Taxonomy & naming
Inlecypris auropurpurea was described by Nelson Annandale in 1918 from specimens taken at Lake Inlé, Shan State, Burma (now Myanmar). Annandale originally placed it in Barilius, a broad-basket genus then used for many South and Southeast Asian minnow-like cyprinids. It was subsequently transferred to Devario, the large Asian danio genus erected by Heckel in 1843, where it appeared in much of the twentieth-century literature as Devario auropurpurea.
Maurice Kottelat's 2013 revision of the Inle fish fauna reinstated the genus Inlecypris, erected by McClelland in 1839, specifically to accommodate this species and its near relatives from the Inle–Hopong basin. Inlecypris is distinguished from Devario by a different lateral-line squamation pattern and overall body shape, and Kottelat's placement is followed by the Catalog of Fishes. Researchers and aquarium sources therefore use three combinations in older texts — Barilius auropurpureus, Devario auropurpurea and Inlecypris auropurpurea — but the last is the current valid name.
The genus Inlecypris is also recorded in Thailand, but Inlecypris auropurpurea itself appears to be endemic to the Inle drainage and is not found elsewhere.
Morphology
Inlecypris auropurpurea is a moderately elongate, laterally compressed cyprinid. FishBase records a maximum total length of 4 in, though the typical fish encountered in the wild and in the trade runs closer to 2.5–3 in, with a common length of around 2 in.
The species is readily identified by its colour pattern: the flanks are silvery-opaque with a faint blue-green iridescence, overlaid with 20–30 narrow dark vertical bars running from the dorsal surface down toward the belly. A bold golden-yellow to brassy lateral band runs along the midline, giving the species its name — auropurpurea from the Latin for 'gold-purple', though the purplish element is subtle and variable with light angle.
Sexual dimorphism is modest but clear: females are more robust and larger-bodied than males, appearing noticeably deeper-bellied when gravid, and their colouration is less vivid. Males are slimmer and their golden lateral stripe tends to be more saturated.
Habitat
Lake Inlé sits at approximately 2953 ft elevation on the Shan Plateau of eastern Myanmar, making it one of the highest-altitude lakes inhabited by a danionin fish. The lake is shallow — typically 7–10 ft deep — and extraordinarily clear in its natural state, with dense beds of submerged and floating aquatic vegetation, including large rafts of floating islands cultivated by the Intha people for agriculture.
Inlecypris auropurpurea inhabits the densely vegetated margins and open but shallow areas of the lake, favouring the sheltered zones among plant stems rather than fast-flowing streams. The water chemistry of Lake Inlé reflects the limestone geology of the Shan Plateau: it tends toward neutral to mildly alkaline pH (SeriouslyFish records a range of 6.0–8.0, hardness 54–268 ppm), considerably harder and more buffered than the soft, acidic peat-swamp waters occupied by many lowland danios and rasboras. Water temperature is mild and relatively stable at around 68–75 °F year-round, tracking the plateau's cool subtropical climate.
The species is a schooling fish and is rarely seen singly in the wild; shoals forage through the vegetation and open water of the lake's shallower zones.
Feeding
In its natural habitat, Inlecypris auropurpurea is primarily a planktivore and surface-to-midwater insectivore. Observations and aquarium sources describe it taking planktonic invertebrates, insect larvae and small surface-fallen insects from the water column, consistent with the foraging behaviour of other danionin fishes.
In the aquarium the species accepts a broad diet without difficulty. Dried foods — small flake and micro-pellets — are readily eaten and support maintenance condition, but the fish respond well to a mixed diet that includes frozen or live bloodworm, Daphnia and brine shrimp, which improve colour and conditioning for breeding. As an active, mid-to-surface schooler it competes well for food and does not need special feeding arrangements in a community setting.
Mating
Like all danionin cyprinids, Inlecypris auropurpurea is an egg-scattering, non-guarding spawner. There is no pair bond, no nest construction, and no parental involvement beyond the act of spawning. Courtship takes the typical danio form: males in condition actively pursue gravid females through vegetation and open water, pressing alongside them and triggering a simultaneous release of eggs and milt.
The species spawns in groups rather than as isolated pairs, and a mixed-sex school in good condition will initiate spontaneous spawning activity regularly. Spawning appears to be stimulated by well-oxygenated, clear water at the cool end of its temperature range, reflecting the lake's natural conditions. Adults will eat their own eggs if given the opportunity, as is the rule among egg-scattering cyprinids.
Breeding
Inlecypris auropurpurea has been bred in captivity. The standard approach for egg-scattering danios applies: a dedicated spawning vessel is set up with fine-leaved plants (Taxiphyllum or similar), a fine wool mop, or a layer of glass marbles on the floor to trap eggs out of the adults' reach. A small group of well-conditioned fish — several males to each female — is introduced and spawning typically follows within a day or two.
Eggs are adhesive to mildly so, and fall or attach among the substrate. Adults should be removed once spawning is complete to prevent egg predation. At the cool temperatures appropriate for this plateau species (68–72 °F), incubation takes roughly two to three days, with larvae becoming free-swimming a few days after hatching. First foods are infusoria and very fine powdered fry food, followed by newly hatched brine shrimp nauplii as the fry grow. There is no parental care at any stage.
This species has not achieved the mass-breeding status of common danios in the hobby, partly because of its more restricted distribution in the trade, and partly because its specific water-chemistry and temperature requirements — cooler, harder, near-neutral water — are less familiar to hobbyists accustomed to soft, warm Sundaic conditions.
In the aquarium
Inlecypris auropurpurea is occasionally available through specialist dealers and importers as a desirable oddity: an attractive, active, moderately sized danionin with a striking barred-and-gold pattern and a conservation story that sets it apart from the common schoolers. It requires care suited to its cool highland-lake origin rather than the warm, soft water typically used for lowland tropical species.
A tank of at least 31.5–35.5 in length is appropriate for a proper school; the fish is restless, fast-swimming and strongly social, and a group of eight or more keeps it settled and natural in behaviour. Water should be kept at 68–75 °F — a temperature range that suits unheated or lightly heated tanks in temperate rooms — with near-neutral to mildly alkaline pH and moderate hardness, reflecting the limestone-buffered water of the Shan Plateau. Soft, acidic blackwater conditions are inappropriate.
Dense planting along the sides and back, with open swimming space in the centre, suits the species' habitat. It coexists well with similarly sized, non-aggressive tankmates that share its cool-water preference, and mixes naturally with other schooling cyprinids from highland Myanmar and Thailand. Given its Endangered status in the wild, hobbyists who keep and breed this fish make a small but real contribution to keeping its captive population viable.
Conservation
Inlecypris auropurpurea is endemic to Lake Inlé and its immediate watershed, making it one of the most geographically restricted danionin fishes known. That narrow range has become a serious conservation liability as Lake Inlé has deteriorated sharply over the past century. Documented changes include a loss of more than 30 percent of the lake's open-water surface area between 1935 and 2000 through sedimentation driven by upstream deforestation and soil erosion; progressive eutrophication from agricultural runoff and the intensive floating-garden cultivation for which the lake is famous; and the establishment of invasive species — notably Parambassis and Tilapia — that compete directly with and prey on the lake's endemic fauna.
The IUCN assessment for this species reflects these pressures, with the most recent evaluation indicating Endangered (EN) status based on the scale and trajectory of habitat loss and degradation. Collection for the aquarium trade is an additional pressure, though likely secondary to the structural changes to the lake system.
Conservation of Inlecypris auropurpurea is inseparable from the broader challenge of managing Lake Inlé, which is also a UNESCO biosphere reserve and a site of major cultural and economic significance to Myanmar. Captive maintenance and breeding in specialist fish-keeping communities represents one practical contribution to securing the species outside its threatened natural range.