Above: The picture above shows a beautiful young premium quality Celestial Pearl Danio, swimming in one of our aquarium, when one of us snapped this picture.

Comments: This is a Premium Pet Fish, and we never see Premium Danio like these in any of the live fish stores or the online stores that we visit.

Premium Pet Fish are more energetic, hardier, and have brighter colors with a beautiful metallic sheen.

Click here to learn more about Premium Pet Fish.

Origin: This species was discovered in 2006 in Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia.

The fish is being produced in large quantities by fish farmers, and it now lives in many aquariums throughout most of the world.

But this is still a relatively rare aquarium fish.

Maximum Size: The maximum size of these fish in an aquarium is usually a little bit less than 1-inch long, which makes it a good fish for nano aquariums.

But almost all fish continue to grow throughout their entire lives, so it's possible that old fish may occasionally grow to be unusually large.

Someday we might see one that's more than 1" long. ;^ }

Behaviors: These little guys are moderately active, and the males energetically quarrel with each other but usually do no harm.

Compatibility: Some recommended tank mates include small fish like, Harlequin Rasboras, Neon Tetras, Cardinal Tetras, Guppies, Corydoras Catfish, Honey Gouramis, etc.

Click here to read more about compatible groups of pet fish.

Temperature: They can live pretty well from about 76 to 84 degrees F., but they're probably most comfortable at about 80 degrees F.

Click here to learn about aquarium temperature, aquarium thermometers, and aquarium heaters.

Feeding: Premium Fish Food Flakes, which should be crushed into fine particles.

Just put some flakes in a plastic bag, seal the bag, and squish the food for a while.

You can then use a slightly moistened toothpick to pick up some of the powder and dip the toothpick a couple of times in the aquarium water.

Click here to learn more about and shop online for premium fish foods.

Water Conditions: This fish seems to be tolerant of a wide range of water conditions.

Probably a pH of about 7.5 with moderate hardness is best.

Most water in the US has a higher pH and is harder but seems to be OK, so it's probably best NOT to adjust the pH or the hardness of the water.

Here in our facilities the water is hard and the pH is usually about 7.8. We ship them in this water.

Click here for a lot more information about aquarium water conditions.

Aquarium Size: These fish can do well in very small aquariums, but it's probably best to keep them in at least a 20-gallon aquarium, and bigger is better, because the males quarrel with each other.

Keep at most one fish per gallon.

Decor: They do not need gravel, and a layer of gravel more than 1/4" thick will usually fill with bits of uneaten food that will contaminate the water.

Click here for more about aquarium gravel.

Live Plants are beautiful and improve the water quality. Celestial Pearl Danios seem to like plants and do better in an aquarium with live plants.

Aquarium Filter: Bio-Wheel Filters are highly recommended.

A Penguin 200B Filter in an aquarium with 20 to 30-gallons of water is just right for these fish.

Click here to learn more about aquarium filters.

The addition of Lava Rocks will keep nitrates in the ideal range.

Click here to learn more about using Lava Rocks in aquariums.

Life Span: They will probably live for a few years with good water and good food.

Gender: Mature males are much more colorful than the females.

Breeding: Danios scatter their eggs on plants or special breeding mops made of nylon yarn.

Popularity: This is a relatively new aquarium fish that's steadily gaining popularity as a good fish for small aquariums.

Names: The scientific name is Celestichthys margaritatus.

Variations: Apparently there are now several minor variations, but we haven't seen them yet.

We hope you've enjoyed reading these comments.

DrTom - 04/21/2015