Add a striking pop of deep, metallic color to your aquascape with the Purple Harlequin Rasbora. This stunning color morph of the classic Harlequin Rasbora features an enhanced, velvety purple-to-deep-blue body that contrasts beautifully with their signature black wedge mark and copper highlights. Highly active and peaceful, they are the ultimate schooling fish for any planted community tank.

Quick Care Overview

Detailed Product Information

Place of Origin

While the standard species is native to the peat swamps and blackwater streams of Southeast Asia (including Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand), the Purple Harlequin Rasbora is a selectively bred color variant. It retains all the hardiness of its wild ancestors but boasts a much deeper, iridescent color palette.

Tank Size & Environment

A minimum tank size of 10 gallons is required for a small school, though a 20-gallon long aquarium is ideal to watch their tight schooling behavior.

To bring out their most intense purple coloration, house them in a well-planted tank. Use dense background plants like Cryptocoryne or Java Fern, dark substrate, and floating vegetation to diffuse bright lighting. Adding driftwood and leaf litter will simulate their natural blackwater habitats and keep them stress-free.

Care & Water Parameters

Purple Harlequin Rasboras are exceptionally hardy, making them perfect for both beginner and expert aquarists. They thrive in soft, slightly acidic to neutral water. Regular 20-25% weekly water changes are recommended to keep nitrate levels low, as pristine water quality keeps their immune systems strong and their colors vivid.

Feeding & Diet

As natural omnivores, these fish are not picky eaters. They will readily accept high-quality flake foods and micropellets as their daily staple. To enhance their purple and red tones, supplement their diet with live or frozen foods such as baby brine shrimp, daphnia, and bloodworms.

Ideal Tank Mates

These are peaceful community fish that must be kept in a school of at least 6 to 8 individuals—larger groups of 10 or more will result in tighter schooling and much bolder behavior. Excellent tank mates include:

• Small tetras and other rasboras

• Corydoras catfish and Otocinclus

• Dwarf Gouramis

• Peaceful dwarf shrimp (like Cherry or Amano shrimp) and snails

Avoid housing them with large, aggressive fish that could easily mistake them for a snack.

Breeding

Breeding the Purple Harlequin Rasbora is a rewarding challenge for hobbyists. Unlike many small cyprinids that scatter their eggs in moss, Harlequins are underside egg depositors. They require broad-leafed plants (such as Anubiasor Amazon Swords) where the female will flip upside down to attach her eggs to the underside of a leaf. To trigger spawning, condition the pair with live foods and lower the pH toward 6.0–6.5 in a dedicated breeding tank. Parents should be removed after spawning to protect the fry.

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• The photos shown on fish product pages are representations of adult fish and are NOT the actual fish that you will be receiving. 
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• Unless specified, all fish are sold as unsexed.