rm
Passport
- Family
- Rasbora
- Grows to
- 3 cm (1.2")
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- CareSuggested
- Beginner
- SwimsSuggested
- Mid-water
- Keep
- In a group of 8 or more
- Water
- 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
ThailandCambodia
Care requirements
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On record for Lambchop Rasbora: adult size, temperature, ph, hardness, minimum group, diet, care level, swim level, tank length.
Not on record for Lambchop Rasbora: lifespan, minimum tank.
A figure that is not on record is left out rather than guessed. One marked Suggested comes from keeping knowledge rather than a page.
- pH 5.5–7.5
- Hardness 1–10 dGH
- Diet micropredator
- Tank length 60 cm minimum
Care notes written from general aquarium knowledge, not from the cited sources.
About
Lambchop rasboras are the harlequin's slimmer relative, and the difference is in the mark. Where a harlequin carries a broad triangular wedge, this fish has a narrower hook that runs further forward along the body — the shape people thought resembled a lamb chop, and the name stuck.
The body colour is warmer too: a coppery orange that deepens as the fish settles, against the black marking. Side by side with a harlequin they're clearly different fish, and many keepers prefer this one.
They're every bit as peaceful and nearly as forgiving, which makes them a good community choice for anyone who wants something slightly less familiar.
Tank setup
Plant your lambchops well and give them a dark floor. Like all the Trigonostigma rasboras, colour is a direct response to background, and a bright bare tank gives you a washed-out fish.
Keep them in a proper group. They shoal loosely in open mid-water and a few of them hang at the back and lose their colour.
Add wood and dried leaves. The tannins tint the water and suit a fish from slow, shaded, blackwater-influenced streams.
Leave a clear swimming lane through the middle with planting at the sides. They use open water and want cover within reach of it.
Soft, slightly acidic water gets the most out of them, though they tolerate a good deal more.
Feeding
Lambchops are small, undemanding eaters that take flake, micro pellets, frozen and live food readily.
Watch the mouth size. They're smaller-mouthed than they look, and anything they can't swallow whole gets ignored and left to rot.
Feed live and frozen regularly for colour. Daphnia, baby brine shrimp and small bloodworm all bring the copper tone up.
Avoid: coarse foods, and avoid one heavy feed a day when two small ones suit them better.
Filtration and flow
Gentle flow. They come from slow, tannin-stained forest streams and have no interest in current.
Ordinary filtration is fine, and a sponge filter suits the setup they look best in.
Stability beats purity here, as with most soft-water shoalers. They forgive a wide range of parameters and object to those parameters moving quickly.
With plants
Lambchop rasboras are completely safe with plants and easy to keep in a planted tank. Nothing gets eaten, dug or uprooted.
Broad-leaved plants earn their place. Like harlequins these fish spawn on the underside of a leaf, and cryptocorynes are the classic choice.
Floating plants shade the surface and bring the colour forward.
Health
They're hardy once settled and, like most small shoalers, vulnerable to going into an immature tank. That's the usual cause of early losses.
Colour is the warning system. A group that has faded and stayed faded for more than a day is telling you something about the water.
Ich after a temperature swing is the routine complaint and treats normally.
Breeding
This is the interesting part, and it's shared with the harlequin. They don't scatter eggs — the female turns upside down beneath a broad leaf and lays on the underside, where the male fertilises them.
Cryptocoryne leaves are the traditional spawning site, and a tank with a good stand of them gives you a real chance.
You'll need soft acidic water and a separate tank, since the adults eat the eggs. Fry are very small and need infusoria before they can manage anything larger.
Tank mates
Avoid11
- Convict Cichlid Convict Cichlid grows to 15 cm against Lambchop Rasbora at 3 cm, big enough to eat it.
- Jewel Cichlid Jewel Cichlid grows to 15 cm against Lambchop Rasbora at 3 cm, big enough to eat it.
- Kribensis Kribensis grows to 8 cm against Lambchop Rasbora at 3 cm, big enough to eat it.
- Panda Garra Panda Garra grows to 9 cm against Lambchop Rasbora at 3 cm, big enough to eat it.
- Pictus Catfish Pictus Catfish grows to 12 cm against Lambchop Rasbora at 3 cm, big enough to eat it.
Only with care6
- Chinese Algae Eater Chinese Algae Eater is aggressive and Lambchop Rasbora is peaceful.
- Bala Shark Bala Shark is a risk to Lambchop Rasbora: rasbora and sharks are a pairing to watch.
- Paradise Fish Paradise Fish is a risk to Lambchop Rasbora: large gouramis and rasbora are a pairing to watch.
- Pearl Gourami Pearl Gourami is a risk to Lambchop Rasbora: large gouramis and rasbora are a pairing to watch.
- Silver Dollar Silver Dollar is a risk to Lambchop Rasbora: rasbora and silver dollar are a pairing to watch.
No conflict is recorded with the other 89 species in the database, so nothing to flag. 2 species are not covered at all, so they could not be judged either way.