Celestial Pearl Danio (CPD) EVERYTHING you need to know! Complete care guide and history.

[@saxplayer1004]

Pro tip for breeding these things with food once they come out of the wiggler phase, but works for adults. Take your preferred pellet food and get them in cichlid size *size of peppercorns* and then put them in a dedicated peppermill. This is considerably cheaper than most of the micro foods on the market and using a pepper mill means you can adjust the grind size and you get the high variability from "dust" to small flakes. Grind your chosen quantity of food in there and because it will fall randomly based on the sizes the CPD's love to chase it as it drops through the water column. This was a happy accident when I had a bunch of large cichlid pellets that I needed to get rid of, but it has become my preferred feeding method for shrimp and CPD's

[@FishShopMatt]

That's an amazing tip! Thank you for taking the time to share!

[@ChucksFeeesh]

@@saxplayer1004 I'll have to try this, thanks!

[@JiyuuNK]

For "accidental" breeding, this is a great tip! But if I'm actually breed them, I prefer the golden liquid, baby brine shrimp 😆

[@skjoldpicobryggeri7492]

I really like this "one fish fact videos" Great work, Matt

[@FishShopMatt]

Glad you like them!

[@4buckeyegirl2]

I bred my first batch of 20 and selling some off to fund my hobby. Now I have 10 more newly hatched fry. I have mine in a natural planted tank with moss in a collection cup where I pull out eggs each afternoon. Some days I get 1-2 and other days I get 4-5 eggs. I just put them in a Fluval breeder basket and raise them for 2 months until they are big enough to go into the main tank. The frys are as small as an eyelash so I can see how they would be easily picked off by the parents. They are so fun to watch and rewarding to raise.

[@stephanihope2262]

Amazed at how beautifully this tower tank has matured!! It is just gorgeous 😍😍

[@computermick]

I had 6 of these in a 30 Litre tank but 3 died within a couple of weeks. I left the other 3, intending to get more. About 2 months later, having not got anymore, I decided to put them into my 200 Litre Nano community tank. I then wen to strip the 30 Litre to start a new project but before I had a chance to drain the water or remove the filter, I spotted a few wrigglers. I now have 12 babies at approximately 1 month old. I will leave them there till they get bigger although I don't think a 30 Litre is too small for 12 adult CPD's. It is heavily planted and very mature so I think they will be fine. So I am grateful for your informative video and happy to be an accidental breeder of what I think are one of the top 3 nano fish ever.

[@FishShopMatt]

That's an amazing situation to find yourself in

[@suffysdave]

Matt, I love your professionalism and your enthusiasm. Keep it up!

[@FishShopMatt]

I appreciate that!

[@andyscott350]

Perfect timing on the video! Just got home from a trip to Lake Superior, and I want to set up a themed looking nano. These guys will be the perfect miniature trout!

[@m.cantsin7385]

I've found these to be very frail fish. I bought a nice healthy looking group and half of them was gone within the first week. The ones who survived the move into my tank lived far longer but a variety of diseases/ailments (none of which have affected any other fish in the tank, the other cpd's included) have befallen and killed all but one of them over the year I've had them. The one that remains looks absolutely stunning though with very accentuated red colouration.

[@Nyraksi]

I love these little guys, they look like mini trouts. I have 10 in my heavily planted 15 gallons and they just started breeding. I still have 2 gravid females that are so plump with eggs! I found and collected 8 fry and transferred them into my shrimp only tank so it’s easier to feed them and they have a higher chance at survival. I plan to move them back once they’re bigger so they don’t eat all my tiny baby shrimps! They’re my 2nd fish to successfully breed after my otocinclus :) I have a soft spot for CPDs, thank you for sharing your experiences. My water parameters are pH 6.8-7, temp is 23-23.5C, GH is around 6-7 and KH 2. I find they’re a bit skittish at first but once they get used to you and feeding, they’re really curious and outgoing.

[@FrankLaw25]

Love this tank Matt ❤

[@robbiepayne865]

I love this video! The style of it is great! .more videos like this please!

[@FishShopMatt]

Thank you! Will do!

[@megmills4798]

Glad to be here

[@LaBeLsDistracted]

I waited years to find these locally!!! Finally got a dozen last year… I LOVE these little guys! Perfect for my small 60p!!

