Medaka Marble 3cm

Medaka Marble

Medaka, also known as rice fish, is quickly rising to be a popular aquarium fish. These adorable nano fish are incredibly hardy, cold-water tolerant, and come in an assortment of colours through the art of selective breeding. They would be an ideal beginner fish because of these reasons, and are even kept in outdoor ponds in the colder regions of Australia, all year round.

The marble medaka is a stunning variety that showcases an intricate pattern of white, grey, silver, and even speckled black, all mottled together in a marbled effect. Unlike the more uniform marble, the marble medaka is unpredictable in its pattern, with every individual looking slightly different. Their scales often reflect a pearlescent shimmer that enhances their pattern under aquarium lighting, giving them an almost glittery appearance. The body shape is slender and torpedo-like, making them resemble guppies in form but with a much more subtle elegance in coloration.

The marble medaka will max out at a size of 4 cm. Much like their beautiful appearance, these fish also have a peaceful personality and would be a unique addition to any community aquarium. Telling the difference between males and females can be tricky in medaka as they don't display obvious sexual dimorphism. During breeding, however, females will carry eggs externally under their body before depositing them on soft plant surfaces, after which the male fertilises them, an endearing trait unique to this genus. Wild medaka can be found in the cold rivers and rice paddies of Japan.

Tank Recommendations for your Medaka Marble

The marble medaka is a very active little fish and would be fine in a tank that is 40 litres. A larger aquarium would be ideal as these fish do best kept in groups, and the larger volume will allow for other tank mates. These fish are not fussy at all when it comes to the substrate, but will really love a densely planted aquarium. This would also ensure that if the fish end up breeding, which is highly likely, the fry have a good chance at surviving.

A really great aquarium setting for these fish would be to have a black tank background, bright green plants, and an aquarium light with increased yellow spectrum will showcase metallic scales of the medaka strain.

Suitable Tank Buddies

The marble medaka is a very peaceful species which is best suited to be kept with small community fish.

Usually Compatible

Small community fish like neon tetras, ember tetras, or rasboras, and even livebearers like guppies.

Sometime Compatible

Anabantoid species such as bettas, gouramis, and species of a similar sort. These species offer a risk of predating on small medaka or outcompeting them.

Rarely Compatible

Aggressive species such as convict cichlids or kribensis, which will certainly end up preying on the medaka

Feeding your Medaka marble

The marble medaka much like most small aquarium fish, is very easy to feed. They are an opportunistic surface feeder and will take to a wide range of prepared aquarium foods.

Their diet should contain good quality micro floating pellets with frozen food that has a high protein, such as bloodworm, brine shrimp, and daphnia. This feeding can occur once a day.