Celestial Pearl Danio, Galaxy Rasboras

Newly Discovered Fish Facing Extinction - March 13, 2007
Release from: United Press International
HOPONG: An aquarium species discovered in Southeast Asia in August is facing possible extinction because of intense demand for the colorful fish.


Updated 9/22/11:


The celestial pearl danio -- Celestichthys margaritatus -- was discovered by a commercial aquarium fish dealer near the town of Hopong in Myanmar, formerly Burma, along the China and Thailand borders.
When this fish first appeared on the Internet forums, many thought that this fish was the result of an ardent Photoshopper. This fish caught the fish keeping world by storm with many people clamouring to get their hands on this elusive fish.

Measuring less than an inch, the fish is deep blue with pearly pink or golden iridescent spots, National Geographic News reported. It lives in heavily vegetated ponds in that remote northern area.

Initially the danio's location was kept secret, but other commercial dealers soon learned of the fish, Tyson Roberts, an ichthyologist told National Geographic. Within a few months, one Thai company alone had exported about 15,000 of the fish, Roberts said, and, since then, exportation is estimated to have reached 10 times that amount, mainly to Japan, North America, and Europe.

Captive breeding may be the only way for the aquarium hobbyist to ensure a supply of the species in the future, since it reportedly is already nearly fished out in the area where it was discovered, Roberts said. He detailed the discovery in last week's issue of the journal the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology.
Picture above from: The Celestial Danio, a highly anticipated species description by Tyson Roberts

Comment:
According to the National Geographic, this original post was greatly exaggerated. Here is a quote from National Geographic News
“CORRECTION: The original title of this March 7, 2007, article—"Aquarium Fish Threatened With Extinction Just Months After Discovery"—exaggerated the threat to the fish, says ichthyologist Tyson Roberts, who is extensively quoted. The availability of the fish to aquarium suppliers at the discovery site is rapidly dwindling, but, as mentioned later in the article, the species most likely doesn't face a threat to its survival because other populations of the fish probably exist in areas inaccessible to fishers, he says.”

This is not to say captive breeding programs should not be started and used as a primary source for these fish for the aquarium trade.
I had an earlier post about this here: Galaxy Rasbora under threat. I have read more as more information has become available, and found my own comments to be premature and even the name of this fish (along with better male pics) as gone through changes.

Here is a little more information about these beautiful fish:

Scientific Name: Celestichthys margaritatus (previous scientific name: Microrasbora Galaxy)
Temperature: 24 C (75 F)
GH: 9 dGH (about 150 ppm)
Size: about 1 inch; 1.5 – 3 cm (female often only 1.5 cm)
Location: Myanmar

Breeding
Although the primary focus of Fish as Pets posts/articles is “Aquatic News” (unlike Aquarium Answers which is more focused on researched information), I will provide some breeding information gleaned from others and Danios/Rasoboras in general.

Most sources agree that Celestial Pearl Danios are not at all hard to breed and compare to other Rasboras/Danios in breeding behavior.
Feeding frozen or FD bloodworms to the adults diet daily will keep them in spawning condition.

The CPD (Galaxy Rasboras) should be separated from other fish and it should be noted that they will eat their own eggs. They spend every moment of their awake time hunting through spawning “mops” to eat the eggs and newly hatched fry.
Best is to utilize a method that screens the adults form the breeding mop/moss at the bottom of the aquarium or better is to separate the adults immediately into separate “rearing tank” with a Sponge Filter for filtration. It should also be noted that CPD spawn regularly, so chances are even if you miss the spawning one time, you might catch the spawning the next time it happens.
Young Celestial pearl danios will also eat new hatches, so the small juveniles must be moved out prior to adding new eggs.
New hatches will grow from about 15 mm to about 60 mm in 4 weeks. Fry prefer to stay in bushy tall plants near the surface for the first few weeks of life.

Please also see this article from a member of Everything Aquatic:
CELESTIAL PEARL DANIO



Here is an interesting video of celestial pearl danios spawing in an aquarium:


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If your aquarium has a UV Sterilizer, I suggest changing the UV Bulbs every six months for peak performance for a healthy Redox Balance and of coarse better disease resistance in your fish.

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