[@kzookid2051]

I've had these guys in with ember tetras and croaking gouramis with a few small cories and a black kuhli loach, and everyone got along wonderfully. I fed them a rotation 6 different foods, all ground in a pill grinder and they did quite well. They definitely deserve to be in a large tank devoted to nano fish where they can enjoy the space in safety.

[@johnmackay996]

I love these CPD fish. I added some to a Betta nano tank 2yrs ago and they did so well. I like how they look a bit like micro-Trout!

[@FishShopMatt]

Yes they do

[@pushkatu]

These are by far my favorite nano fish. I have a 200L aquarium setup just for them and a automatic egg trap that moves the eggs to a separate container/breeding box. I started with 40, then got 20 more from another breeder and I now have about 40 fry that are about 4-5 weeks old, so fairly big. Here in Romania they are cheap, about 2-4 bucks, depending where you get them, usually local breeders have better prices and the fish are healthier than those found in shops. I do agree that if they are not sourced properly, they can be quite sensitive. I got burned in the past and lost an entire colony. Many thanks for the video and keep up the good work!

[@FishShopMatt]

Amazing! Yeah I agree it seems there are some dodgy strains about.

[@nicrodel]

Thanks for going in depth on them, these guys are at the top of my list

[@FishShopMatt]

Glad you like them!

[@Jen-w1i]

I wish I had my tank up and running. Watching your vids gives me my aquarium fix!

[@kelubai89]

Thanks Matt! Great bit on the CPD. My group lives with a group of Harlequin Rasbora because at first I was thinking "Same family!" haha They do get along quite well in a planted tank, along with a group of chili rasbora. They draw the eye of everyone who visits my room. Thanks for the master-class!

[@bonniegoodwin5653]

Love your species profiles! I have learned so much from you and I’m so appreciative. Keep up the good work!

[@FishShopMatt]

Thank you! Will do!

[@brianfpv623]

Great video MATT- love the planted tank behind you 😊😊😊😊😊

[@FishShopMatt]

Thanks! 😀

[@gemmacorinne9487]

Wish I’d watched this again prior to going out and buying some… as I brought some emerald at the same time, as they were kept in the same tank in the shop! The CPDs straight away settled and are together, the emeralds were still hiding in the plants when the lights went off. Hopefully tomorrow they might be happier.

[@Jack-gh3vs]

These are some of my favorite fish. I have an automatic breeding setup going for them, which collects the eggs into a separate breeding container without me having to do a thing. I got mine on a Black Friday sale at my lfs for about $5 each. There is a different lfs in my area that sells them for $20 each, so some places definitely overcharge for them still.

[@FishShopMatt]

Oh wow that's super cool!

[@reptiles4ever679]

I love my CPDs!!! 10 gallon planted with 4 of them and 4 chilli's, as well as ramshorns and cherry shrimp:) definitely a much recommended nano fish!

[@FishShopMatt]

Beautiful!

[@rodrigotorrez]

I've recently got 5, I put them in a 5 gallon planted tanks, I'm loving them

[@FishShopMatt]

Amazing!

[@johnnydubbsaquascaping]

Great video Matt, I love these little guys and have bred some in my current aquascape. The colours just pop and they are such a chilled-out fish. I don't know how you went filming them as whenever I try, they are moving around so there must be a knack to it 😀

[@bbfishkc]

Loved the video! I enjoy my CPDs! They reproduced like bunny rabbits over winter for me. Went from 3 to 20!

[@FishShopMatt]

That is awesome!

[@lburgess3098]

Great vid ! These little guys are next on my list! Thanks for all the great advice.😊

[@Matthew.Henley]

Lovely orange tints 🧡

[@FishShopMatt]

Aren't they!

[@Nizon]

My favorite nano fish!

[@oscars85]

The hybrids are called " pearl emerald dwarf Danios" I have a few in my community tank. By far one of the most shy fish I have cared for. Thanks for the video Matt.

[@FishShopMatt]

Oooo interesting I've never heard that

[@garthantash]

I bought 10 CPDs and put them in their own 55L display tank. I built a dedicated breeding tank (sponge filter, moss, not much else) to increase their numbers but got waylaid in my plans and never transferred any over. When I started thinking about it again, I noticed 10 had become 12 and then 15. I broke down the dedicated breeding tank and am just letting them do their own thing in that display tank and will transfer the excess over to my 450L shrimp and cory tank when I have enough of them to not be completely lost in that tank.

