Sundadanio

Sundadanio is a genus with 8 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Danios & Rasboras section, recorded from Indonesia and Malaysia. Adult sizes run from 0.5 in to 1 in. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas
8
Adult sizes
0.5–1 in
IUCN assessed
8 of 8 · 5 threatened
Recorded from
2 countries

About the genus

Sundadanio is a genus of extremely small danionin fish endemic to Borneo and Sumatra, where its species inhabit blackwater peat-swamp forests and their acidic, tea-coloured streams. At 0.5–1 in, its members are among the smallest cyprinid relatives known, smaller even than most fish traded as "microrasbora." Intense, saturated neon colouration, electric blue, red, or violet depending on species, sets the genus apart visually, standing out sharply against the dark, tannin-stained water it favours in the wild.

The blue neon rasbora (Sundadanio axelrodi) is the genus's best-known aquarium export and a long-time staple of nano and blackwater biotope tanks, prized for shoaling brilliance in soft, acidic, tannin-rich water that mirrors its native peat swamps. Several more recently described Sundadanio species have followed it into specialist trade in smaller numbers. Conservation status is a serious concern here: two species are assessed as Endangered and three more as Vulnerable, consistent with a genus confined to peat-swamp habitat that continues to be lost to drainage, logging, and land conversion across Borneo and Sumatra.

IUCN Red List: Endangered · 2 Vulnerable · 3 Near Threatened · 2 Least Concern · 1

The 8 species

Every Sundadanio recorded in this atlas. Each card links to a full researched profile — distribution, water parameters, and aquarium care, cited to primary sources.

Conway, Kottelat & Tan, 2011

0.5 in SL · EN

(Brittan, 1976)

Blue neon rasbora, Axelrod's rasbora

1 in SL · VU

Conway, Kottelat & Tan, 2011

1 in SL · VU

Conway, Kottelat & Tan, 2011

0.5 in SL · VU

Conway, Kottelat & Tan, 2011

0.5 in SL · EN

Conway, Kottelat & Tan, 2011

1 in SL · NT

Conway, Kottelat & Tan, 2011

0.5 in SL · LC

Conway, Kottelat & Tan, 2011

Neon red rasbora, Red Sunda danio

0.5 in SL · NT

Explore further

How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Sundadanio. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/sundadanio/

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