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Rasboras & Danios · Buying Guide

Chili Rasbora (Boraras brigittae): UK Care & Buying Guide

Chili rasbora (Boraras brigittae) for sale UK — care, tank size, water and tank mates for this tiny red nano fish. Live stock with live arrival guarantee.

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Hannah NielsenBy Hannah NielsenUpdated 10 June 202610 min read
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Ideal water conditions at a glance

The shaded band shows the range chili rasbora is comfortable in. Match it to your tap water before you buy.

Temperature24–28 °C
18 °C32 °C
pH4–7
59
Hardness1–8 dGH
0 dGH30 dGH

The smallest blaze of red in the hobby

The chili rasbora is barely the length of a fingernail, but a shoal of them in a planted blackwater nano is unforgettable — twenty tiny fish glowing deep crimson against dark substrate and green plants. They come from the peat swamps of southwest Borneo, which tells you everything about their care: soft, acidic, tannin-stained water, gentle flow, and plenty of cover.

This is a connoisseur's nano fish rather than a beginner's first purchase — but it's not difficult once you give it the right home.

Care at a glance

Everything about the chili rasbora is small: its size, its mouth, its bioload. That means a mature, stable, well-planted tank matters more than a big one. Feed micro-foods — standard flake is too large. Keep the water soft and slightly acidic if you can; tannins from botanicals or driftwood deepen both the water and the fish's colour.

Not for a new tank

Chili rasboras are sensitive to the parameter swings of an immature aquarium. Add them only to a tank that's been cycled and running for at least a month, with stable readings and established plants.

Tank mates

Keep the company as gentle as the fish. Cherry shrimp, galaxy rasboras, ember tetras and pygmy corydoras are the classic chili-rasbora companions — all small, peaceful, and comfortable in the same soft, planted nano.

For the two easiest companions, see our cherry shrimp care guide and ember tetra care guide.

Buying chili rasboras in the UK

Tiny fish need careful shipping. Ours travel in oxygen-charged bags inside an insulated box, dispatched Wednesday for Thursday delivery (or Thursday for Friday when a week overflows), with our live arrival guarantee. On arrival, drip-acclimate slowly with the lights off and release into a planted, mature tank — never an uncycled one.

Browse more: rasboras & danios, nano tank fish, or the full tropical fish for sale UK range.

Related categories

Visual route into the rest of our UK live-fish range.

Rasboras & Danios

Rasboras & Danios

Harlequin, Chili, Galaxy, Zebra and Celestial rasboras and danios for planted and nano tanks — peaceful shoalers for UK tap water, priced in groups.

Nano Tank Fish

Nano Tank Fish

Best nano tank fish for UK aquariums — species that thrive in tanks under 40 litres. Micro schoolers, dwarf species, shrimps.

Planted Tank Fish

Planted Tank Fish

Planted-tank fish for sale UK — peaceful, plant-safe species that showcase aquascaped layouts. Tetras, rasboras, dwarf cichlids, shrimps.

Schooling Fish

Schooling Fish

Tetras, rasboras, barbs, danios and rainbowfish in shoal-friendly quantities — these species only settle in groups of six or more. Group prices per listing.

Frequently asked questions

Twelve at an absolute minimum, and they look far better in groups of 20+. They're a schooling fish that feels exposed in small numbers — a large group is calmer, more visible, and the males display their best red when competing within a crowd.
Because they top out under 2 cm, a planted 20-litre nano holds a good group. Their needs are about water quality and calm, not volume — but the tank must be mature and densely planted, never bare or newly set up.
They're moderate, not beginner. The challenges are their tiny mouths (they need micro-foods, not flake), their preference for soft acidic water, and their sensitivity to an unstable or uncycled tank. Settled into a mature planted nano, they're hardy and long-lived.
Only the gentlest nano tank mates: cherry and other Neocaridina shrimp, galaxy rasboras, ember tetras, pygmy corydoras and otocinclus. Anything larger than about 4 cm, anything boisterous, and any fin-nipper is off the list — a betta or angelfish will see a chili rasbora as food.
Three usual causes: too small a group (they don't feel secure), bright lighting over a bare tank (they wash out without cover and dark substrate), or hard, alkaline water. A big group in a planted tank with dark substrate and soft, slightly acidic water shows the deep red they're famous for.
They're closely related Boraras species often sold side by side. The chili rasbora (Boraras brigittae) is the deep-red one with a bold dark lateral stripe; the strawberry rasbora (Boraras naevus) is more orange-pink with a single dark spot. Care is identical — we stock both.

Sources & further reading

Material factual claims cite the sources below; store policy and cautious inference are labelled in the article. Sources are grouped by type so you can judge their weight at a glance.

Scientific database (1)

  1. [1]
    Froese, R. and D. Pauly (Eds.) (2024). Boraras brigittae. FishBase. View source

    Species-level size, range and water-parameter data for the chili rasbora.

Hobbyist reference (1)

  1. [2]
    (2024). Boraras brigittae (Chili/Mosquito Rasbora) profile. Seriously Fish. View source

    Care profile cross-referenced for blackwater origin, group size and feeding.

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