[@Snailyandwhaley]

Really enjoyed this video! Great info, easy to take in. A fish that is on my list for the future. They were about £9 each last time I saw them in my local fish shop! Thanks Matt, kep ut up! 🐟

[@FishShopMatt]

Thank you! 💜

[@ChucksFeeesh]

Great video! I love these little fish! I breed them myself, but tend to have issues raising fry to adults. I get so many eggs a week and end up with only a handful of adults each time. I feed Tetra color granules (crushed with motar and pestle), infusoria and baby brine. They live until about 2 months old then start dropping like flies.

[@FishShopMatt]

Ooo interesting, maybe add some fresh blood into the mix with a few new adults? Might help the bloodline maybe a bit too much inbreeding

[@ChucksFeeesh]

@@FishShopMatt Possibly, I mixed AquaHuna males with my females and their females with my males. I'll eventually replace mine with someone else's too and retire mine to a display tank.

[@LordChumbley]

Another great video. Thanks

[@FishShopMatt]

Thanks again!

[@Diospyros1985]

Great fish! I have 6 CPDs in with some endlers and white cloud mountain minnows. They have done great in my unheated aquarium for >1 yr, temps down to 65' F in the winter.

[@tretty]

interesting video, keep up the Good work Matt, Well Done

[@FishShopMatt]

Thank you!

[@Rybags]

Love these species specific videos would love to see one on the Neon dwarf rainbow as I’m considering a new set up including these!

[@SusanNoel-xc19]

These are my fav!

[@karentalifero3081]

These are my absolute favorite fish to keep.

[@davidthompson3361]

another top fish profile video,keep the vids coming matt great content as always

[@sharkosaurus2313]

planning on getting a school of htem this week, thanks for more info!

[@FishShopMatt]

Any time!

[@alexb_aquatics]

Top video Matt! CPDs are certainly a fish I need to revisit one day, since I moved to an area with even softer than soft water they aren’t so suitable. Are they worth messing around adding various salts to the water to buffer it up 🤔

[@FishShopMatt]

Thanks buddy! Yeah I would say they are. A little powdered pH stabiliser has worked a treat for me

[@chrisfarri8914]

Your videos are great Matt

[@elzonn]

These fish made me massive amounts in covid. were selling them for up to 7pound at wholesale. Good times and still my fav little fish

[@FishShopMatt]

Wow that's a great price to get!

[@Fins-By-FFG]

Would love to get some of these but haven’t seen them in any of my lfs . Good video 👍

[@angiebear8727]

Thinking about adding some to my green neon tank now that the price has gone down a bit. Timely video. Thanks for the info.

[@FishShopMatt]

They would be a great addition, hope you enjoyed it and found it useful.

[@NiklasFahlquist]

I have a 375 liter tank that I used as a tank för nanofish. A few Endlers, Galaxy Rasboras, Rice fish, 4 different Corydoras, Otocinclus and 16 more different species. So lively and fascinating. Also it was an aquarium that was heavily planted.

[@franko1642]

Mine are really shy 😢 but something that I tried and I think it kinda worked 😅 is put them with another fish less shy, I tried with endlers guppies. Now I can appreciate them more 👌 not only when they eat

[@FishShopMatt]

That's a good shout!

[@LK50634]

😊very beautiful fishes awesome video amazing information

[@FishShopMatt]

Thank you so much 👍

[@LK50634]

@@FishShopMatt your welcome

[@OriYentl333]

Yaaaaay! 🎉 My favourite fish - they got me into the hobby! 🤩

[@IndoorEcosystem]

The best nano fish in the hobby! They pair really, really well with pygmy corys🔥

[@ellenm4560]

I am setting up a tank for this pairing right now. I think they're other just stunning fish!!

[@kallesnoobvideos9816]

I would like such a video about Tucanoichthys Tucano.

[@TheRealTMar]

About fry survival in a community tank, this week I spotted another tiny bandit corydoras going through the gunk in the right corner (near the internal Juwel filter). It's got some great cover in there and once it's large enough, it doesn't need to fear the shrimp, tetra and other cat fish.

[@FishShopMatt]

That's amazing!

