Rainbow Shinner

Oryzias woworae

Note: Due
to variations within species, your item may not look identical to the image
provided.

Care

This eye-catching species caused quite a stir with
hobbyists when it was described during 2010 and the first photographs became
available. The brilliant red and iridescent blue colouration is quite
remarkable for a ricefish, most known species being largely translucent silver.
Even the females have a good deal of colour. When this species was discovered,
it was found to be shoaling with a Nomorhamphus sp. halfbeak. Interestingly, at
around the same time as the first exports of O. woworae began, another similar
looking ricefish species was collected from Kendari on mainland Sulawesi, and
has been traded under various names including Oryzias sp. ?kendari?, O. sp.
?neon? and O. sp. ?sulawesi?. There are noticeable differences in the fish from
Kendari, which distinguishes it from the true O. woworae, including much less
red colouration on the lower jaw and a greater degree of blue along the flanks.
It is advisable not to keep the two forms together in the aquarium for fear of
hybridisation. In the wild, this species inhabits a slow-moving freshwater
stream and some associated still ponds under fairly dense forest cover. The
substrate is said to consist of mud and sand, with areas of leaf litter. The
aquarium should be mature and well-filtered, with plenty of dark shady areas
amongst aquatic vegetation and d?cor such as the spindly Sumatra wood presently
available in many aquatic shops. As these fish are found shoaling in large
groups in their natural habitat, it is appropriate to keep them in good numbers
(6+ is recommended) in the home aquarium. Daisy?s Blue Ricefish seem to be of a
peaceful disposition and should only be kept with other fish of a similar size,
temperament, and which also enjoy the same aquarium conditions. Males may
occasionally bicker with one another but no real harm should ensue, especially
if provided with plenty of visual barriers. May also be seen on sale simply as
Daisy's Ricefish.

Feeding

These fish seem to prefer small frozen foods such as baby
brineshrimp, daphnia and mosquito larvae. Over time, some aquarists find that
their fish will also take dried foods.

Breeding

Easy to breed and prolific. Eggs hang outside the female?s
vent area in a cluster, attached to the genital pore by filaments. These eggs
are fertilised by the males, after which the female will swim past fine-leaved
plants or spawning mops and will ?brush them off?. The parents can either be
removed from this aquarium, or the egg-laden plants/mops moved across to a
growing-on tank.