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Encyclopedia / Danios & Rasboras / Emerald dwarf danio
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Variations

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Emerald dwarf danio

Danio erythromicron · Erythromicron, Emerald danio, Dwarf emerald danio

Peaceful, a little shy; good with other small calm fish.

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3 cmBody length, without tail ✓
20–24 °CTemperature ✓
7–8pH ✓
54 LSmallest tank ✓
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Tank mates
Check your own mix →
Not recommended
  • Tinfoil barb eats animals up to about 5 cm. Emerald dwarf danio only grows to 3 cm.
Not recommended
  • Pearl gourami eats animals up to about 3 cm. Emerald dwarf danio only grows to 3 cm.
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: exactly 24 °C.
Not recommended
  • Three-spot gourami eats animals up to about 3 cm. Emerald dwarf danio only grows to 3 cm.
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: exactly 24 °C.
With conditions
  • Only a narrow pH range suits both: exactly 7.
With conditions
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: 23–24 °C.
  • Only a narrow pH range suits both: exactly 7.
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible

200 species in our list are a good match.

Facts checked against sources on 16 Oct 2026. ✓ means a source backs it; ? means no reliable source yet. See sources

Care and water

Hardness ✓12–20 dGH
Group size ✓20 or more
Temperament ✓Peaceful
Swims at ?Middle
Care level ✓Moderate
Diet Omnivore
Lifespan ?Unknown
Size in shops 2–3 cm
Growth Medium

Behavior

Peaceful, a little shy; good with other small calm fish. Keep eight or more in a heavily planted tank.

Food

Micro pellets and frozen or live daphnia, copepods and brine shrimp.

Tap a food to see what it is.

Male or female

Males are more colourful, with iridescent blue vertical bars on the flanks and red in the fins. Females grow slightly larger and are noticeably rounder in the belly, more so when gravid.

Health

Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.

Breeding

Egg-scatterer · Hard

Egg-scattering spawner with no parental care. Spawns into fine wool mops, Java moss or other fine-leaved plants; mildly adhesive eggs. Remove adults after spawning as they eat eggs; females cannot spawn daily.

Pairing

Keep a group of 6-8 and condition them with live and frozen foods; choose the fattest female and the most colourful males. A trio (1 male, 2 females) also works.

Setup

20-40 L bare tank with a mesh grid or a layer of marbles over the floor, java moss or spawning mops, a gentle sponge filter and water at 24-26 C.

What starts it

Heavy feeding for 2 weeks, then a cooler (about 2 C) water change and morning sun or a bright light.

Eggs

Around 30 mildly adhesive eggs per spawning; incubation about 72 hours, fry free-swimming 3-4 days later.

Raising the fry

Infusoria then newly hatched brine shrimp.

Common mistakes
  • Leaving the adults in with the eggs (they eat them)
  • Skipping the conditioning period
  • Keeping the breeding tank too cold or too dirty
Full breeding guide, day-by-day plan and simulator →

Where it lives in the wild

RegionMyanmar – Inle Lake
Rivers and lakesInle Lake, Shan State
HabitatVegetated shallow lake waters
Native rangeAbout 50 km across
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The story of the emerald dwarf danio

A miniature danio, fully grown at about 2-3 cm, from Lake Inle in Myanmar's Shan hills. Males show iridescent blue vertical bars and red fins. It needs hard, alkaline water and a planted tank, and is sold as 'emerald dwarf danio' or 'cross-banded dwarf rasbora'.

British zoologist Nelson Annandale described this danio in 1918. It is found only in Inle Lake in Myanmar's Shan highlands. It reached the aquarium trade in the 2000s.

First described by Nelson Annandale in 1918.

  • It is endemic to Inle Lake.
  • Its bars are blue-green on an orange-red body.
  • It is shy and prefers dense planting.

Sources

15 facts checked with sources