[@michorrhizae]

I just picked up some CPD x Emerald Dwarf Rasboras hybrid. They naturally occur in the wild and are a little bigger than the two parent species through hybrid vigour. I keep them seperate from my CPDs but will most likely mix the offspring if I get any to see how they get along.

[@AlexIsModded]

I had a a school of six in a 5 gallon unheated aquarium for nearly a year. I learned the hard way that you need to have an equal number of males and females, or mostly females, because if the males out number females, there's so much chasing and sparring and overall aggressive behavior. And tank size doesn't matter. My CPDs were first in my large community tank, and they would chase each other all over the place, (whereas everybody else in the tank was chill). Eventually the only female I had stopped eating, and shortly after the remaining CPDs died. These fish do not like to be in a small group, they are much better temperament wise and health wise in a group of 10 or more of their species. Even though I know WHY my school didn't last, I'm not getting more CPDs. As much as I like danios as a whole, I just find rasboras to be much easier for me to work with and care for. Chili rasboras aren't even easy to care for, in my opinion, but they fit me as a fishkeeper.

[@Scaperoot79]

I recently added a group of 6 to a 20 long that already had a group of 8 golden minnows and a female Betta. I haven't seen any aggression from the other fish, but I've noticed that these little ones prefer to stay amongst the plants until feeding. Beautiful fish, but next time I'll keep them with smaller tankmates.

[@FishShopMatt]

Yeah I think they're easily scared but when housed with things they can rule over they become confident.

[@mcbabs7495]

Merci pour la vidéo!

[@MangIkiMancing]

Cool.. 👍

[@stevecooper6653]

Nice one Matt 👌🏻one of my favourite fish,I have one of my tanks just dedicated to them,around 30 ish at the moment.just ordered 20 more SPDs at the amazing price of £50 bundle,with some other fish to.i did manage to obtain a nice pair of Apistos from the wellington MHA..( Baenschi or its other name inca )

[@FishShopMatt]

Oooooo nice!!!

[@WHTFSayonara]

No mention about suggested water flow rates? I think that's really important to know.

[@joshuasmith147]

Some day I will achieve my dream of setting up a large lake Inle biotope. So many amazing little species

[@Andrew-ky8oc8cq4n]

Back in my day our bulbs were incandescent and our fish were carp and we were happy for it.

[@C-Sabien]

😂 back in my day the internet came in the mail

[@FishShopMatt]

Hahaha 🤣 love it

[@marianneh6763]

Lovely little fish, normal price here in the Netherlands as well, around 4,50 euro. But not impressed with their health, lost most of them fairly quick and tried a few times. Have a good group of their cousins now the danio erythromicron and those are very hardy fish, no issues with those at all. Might try again in the future to see if the source has improved

[@FishShopMatt]

Yeah from the comments section of this video it seems there are a few dodgy breeding batches around the world.

[@MT-oh4fw]

The CPD and Dwarf Emerald Rasbora hybrid has even been sold in the trade, I bought some a few years ago and they seemed to be actually pretty fun and tough. The hybrid is supposedly sterile.

[@DashDrones]

Never keep these with Kubotai Rasboras (very aggressive nano fish which hound CPDs and Emerald Dwarf Danios). Pygmy corys are a perfect tank buddy for them.

[@capehope6863]

Hi Matt, great video and information as usual. Would it be possible to do a species profile on the Blue Eyed Congo Tetra's? I'm looking to set up an African Themed aquascape. I have been trying to get some information on them, but I'm not having much luck, thanks in advance.

[@AirQBert]

Love this! Hope to have some Rice Fish in the future, do GPDs get on well with them? They're both small/chill fish so I can't imagine they would?

[@FishShopMatt]

Yeah I would expect them to get on really well.

[@gillianmiller9710]

Love your videos. Noticed you had a betta in the tank. I have a 5 gal betta tank. Before getting my betta, I had a breeding population of cherry shrimp. My betta ate practically all of the shrimp. Would like to add a school of these danios, but worried about attacks from the betta. Would appreciate your comments.

[@FishShopMatt]

It depends on the temperament of the Betta, shrimp can be very soft when shedding so Betta can hunt them. I wouldn't have thought the Betta would hunt these if you got them at a good size.

[@MaritvD]

Aaaaah nooo, matt why? *ads fish to wishlist 😅. Love this style video and all the info!

