Should I buy it?
Scissortail Rasbora
Rasbora trilineata
Also known as: three-lined rasbora
A large fast-moving schooler at 15 cm that needs real swim length. Often bought as a starter fish; grows out of small tanks within a year.
Scissortail Rasbora tank mates · 160L tank size hub
peaceful · beginner care
Sources & confidencehigh · partially verified · beginner: caution
Checked against several solid care sources that mostly agree. Numbers here are a careful starting point. Your tap water, tank size, and habits decide the rest. How we evaluate.
Best for: Large community tanks 150L or more with a school of six and at least 100 cm of horizontal run.
Avoid if: Your tank is under 100 cm long, or you keep small nano fish that can't cope with the constant motion.
Common mistakeKeeping two scissortails in a 60L is how keepers invent pacing, nervous fish that never settle. They need forward run and a real school. Plan 150L-class length with six or more — a short nano pair is the wrong shape for this species.
Top things that go wrong
- Group welfare — not a solo display fish. Plan at least **6** together for normal behaviour; smaller groups often mean stress, colour loss, or nipping depending on species.
- Shrimp & snails. Cherry shrimp and other dwarfs can coexist with peaceful small fish; baby shrimp are food for almost anything that finds them.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Myth: scissortail rasboras thrive as a decorative pair in a short community nano. Reality: they need open swimming length and a real school of six or more — two fish in a 60L pace and never show the calm schooling people want.
- 2.Buying three or four to start. Scissortail Rasbora settles in a group of 6 or more. An understocked school sulks at the back of the tank and loses colour within a fortnight.
- 3.Do not house with tiny nano fish that cannot handle the flow or speed. A 120 cm or longer tank is realistic for adults.
About this species
Scissortail rasboras are 15 cm Southeast Asian cyprinids with a scissor-marked tail. Fast midwater swimmer. Sold small in shops, but adults need a long tank.
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No reverse lookups listed yet.
Plan grid
Key limits are above. Here: pH band, swim level, bioload, and activity.
Swim zones
Care snapshot
Quick compare before you buy. Not a score of how “good” the fish is.
- Beginner ease54
- Peacefulness90
- Community fit79
- Small-tank fit97
- Hardiness76
- Energy86
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Example setups
Starting points only. Run the pair checker for every fish you add.
Rough 150L+ layout: one calm centrepiece, 8–12 small tetras/rasboras, 6–8 corydoras-type bottom fish — verify every name in the pair checker before buying.
Safer directions include: Boesemani Rainbowfish, Congo Tetra, Dwarf Gourami.
Prioritise 6+ of Scissortail Rasbora in 150L+ with filtration sized for messy feeding — add only mates that already pass pair checks with this species.
Compatibility
Tank mates for Scissortail Rasbora
Usually safer (engine GOOD): Boesemani Rainbowfish, Congo Tetra, Dwarf Gourami. Conditional (CAUTION — read the pair page before buying): Betta, Celestial Pearl Danio, Chili Rasbora, Corydoras Catfish. Every name links to a live pair check — the lists are a shortlist, not a stocking plan.
Usually safer
Open a pair page with this fish as the starting point.
Needs planning
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Usually avoid
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
None listed. Use the pair checker before mixing.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Scissortail Rasbora + Boesemani Rainbowfish
Behaviour and temperament
Scissortail rasboras are peaceful active schoolers that stay calmer in groups of six or more with real swim length. They do not bully robust neighbours. Stress shows as pacing, fading, and glass-riding when under-grouped in a short cube without forward run.
What sets them off
- Sudden crowding
- Poor water quality
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper; stressed or crowded individuals can still test fins.
Predation: Not a predator toward similarly sized community fish; fry and dwarf shrimp are still fair game for most species.
Territory: Not strongly territorial, but still needs room so its working space does not overlap the next fish.
Planted tanks: excellent — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Six or more cruise midwater in a long open tank, flashing forked tails.
- Steady forward swimming is normal ownership — design length for it.
- Pacing in a short cube means footprint and school size both failed.
