The Scissortail Rasbora likes conditions similar to the preferred conditions of many of the South American Tetras.

Some suitable companions are Pristella Tetras, Paraguay Tetras, Rummy Nose Tetras, Harlequin Rasboras, Buenos Aries Tetras, Black Widow Tetras, Emperor Tetras, Head and Tail Light Tetras, Glowlight Tetras, Corydoras Catfish, White Cloud Mountain Minnows and Zebra Danios.

The Scissortail Rasbora can also be kept with Swordtails, Glass Bloodfin Tetras, Guppies, Endlers Guppies and Mollies, but the water conditions for a mixture like this would be a compromise between the ideal conditions for these different fish and would not be ideal for any of them.

Breeding

The Scissortail Rasbora is not a very easy fish to breed. The females tend to be a little larger than the males and will be plumper when ready to breed. Conditioning the fish with black worms or other rich food like frozen blood worms is a good idea.

The breeding tank needs to have soft, acid water. A lowered water level may also help stimulate breeding. Cleanliness is very important for this species and the addition of an anti fungus medication may help prevent the eggs from getting infected.