# Gotta catch'em all!! Boraras!!



## manmadecorals

It first started when i decided to start an Iwagumi Nano tank. I had to find the right fish with the right proportion to my landscape. Jaysan introduced me to Chilis and that was when i fell in love with them. A small, no bigger than 1 to 1.5", bright cherry red color with a black stripe going from the head to the tail on both sides of the fish. Which schools when in groups of 6 or more. I then decided to do more research on those little guys and discoved that there was more than just the Boraras brigittae AKA Chili Rasboras.

There are currently 8 Boraras Species of which i have "caught" 3.

Boraras was erected in 1993 in order to separate a small group of species from the larger Rasbora assemblage on the basis of differences in morphology and reproductive strategy. Here are the 8 species of Boraras that are currently known and in the aquarium trade.

*Boraras brigittae (D. Vogt, 1978) (Mosquito/Chili rasbora)*









The congeneric B. urophthalmoides is often traded as B. brigittae, presumably in order to obtain a more favourable price. Though these are similar in that they're the only two members of the genus to possess a dark lateral body stripe B. brigittae is easily identifiable by its larger adult size, lack of distinct dark blotch at the caudal peduncle, comparitively short, often broken lateral stripe and overall brighter, more uniformly red patterning. It's sometimes seen on sale with the alternative vernacular names 'chili rasbora' or 'dwarf rasbora'.

B. merah is also similar-looking but it lacks colour in much of the body with the red pigmentation tending to be concentrated around the dark body markings which do not form an unbroken stripe.

*Boraras maculatus (Duncker, 1904) (Dwarf/Spotted rasbora)*









Within the genus Boraras this species is most similar to B. naevus, though in the latter the red body colouration does not extend into the head.

The two also differ in the following characters: anteriormost lateral blotch of comparable size in both sexes in B. maculatus vs. significantly larger in male than female B. naevus; 9-10 + 9 principal caudal-fin rays vs. 9 + 8; 26-29 lateral scales vs. 24-26; i.6.i. pelvic-fin rays vs. i.5.i.

*Boraras merah (Kottelat, 1991) (Pheonix Rasbora)*









B. merah possesses broadly similar patterning to its congeners B. brigittae and B. maculatus but can be easily identified as it lacks colour in much of the body with the red pigmentation tending to be concentrated around the dark body markings. It's sometimes seen on sale with the alternative trade name of 'phoenix rasbora'.

*Boraras micros Kottelat & Vidthayanon, 1993 (Boraras Micros)*









This species is poorly-documented and rarely seen in the trade, with many of the available images depicting one of its more colourful congeners.

It's actually difficult to confuse with any of its close relatives being a rather plainly-patterned fish and this may be partly the reason why it's not more widely-available. Fish seen on sale as B. micros var. 'red' or 'strawberry rasbora' are always B. maculatus, B. brigittae or B. naevus.

*Boraras naevus Conway & Kottelat, 2011 (Red Micro Rasboras)*









Among congeners it appears most closely related to B. maculatus and B. micros since it shares some aspects of colour pattern with them, most obviously the presence of dark blotches on the body. However in B. naevus the anterior blotch on the side of the body is much larger in males than females, whereas in the other two species it is similarly-sized in both sexes. It also differs by possession of 9+8 principal caudal fin rays versus 9+9 in B.micros and 9-10+9 in B. maculatus.

It can be additionally told apart from B. maculatus by possession of 24-26 scales in the lateral row (vs. 26-29) and i.5.1 pelvic fin rays (vs. i.6.i), while it's further distinguished from B. micros by possession of 24-26 scales in the lateral row (vs. 22-23), 7 branched dorsal fin rays (vs. 5-6), red and black markings in the dorsal and anal fins of males (vs. dorsal and anal fins of males hyaline/unpigmented) plus some internal, osteological features.

*Boraras urophthalmoides (Kottelat, 1991) (Least/Exclamation point rasbora)*









This species appears to vary in colouration depending on collection locality which has led to some confusion with B. brigittae as some populations can develop a strong orange/red stripe above the dark lateral marking when in good condition.

B. urophthalmoides can be easily identified by its smaller adult size, distinct round, dark blotch on the caudal peduncle, comparitively long, unbroken lateral stripe and less uniformly red patterning. Its sometimes seen on sale under the trade names of 'sparrow rasbora' or 'exclamation-point rasbora', the latter in reference to the distinctive pattern formed by the dark body markings.

*SOURCE:*
_http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/boraras-brigittae/_
_http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/boraras-maculatus/__http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/boraras-merah/_
_http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/boraras-micros/_
_http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/boraras-naevus/_
_http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/boraras-urophthalmoides/_
_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boraras_


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## hoody123

Thanks for this! I've got 15 chili's in my tank at home along with some Galaxies, I really like them, but they're awfully timid!


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## manmadecorals

They do best with other of their kind 

I currently have 4 Chili, 7 Least, and 10 Spotted Boraras...


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## Blitzcraze

Very cool how much do these cost I would love too get some! I I have a 5 gallon nano how many would be safe inside how much of a bio load do these guys produce? 

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## manmadecorals

Hey sorry for the late reply...i've only noticed your comment now. You can usually buy them in groups for cheaper like 6 for $10 or something like that. Individual cost are about $2 on avg. As for their bio load...i am not certain but i can't imagine it being much considering they are so small


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## SwimmyD

*What are you feeding them*

Hi there! Great write up, and great pictures!
Greg just picked up 15 chili's on Friday! So pretty. They are all doing very well and colouring up nicely. They are so tiny though.....What are you feeding yours? We tried frozen daphnia and some powdered food that I've been feeding our rainbow fry. Thanks!


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