- A thin pair usually needs more of their own kind before a different pellet.
- Low listed malice toward similar-sized peaceful fish.
- Fin-nippers and large predators are the usual failure modes — not rasbora spite.
- Grow the school and tank length before adding another 'active' species to fix shyness.
- Remove nippy barbs at the first torn fin.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Water, food, and grouping
Hardness
medium
Diet
omnivore
Scissortail rasboras are active midwater omnivores that take quality flake or micro-pellets plus frozen foods in a school of six or more. Food that never reaches the open swim leaves them thin while they pace. Feed in the current of a long tank, keep the school honest, and expect constant forward movement as normal ownership.
Shrimp & snails
Cherry shrimp and other dwarfs can coexist with peaceful small fish; baby shrimp are food for almost anything that finds them.
Schooling species — buy 6+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
- Hold 22 to 28 °C steadily on a real thermometer, not the dial on the heater.
- Aim for pH 6 to 7.5 and a hardness you can re-test in two weeks. A one-time strip in the shop car park is not a water test.
- Schooling species. Buy 6 or more from the same tank on the same day before adding any centrepiece fish.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 150L published minimum for adults.
- You can stock at least 6 individuals (group welfare).
- Heater can hold 22–28°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
Explore and stocking hubs
Tank-mates hub, matching guides, category peers, and litre stocking lists around this species’ minimum tank.
Plan with tools
Check mates as pairs first, then add this fish in the tank builder for the full stocking.
Filtration & heating
A 150L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 600L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 22–28°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Scissortail Rasbora does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 22–28°C and pH 6–7.5:
Research: partially verified · Confidence: high · 3 linked source(s). We do not invent citations.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Rasbora trilineata
Primary: aquarium size, water chemistry, behaviour, and compatibility (URL verified in upgrade script; recheck if site content changes).
- FishBase. Rasbora trilineata
Secondary: taxonomy, distribution, and maximum length in nature; cross-check with aquarium import lines and measured tank parameters.
- Wikipedia. Rasbora trilineata
Secondary: general species context; verify all husbandry numbers against a dedicated aquarium care sheet and your test kit, not a single table row.
Evidence notes
- The Seriously Fish profile for the binomial in this record was successfully reached as the primary aquarium reference.
- FishBase contributes natural-range size and habitat context. Translate those numbers through your heater, your water report, and your tank footprint before stocking.
- Wikipedia is only cited if the article URL returned OK. Use it for orientation, not as the only care sheet for an import.
- All compatibility text reflects typical hobby experience and the Fishori model. Individual fish, shop stress, and the order tank mates are added in can still defy a single-paragraph label.
Common questions about Scissortail Rasbora
- How big do Scissortail Rasbora get?
- Scissortail Rasbora adults reach about 15 cm. Shop fish look smaller; stock for the adult length.
- What size tank does Scissortail Rasbora need?
- 150L is the planning floor for adult swimming space and bioload. A 183L+ tank is the more comfortable long-term footprint. Length and depth matter as much as raw litres for active or territorial fish.
- Are Scissortail Rasbora aggressive?
- Scissortail rasboras are peaceful active schoolers that stay calmer in groups of six or more with real swim length. They do not bully robust neighbours. Stress shows as pacing, fading, and glass-riding when under-grouped in a short cube without forward run.
- Do Scissortail Rasbora need to be kept in a group?
- Schooling species — buy 6+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
- What is the most common mistake with Scissortail Rasbora?
- Keeping two scissortails in a 60L is how keepers invent pacing, nervous fish that never settle. They need forward run and a real school. Plan 150L-class length with six or more — a short nano pair is the wrong shape for this species.
- What fish can live with Scissortail Rasbora?
- The Scissortail Rasbora profile lists Boesemani Rainbowfish, Congo Tetra, Dwarf Gourami among its safer pairings (engine-checked GOOD). Betta, Celestial Pearl Danio, Chili Rasbora, Corydoras Catfish are conditional (CAUTION): workable only with the specific conditions on each pair page. Run the pair checker for your exact water and tank size before stocking.