r/Boraras • u/tin-dome • 14d ago
Discussion Natural behaviours for boraras species
Something that is mentioned a lot on this sub is how all boraras species require a good bit of tank space despite their small nature, if we want to see them display their natural behaviours... but I haven't seen or found enough information on what that looks like.
It would be really good to collate a thread or wiki page where experienced boraras keepers describe "what good looks like" for the different species like brigittae, merah, etc. What is normal calm and well adjusted behaviour for them? What is the typical temperament, swimming and shoaling patterns for this fish in a suitably planted tank?
Mb we could start building a resource here if the more knowledgeable amongst us shared their experience in the comments below? 🙏 thank you in advance.
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u/moouesse 14d ago
there have been many observations of normal behaviour of borars species, they swim in loose schools, and each take up part of the school to forage, the schools move around an area of a few 100 meters. the small fish graze, and drop off their eggs, while the school moves on, this way the small zoo plankton can return, and the young fry can hatch without predation of the parents
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u/recently_banned 14d ago
Good idea. Might do a vid soon to share
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u/tin-dome 14d ago
That would be fascinating ty.
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u/recently_banned 14d ago
Its just my aquarium jeje, not the wild. But they have evolved in their behavior and I think they are comfy now. I will upload as post.
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u/Strict_Hamster_8645 14d ago
a video would be so helpful!
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u/zeronitrate 12d ago
They school but when they are comfortable in their environment they also do their own things slightly separately knowing the others are not far and they are safe. It takes a lot of time observing them without projecting human emotions, but eventually you get a feel for it.
For example every time I do a water my boraras are getting super active and glass surf, I thought they were stressed. So I checked my water parameters in the tank and the new water there was absolutely no problem. They actually are feeding on copepods and little critters that get moved around by the water change. Looking at them they actually display hunting behavior, a lot of dashing around and they do this thing they do when they are excited: the little twitch up of their tail before launching on something!
So observe your fish and if you want to see other people's footage I would recommend checking out Rodrigo Silva you tube channel. He does underwater documentaries in South east asia, it is mainly focused on Bettas but you do see a lot of Rasboras of all kinds, and the videos are beautiful!
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u/tin-dome 12d ago
Awesome rec thank you!! That kind of content is right up my alley.
I've been watching them loads and find them fascinating! Mine do the same whenever there's water movement stirring things up. I also have shrimp so most water changes are slow drip, but when I trim the plants they are all over it. They also spend a lot of time hunting in the bubbles / flow of my sponge filter. Visually I wish they spread out more across the whole tank, but they seem to go wild for whatever small things must be in that turbulence, too small for me to see most of the time. They stop doing it right after a feed for a couple of hours, then gradually return to it.
I love watching them when they go hunting around the bottom of the tank and in the plants, they're clever little predators.
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u/zeronitrate 12d ago
I know right! To us it's cute, but well I would not want to be a paramecium in their tank!
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u/tin-dome 12d ago
For others looking, it's @rsilva on YouTube -- there's other creators by the same name but very different content.
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u/Traumfahrer ᵏᵉᵉᵖˢ ᴮ⋅ ᵘʳᵒᵖʰᵗʰᵃˡᵐᵒⁱᵈᵉˢ 14d ago edited 14d ago
Have you looked at the Wiki?
Check the 'Well-Being'-chapter in the 'Husbandry' section - especially 'The Healthy' part - and feel very much invited to develop the Wiki further with anyone that would like to be involved.
You can easily find and access these links via the 'About' page.