Bony fish · Beloniformes · Adrianichthyidae
Japanese Medaka
Oryzias latipes
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
The Japanese rice fish, or medaka, is a freshwater fish of the family Adrianichthyidae, distributed through the rivers and lakes of the river basins of Japan, Korea, China and Vietnam, where its population does not appear to be threatened.
Size
up to 4 cm
Diet
Omnivore
Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Fun facts
- It is one of the most widely used laboratory model fish, alongside the zebrafish, and was the first vertebrate to breed in space, in the mid-1990s.
- The female carries the eggs attached to her belly for a few hours before depositing them, which makes them easy to collect directly.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bony fish)
- Habitat & environment
- Slow streams, irrigation ditches, paddy fields and coastal ponds of East Asia; it tolerates fresh to brackish water and moves between the two
- Sexual maturity
- At around 2 or 3 months old, at about 3 cm long
- Gestation / incubation
- 10 days
- Lifespan in captivity
- Median lifespan of about 22 months under laboratory conditions
Sources consulted: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_rice_fish
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapRelated species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Japanese Medaka — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Least ConcernCommon Carp
Cyprinus carpio
Goldfish
Carassius auratus
Guppy
Poecilia reticulata
Green Swordtail
Xiphophorus hellerii
Western Mosquitofish
Gambusia affinis
Nile Tilapia
Oreochromis niloticus
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