Sundadanio cf. axelrodi Blue ( = Rasbora sp. aff. axelrodi BLUE)

4. November 2022

The tiny dwarfs of the genus Sundadanio were listed in the genus Rasbora until 1999. At that time only one species was known, namely S. axelrodi. Later other species were imported. They were still nameless, but clearly differed in color. Thus, there were blue, green and red Sundadanio. In 2011 the genus was revised and now it includes 8 species. Unfortunately, two blue colored of them can be distinguished only microscopically: S. axelrodi from Bintan and S. gargula from Bangka. Bangka is located off the west coast of Sumatra, Bintan off the coast of Singapore. 

Sundadanio males are clearly distinguished from females by their intense black zone in the anal fin. These miniature fish grow to only about 1.5-2 cm in length and live in nature in very soft, dark colored black water with a very acidic pH (pH around 4.5, no hardness detectable). In the aquarium, however, they are quite undemanding in this respect. In our show room they have been swimming in normal tap water for many years. However, breeding in such water is not successful, it requires near-natural conditions.

For our customers: the animals have code 450504 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer