Care
Pathiran's Danio is a beautiful shoaling danionin, which is found in a very limited range in southern Sri Lanka. It is a species that is listed as "Critically Endangered" on the IUCN redlist for endangered species, a status which stems from a combination of overfishing for the aquarium trade, loss of natural shade from the habitat, and pollution from agricultural effluents. The trade has apparently agreed to restrict exports to very small quantities in hope of safeguarding the wild population, and captive breeding programmes are underway. Within this small natural range, Devario pathirana is actually quite prolific; but because of the restricted area, and the obvious disastrous consequences if it were to be damaged/overfished, conservation measures are essential. Any hobbyist lucky enough to find these fish in the shops should seriously consider purchasing a good sized group, and set up their own active breeding programme for them. The aquarium itself should be spacious and well covered - this is a species capable of surprisingly high jumps. The water should be maintained at a steady subtropical temperature with a powerful flow rate and high levels of oxygenation. In order to create that river bed effect, piles of water-worn rocks and cobbles can be piled onto a substrate of fine rounded gravel, with bogwood roots stood upright at the back of the tank. Plants that are robust in nature and that can cope with the high flow environment can be used as part of the aquascape, but be sure to leave a large open swimming space in the centre of the tank for these active swimmers. Tankmates should be chosen with care, as these fish are fairly boisterous (particularly at feeding time) and will nip the fins of slower moving fancy finned fish. Best kept in groups of 6 or more of their own kind, with larger groups helping to ensure a good ratio of both sexes for breeding attempts.
Feeding
Flake, micropellets, small frozen foods such as mosquito larvae, daphnia, brineshrimp etc.
Breeding
Should be fairly straightforward to breed, using techniques suited to similar species. A separate aquarium should be set up with a substrate of marbles and large clumps of Java moss. Once spawning has ceased, the parent fish should be acclimatised back to the main aquarium in order to prevent them predating on the eggs.
