Ask Whether They Can Keep the School's Rhythm
Ask about schedule reliability before anything else, because harlequin rasboras run on a strong daily rhythm of light, feeding, and rest, and an erratic visiting pattern unsettles the whole school at once. Find out whether the sitter can come at roughly the same time each visit and feed in the evening or morning exactly as the routine specifies. Ask whether they will leave the light timer alone even if the tank looks dark when they arrive. A rasbora school that keeps its rhythm barely notices your absence; one whose days keep shifting shows it in scattered, skittish behaviour.
Ask How They Will Count a School That Never Stops Moving
Ask the sitter how they plan to count harlequin rasboras, because a copper-and-black school in motion defeats a casual glance. The workable method is feeding time: the school rises together, slows, and can be counted in the open water before it drifts back to mid-level. Ask whether they are willing to count twice and report the lower number honestly rather than assuming a missing fish is hiding. Also ask whether they know this group's normal size and favourite plant edge, since a sitter who cannot say how many fish they are watching cannot notice when one is gone.
Ask About Feeding a Group That Always Looks Hungry
Ask what the sitter will feed and, more importantly, what they will refuse to feed, because harlequin rasboras mob the surface with an enthusiasm that talks kind people into second helpings. Agree the single pre-portioned amount per visit and the rule that an eager school is a healthy school, not an underfed one. Ask how they will scatter food so the whole group feeds instead of the boldest few at the front, and whether they will report uneaten food rather than quietly increasing or skipping the next portion. In a modest water volume, a week of generous feeding does more damage than a week of slightly lean feeding.
Ask What Changes They Would Never Make Unasked
Ask the sitter directly which tank decisions they would never take alone, because harlequin rasboras thrive on stability and suffer from helpful interference. The list to agree is firm: no rearranging plants, no deep gravel clean mid-trip, no added treatments, no new fish, and no large water change without speaking to you. Ask what they would do if the water clouded or a rasbora left the school and hung alone near the surface: the answer you need is observe, test if they have been shown how, photograph it, and contact you. Improvised cures harm schools faster than most of the problems they aim to fix.
Ask How They Will Describe the School in Their Updates
Ask for updates written in school language, not just 'all fine,' because the earliest sign of trouble in harlequin rasboras is the group loosening. Agree the words in advance: schooling tightly or scattered, feeding eagerly or picking, colours bright or washed out. Ask whether they will send one short photo or clip per visit taken from the front glass, which lets you read the group's shape yourself. A sitter who reports behaviour in these terms gives you something you can act on from a distance.
Do a Practice Visit Before You Commit
Have the chosen sitter run one full visit with you elsewhere in the house, because harlequin rasbora care looks simple and still has failure points: the portion, the count, the light, the written note. Watch the update they send as if you were already away, and judge whether it would actually reassure you. Fill any gap in the written routine now, not from the airport. With the practice visit done, KinsLe Care Pass hands your sitter this school's routine and key tank details on a temporary basis for the days you travel.