Medaka Tiger 3cm

Medaka Tiger

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 Tiger Medaka sports a captivating pattern of vertical black or dark brown stripes across a pale yellow to golden body, giving it its "tiger" namesake. This striping is irregular and varies between individuals, making every fish in a group just a little bit different. Their body shape remains classic to the medaka line, slim and torpedo-shaped with a smooth, gliding swimming style that is both elegant and subtle. When kept in planted tanks with the right lighting, the tiger pattern pops beautifully, especially with the slight metallic sheen found on their scales.

The Tiger 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 Tiger

The Tiger 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 highly likely to breed, 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 withan  increased yellow spectrum will really showcase the metallic scales of the medaka strain.

Suitable Tank Buddies

The Tiger medaka is a very peaceful species that 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 Tiger

The Tiger medaka, much like most small aquarium fish, is very easy to feed. They are an opportunistic surface feeder and will take 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 simply occur once a day.