[@FishShopMatt]

Glad you like them!

[@NiklasFahlquist]

Here in Sweden, they are still called Galaxy Rasboras.

[@RDAquariums]

They're still quite expensive here in Sweden, after all the years in the hobby. Like 10+ dollars each. Beautiful little fish though, although a bit sensitive in my experience.

[@FishShopMatt]

Oooooo that's interesting these were around £5-6 each so not too bad. I have seen a few different qualities of these fish over the years but in recent times all the ones I've seen are great.

[@RDAquariums]

@@FishShopMatt Not bad at all. You've got a point, the quality nowadays are great, which might explain the price, here at least, or maybe a pinch of inflation too who knows.

[@siharries2014]

Evening Matt. How many would you recommend for a fiver gallon aquarium? I was going with a male beta but these are stunning

[@FishShopMatt]

I think around 6 would be good and then you may get a few babies.

[@siharries2014]

@@FishShopMatt thanks Matt

[@dantildesley4791]

More fish facts please!

[@coreychanggg]

this fish is easy to breed with auto egg catchers! i was getting eggs easy! just was hard for me to raise the fry that small lol

[@andreagalda28]

Can you do an update on the jelly fish?

[@GrowMoreVeggies]

$10 each here in the US as well (around my neck of the woods).

[@FishShopMatt]

Wow these were £5-6 each so not too high

[@0action847]

@@FishShopMatt$20 in most shops in Australia.

[@GrowMoreVeggies]

@@0action847 Woa.

[@evilone543]

I have 16 CPDs in a 47g. I started with 20 18 months ago. They are my favorite, but their tank needs a rescape.

[@quillhappy]

Do they happen to cross breed with Glowlight Danios? I have mine in together and have been collecting the eggs. A few fry are large enough to look like CPDs. I should probably separate to keep them separate! Helpful video! I'm a fan of microworms, they are working well for the fry.

[@laszloszocs7477]

Ya sold me on them i wana get them for my new setup planted 16 gallon high with kubotai razbora and chili razbora and a smal grp of pigmy corys and a few amano and otos i thibk they will do fine ,and thx for the info

[@FishShopMatt]

You are more than welcome!

[@matthewdalley120]

I keep my CPD’s in a 50 litre with a big amazon sword, they live in 24GH witch is mega hard and they do amazing They know the sound of their food hatch moving and they all go crazy at the front Nothing but a sponge filter and a big amazon sword and they regularly are out and about

[@jenjen3245]

I found they were terribly shy and hid all the time. I kept a Betta with them and that’s when they became more confident and came out.

[@JoeyPierce]

What plants do you have in that tank? They look stunning.

[@brycemacdougall6162]

What size of tank do you keep them in with that betta? I’ve been thinking about doing the same thing

[@FishShopMatt]

This is around 60 litres I believe

[@edwinchong6942]

never had any success on CPDs, my chili rasboras and neon tetras are doing ok with my tap water, but CPDs has low survival rate. very prompt to sunken belly. just cant seems to works for me. love this fish.

[@NoobScapeuk]

will these get on well with copper rasboras? they look so cool!

[@HealingWarrior-ic6os]

So I just got some CPD’s for my tank that was built to host loaches because my son fell in love with them. I was planning to get dwarf chain loaches when the tank was older and more stabilized. Am I going to need to find a new home for my CPD’s when I get the chain loaches????

[@FishShopMatt]

I've got dwarf chain loach in with these ones and they're fine. Just watch out as the loaches can get a bit nippy if hungry.

[@HealingWarrior-ic6os]

@@FishShopMatt thanks for the reply! I freaked out a bit when you made the comment about them bugging the CPD’s in your tank. I’ll keep an eye on them and make sure they’re well fed.

[@lukekonopka1344]

Not sure if you remember Matt but I asked some questions awhile ago about having fish flash all the time. Your advice helped thank you. I have a new issue off I have way to many baby fish(mostly the smaller orange platies) and just seen a baby peppered corydora and was wondering what's the best action for giving fish away?

[@fvvfvbbbb]

Ask your local fish shop if they will take them and give you store credit towards supplies you might need.

