My favorite fish for fishkeeping is the Mosquito Rasbora. This is a gorgeous little fish. You can see them in my fish tank in the video above, swimming near the water surface, seeking for food and enjoying the flow of water near my self-build filter and pump. The Moskito Rasbora is also called Boraras brigittae (scientific name).

This is a pretty tiny fish (1-3 cm depending on their age) and great for smaller fish tanks. The fish tank in the video above for example contains just 60 liters of water. I have round about 15 Mosquito Rasbora´s in my fish tank and it is possible to increase the amount even more because they are so tiny and this is what I will do soon. The Mosquito Rasbora is the perfect nano fish, I mean for nano fish tanks. You can even put larger groups in a 60 liter fish tank. My target for example will be that I have round about 30 of them in my tank someday.

They are a little bit more difficult to care and it should be mentioned that they prefer very soft and acidic water (pH 4.0-7.0 and KH 5-10 as water parameters are pretty fine). I do mix osmosis water and normal water to achieve these good conditions. I also do add a small peat bag in my filter. The result is then a brown, soft and acidic water similar to the water in their habitat in Borneo, Indonesia, Southeast Asia. The water temperature should be round about 74-82° F which means a water heater might not be necessary depending on your room temperature. My room temperature is always above 74° F which is why I do not increase the temperature with any extra hardware.

While Mosquito Rasbora is a very peaceful fish, you must be careful if you think about putting in another species of fish. Depending on the size of the other fish you would like to put in the tank, the bigger fishes could hunt and eat up your Mosquito Rasbora´s due to their tiny size. They are agile and know how to hide but I just mention this because they are potentially threatened by bigger fishes. I did hold them together with Harlequin rasbora´s and my experience was that it was ok. But as said, bigger fishes could be dangerous for the Mosquito Rasbora.

It should be mentioned that they also like densely planted fish tank´s. As you can see, my fish tank is not completely densely planted but there is one corner full of plants where they could hide. They love darker areas and you should at least set up a little densely planted area. But a darker fish tank can also be achieved with floating plants like the Common duckweed or with floating Riccia fluitans Moss.

Brief summary…

Common Name: Mosquito Rasbora, Mosquito Borara

Scientific Name: Boraras brigittae

German Name: Moskitobärbling

Family: Cyprinidae

Species : Rasboras

Habitat: Borneo, Indonesia, Southeast Asia

Maximum Size: 2- 3 cm

pH: pH 4.0-7.0

KH: KH 5-10

Temperature : 76-82° F or 23 27 °C

Reachable Age: They can reach an age of 7 years under good conditions. This kind of Fish is then definitely long living.

Strata: Swims often near the water surface and in the middle but sometimes also beneath

You can find out more about this stunning fish… Check out the other articles about the Boraras brigittae species.

Related category’s:

Fishkeeping
Aquarium Plants
Little Shrimps

Related article´s:

– Aquarium fishes introduced: Siamese Algae Eater (SAE)
– Finally some Photos of a Mosquito Rasbora Fish
– Siamese Algae Eater, Chinese Algae Eater and Harlequin´s, in my 200 Liter planted Fishtank.
– Cucumber feeding time in my fish tank
– Feeding the Fish on the Ground