Photo: Seotaro, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Japanese rice fish
Oryzias latipes
3.5 cm
Adult size
50 L
Minimum volume
6
Minimum group
4 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Oryzias
- Diet
- carnivore
- Social life
- small group
In the wild
Overview
The medaka, or “rice fish” (Oryzias comes from the Greek oryza, “rice”), has been a model organism in biology for more than a century, and was the first vertebrate to mate in space, in the mid-1990s. There are many ornamental forms, especially in Japan.
- Scientific name
- Oryzias latipes (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846)
- Classification
- Beloniformes › Adrianichthyidae
- IUCN Red List
- Least concern (LC)
Natural habitat
East Asia: Japan (from the Ryukyus to Honshu), Korea, eastern China (with Hainan and Hong Kong), Taiwan, Vietnam and Laos
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
Mostly coastal, it is very adaptable: tidal brackish mangroves, acidic forest streams, rice paddies, farm canals, pools and oxbows, and even tide pools on some coasts of Japan and Korea. It tolerates a wide range of salinity and temperature.
Behaviour
Peaceful, but its needs (cool, sometimes brackish water) limit its companions: small fish with similar requirements (Dermogenys, Pseudomugil, Brachygobius) or Neritina snails; for breeding it is best kept alone. A micropredator: fine dry food and small live or frozen prey every day. It also lives in outdoor ponds.
Sources:FishBase Seriously Fish GBIF · Base map: Natural Earth