[@lukekonopka1344]

@fvvfvbbbb it's a shame the fish shops in my area arnt great 1 won't take them as is a big brand store and out the other 3 I only trust 1 of them but they will only take them fully grown so far I jave about 15 to 20 orange platies that I want to give away and 1 baby peppered corydora.

[@Chompchompyerded]

So you've told us what temperature Celsius and Fahrenheit we should keep these fish at, but what of those of us who don't use either of those systems? What would that be in degrees Kelvin? Would that be something like 290 degrees roughly? I think that's close, but I don't want to freeze them out. Aside from that one quibble, this has been another great video. It's a fine job!

[@FishShopMatt]

Thank you! I wouldn't even know where to start with that calculation hahaha

[@chrissyrazz]

What do you guys think about Glowlight Danios as tank mates? They're a busy fish, small, but active. Too active?

[@FishShopMatt]

Hmmm I would have thought they would be fine. In my experience the glow lights like lurking in the plants a lot so should be fine..

[@avicunningham1969]

Thoughts on trying to keep these with something big but peaceful like Congo tetras or gouramis?

[@saradhuly4776]

Sou do Brasil aqui ela é bem cara ainda R$25.. Uma pergunta quando elas começam a reproduzir? Tenho a alguns meses e não vi nem sinal de reprodução, estão lindas mas não vejo ovos.

[@FishShopMatt]

They may take a bit of time to start and reach maturity. Keep an eye on them and they should start.

[@OPolzinsGarage]

My CPDs live with peacock gudgeons.

[@FishShopMatt]

Beautiful pairing

[@matthewsmith22]

I remember these coming onto the scene, the forum guys lost their minds over them, got to admit I don't miss the forum days too much! I have a group of these at the moment. Not kept them for ages but really enjoying them again. Are they found in inle or just in its tributaries?

[@FishShopMatt]

Yeah I agree with you. I believe they are found in several locations I even heard of a little group that were found in a swampy forest but very little info on those.

[@bob21345]

Hi, do you think CPD's would be happy in a PH of 8.4?

[@FishShopMatt]

As long as you get them locally and they're living at a similar value they should be ok but it is on the higher end of what I would recommend.

[@SeansAnimalWorld]

These are coming down in price here in the US, but still a bit too high (about $8-12). Can you do a video on scenarios of the aquarium hobby working in wild species conservation and how those interplay? I love stories like that but I don't know of many examples beyond when Clownfish were becoming more captive bred to stop collection and shipping.

[@FishShopMatt]

Ooo that's interesting these were £5-6 each so not too pricey. I've got some stuff lined up that may just fill that void for you. But it's taking quite a lot of work to get the right people involved

[@IgorEngelen1974]

oh c'mon man, stop teasing us with great stuff like this 🙂 Last weekend I convinced myself I needed another tank, so bought one, but can't install it without seriously reorganising my apartment. 1st world problem...

[@FishShopMatt]

Hahaha I'm so sorry!

[@gackhuhn4868]

Is it a betta in the tank, is it a good tankmate or does it cause any issues

[@silicijs4309]

I think they're still pricey, since the quality (inbreeding?) of this fish dropped. Bent spines, lesions,open wounds (turbecu losis?). Nothing like 15 years ago. Here where I live (Slovenia EU) price is 8-10 EUR/piece in a shop. And you never know how high mortality rate will be....

[@FishShopMatt]

That's really interesting in the UK I've personally not found that much of an issue. These were £5-6 each so not too high and I have certainly seen some poorer quality ones through the years but in the last year or so I've seen only good ones locally.

[@silicijs4309]

@@FishShopMatt lucky you, seems that UK shops have different supplyers then. As you can see here from the comments quite few have same experience with CPDs as me....

[@timfulkjr.1625]

Here in Kentucky, they are about $8/ fish. I cannot comment of quality though. I’ve been wanting several to go in one of my 29s

[@OPolzinsGarage]

In Michigan, there’s one breeder here than they are tiny and bent spines. Don’t last long $12 a piece. I got imported ones and they breed like crazy. I am just terrible fry keeper.

[@fadhilaiman7812]

Same problem like you..im from Malaysia..ive tried multiple times and they never surpassed 6-7 months old and they all died due to dropsy with no prior symptoms at all and it cost each rm 6-9..

[@TankItEasySG]

Help me please sir! My CPDs have sunken belly. What treatment would you recommend?