Rhodeus ocellatus

Alternative Names

 * Rosy Bitterling, ,

Sexing

 * Males have more colour than females.

Tank Compatibility

 * A generally quite shy fish that should be kept in a group of at least 6. Should happily co-habit with other peaceful sub-tropical fish such as Rhinogobius Gobies.

Diet

 * Should accept pellet/flake foods, as well as live/frozen food such as daphnia and bloodworm.

Feeding Regime

 * Feed once or twice a day.

Environment Specifics

 * This is a sub-tropical relatively unfussy fish that should be ideally kept at with neutral to slightly alkaline conditions, but will adapt to other conditions. Their tank should provide plenty of hiding places with rocks and bogwood. They prefer a sand substrate to gravel.

Behaviour

 * A shy shoaling fish.

Identification

 * From a distance looks a little like Melanotaenia praecox, it is a high sided oval-shaped fish with a pointed snout and large eyes. The dorsal and anal fins mirror each other in size and there is a short black line from the caudal peduncle to about a quarter along the body. Females lack much colour but males have a metallic blue iridescence as well as an orange chest and pink/red in the fins.