This article may contain some affiliate links to products. The links provide me a small percentage of commission but do not cost you anything extra to use. (See full disclosure statement here
).
The Chilli Rasbora is an omnivorous fish that will eat both meaty things and vegetation. However, it prefers a more carnivorous diet packed full of protein.
Chilli Rasboras enjoy live/dried/frozen meaty protein. So small insects, their larvae and eggs will all be welcome. This means that you can, for example, offer your Chilli Rasboras baby Brine Shrimp, Daphnia and Micro Worms. They will also accept Flake Food and Small Pellets which contain vegetable matter along with the protein.
There are a lot more foods that you can offer to your Chilli Rasboras. But it’s important that all food is broken down into really tiny pieces. So a little crushing and chopping will be needed. That doesn’t mean that feeding them is difficult though.
Let’s take a closer look at which foods you can offer to your Chili Rasboras
Live, Freeze-Dried And Frozen Protein Foods For Chilli Rasboras
In their native habitat of Southwest Borneo/Indonesia Chilli Rasboras mainly feed on microorganisms and tiny ‘bugs’. So to keep them healthy in your aquarium you need to provide them with plenty of micro sized protein foods.
Live, freeze-dried, and frozen meaty protein foods for your Chilli Rasboras can be bought at Pet Stores, Aquatic Dealers and online. These tiny Nano fish do well on a varied diet. So varying the way they get their protein is a good idea.
Here’s Some Of The Protein Foods That You Can Offer To Your Chilli Rasboras (available at Amazon if you click the link)
- Brine Shrimp (newly hatched)
- Brine Shrimp Eggs
- Micro Worms (also Banana Worms)
- Vinegar Eels
- Daphnia (newly hatched)
- Mosquito Larvae
- Blood Worms (also Tubifex Worms)
You may have to do some chopping/mincing, particularly with some of the worm-type foods, so that your Chilli Rasboras can manage them. If, like me, you’re a little squeamish about this, you can go for the dried versions. For example, dried Blood Worms are easy to crunch down and because they are dry I feel less squeamish about it.
Tip: If you opt for dried insects/worms it helps to rehydrate them before adding them to the tank. Soak them in a little tank water for about 20 minutes or so before feeding them to your fish. When rehydrated they will be easier to eat. They sink into the water more quickly too.
Both Fluval and Hikari do a range of protein rich foods/insect foods, that are dried and easy to break down to feed to your fish. I’ve been feeding Fluval Bug Bites Tropical Formula For Small Fish, (available from Amazon) along with other foods, in all my aquariums. The fish love it. I crunch some of it down as I add it to the tank so that my smallest fish get their fair share.
If you’re interested in making your own live culture of Micro Worms and/or Banana Worms you will find the YouTube video link below helpful. In the video Cory from Aquarium Co-Op shows you how easy it is to make live cultures and to keep them going indefinitely.
Flake Food And Pellets For Chilli Rasboras
Both flake food and food pellets generally contain a combination of protein and vegetable derivatives. They also usually contain added vitamins and minerals. Which is understandable because flake foods and pellets are designed to be a complete nutritional aquarium food.
When you’re choosing a flake or pellet food for your Chilli Rasboras it’s important to choose a good quality one that contains a range of beneficial nutrients. Because Chilli Rasboras are a tropical fish you need to go for one that’s formulated with the needs of tropical fish in mind.
Although Chilli Rasboras like a lot of protein in their diet they do need vegetable matter too. This is where flake foods and pellets come in with their combination of ingredients.
It’s a bit like getting a small child to eat up their greens.
The Best Way To Feed Flake Food And Pellets To Your Chilli Rasboras
Feeding flakes and pellets to your Chilli Rasboras is the easiest way to feed them. A quality flake or pellet food will contain all the nutrition they need. Although varying their diet on a regular basis is a good idea.
When it comes to flake food you need to crunch the flakes down into tiny powdery pieces so that your Chilli Rasboras can eat them. It’s easy to do. Just put the flakes into the palm of one hand and scrunch them down repeatedly with the index finger and thumb of your other hand until the flakes are reduced to powder.
