Description

This timid species should ideally be kept in a heavily-planted set-up, preferably with a dark substrate.

The broken lines of sight that exist in such a display allow it to display natural behaviour as well as helping to reduce skittishness.

Floating plants are a useful addition but driftwood and oak/beech/almond leaf litter are best avoided as the tannins they release are not a feature of its natural waters.

Daily meals of small live and frozen fare such as Daphnia, Artemia and suchlike will not only result in the best colouration but encourage the fish to come into breeding condition.

Newly-imported specimens are often in poor condition and can be difficult to acclimatise to aquarium life, so small live foods are recommended as an initial diet with dry and frozen products being introduced as the fish become settled.

Likely to be intimidated or outcompeted for food by larger or more boisterous tankmates, although the presence of similarly-sized, surface-dwelling species seems to help reduce its shyness.

Other small cyprinids from Myanmar such as Celestichthys choprae or members of the genus Microdevario are suitable companions, and we suspect it might also do well alongside Dario hysginon or D. sp. ‘Myanmar’.

The closely-related C. erythromicron is not recommended as it’s probably capable of hybridising with C. margaritatus

Celestichthys margaritatus – Celestial Pearl ‘Danio’ (Danio margaritatus)