You can use the same method to break down pellets too unless they are particularly solid. If that’s the case, just break the pellets down using the back of a clean spoon against a clean, hard surface. Once you’ve crushed them down into a fine powder you can feed them to your fish.
Do Chilli Rasboras Eat Vegetables?
Although the Chilli Rasbora does eat vegetation in both its native habitat and the home aquarium it does prefer meaty protein. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t offer green leafy vegetables as part of their diet. If they’re sharing a tank with other small non-aggressive fish, that like/need green vegetables, you’re likely to be feeding vegetables to the whole community anyway.
It may be the case that your Chilli Rasboras take the odd nibble at the vegetables without showing too much enthusiasm for them. And if you’re providing plenty of meaty protein this is likely to be the case.
Feeding your Chilli Rasboras a diet that includes flake food and/or pellet food, that contains vegetable matter along with the protein, is an easy way to make sure they’re eating vegetables too. Like a lot of things in the fish keeping hobby it’s all about finding a healthy balance.
Tip: When feeding vegetables to your fish you need to soften them first. You can do this by either steaming, simmering or microwaving them. Let them cool to room temperature before adding them to the tank.
If you want to tempt your Chilli Rasboras with some green vegetables spinach, kale and savoy cabbage are good ones to try. Remember to remove any uneaten vegetables from the tank after a few hours to avoid contaminating the tank with rotting food.
Do Chilli Rasboras Eat Algae?
Chilli Rasboras are not known as algae eaters. That’s not to say they don’t eat algae in both their native habitat and the home aquarium. It’s just that it’s not their meal of choice. If there’s plenty of protein foods available they will eat them first before eating anything else that’s on offer.
Which means that Chilli Rasboras won’t keep the algae under control in your aquarium.
If you feed algae wafers to your Chilli Rasboras’ tankmates in a community tank they may eat a little of it. But they definitely won’t take the lion’s share.
Do Chilli Rasboras Eat Aquarium Plants?
The native habitat of the Chilli Rasbora is full of plants, leaf debris and tree roots. There are also the overhanging tree branches too that help to shade the water. But despite being classed as an omnivorous fish the Chilli Rasbora isn’t destructive when it comes to vegetation.
Fortunately, that also goes for aquarium plants. Although a densely planted tank is best for this Nano fish it’s not because they see the plants as a food source. The plants provide them with shelter and shade rather than a meal.
Which means that in the home aquarium the plants are generally left alone to grow and flourish.
How Much And How Often Should I Feed My Chilli Rasboras?
You need to feed your Chilli Rasboras a small amount of food at least twice a day. One larger meal isn’t good for their digestive system and can cause health issues. So spreading the food out into at least two meals is the best idea. Only feed them as much food as they can eat in 2-3 minutes to avoid overfeeding and having leftover food fouling up the tank water.
Do Chilli Rasboras Eat Their Own Fry?
Chilli Rasboras do eat their own fry (babies) and will also eat the eggs before they hatch. So if you want to successfully breed them it’s advisable to set up a breeding tank and remove the adult Chilli Rasboras after they have spawned. If, on the other hand, you prefer to keep their numbers down, then leaving them all in the main tank will help you to do this.
If you would like more information about how to successfully breed your Chilli Rasboras read my article ‘How do Chilli Rasboras Breed?’
What Do Chilli Rasbora Fry Eat?
As you’ve gathered by now even an adult Chilli Rasbora is an extremely small fish that needs minute food to eat. Which means that their fry need food that’s even smaller.
Chilli Rasbora fry will eat the microorganisms that occur naturally in a live planted aquarium. But additional feeding by you needs to be tailored to these tiny fish.
Powdered and liquid fry foods are readily available at Pet Stores, Aquatic Dealers and Online. A couple of examples of these are Interpet Liquifry Number 1 for baby egg laying fish and Northfin Fry Starter Formula. There are lots of other ones to choose from so it’s worth taking a look at what’s avialable.
You can of course just crunch/chop/mince your normal Chilli Rasbora food down even smaller than you usually do. As long as it’s small enough the fry will eat it.