Rainbowfish

Rainbowfish are a specialty tropical fish. Most people who keep rainbowfish have large tanks that are often occupied by nothing other than rainbowfish. That's because Rainbowfish grow quite large and most types of rainbowfish get along well together. Below you will find information about the Bosemani Rainbowfish and the Dwarf Neon Rainbow. You will also find pics of the Australian, Axelrodi, Banded, Celebes and Red Rainbowfish. For more information than you can imagine about Rainbows, link to Home of the Rainbowfish.

Bosemani Rainbowfish

Bosemani Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia boesemani
Bosemani

The Boesemani Rainbow originates from New Guinea and is not a beginner's fish. It is also called a Boseman's Rainbow and a Bosemani Rainbow. The front half of its body is greyish/blue and the back half is yellow. Like most rainbows, it has two dorsal fins. The rear dorsal fin and the anal fin are very broad. Males are generally more colorful. The Bosemani is a fast moving fish and should be kept in groups of 6 or more. A large aquarium and regular water changes are essential. Bosemani eat flake foods and freeze dried blood worms. They also can be fed brine shrimp occasionally.

Bosemani Rainbowfish - Breeding

Prospective females and a male should be fed live foods to induce breeding. The breeding tank should have dense plants. Spawning usually begins in the morning and can extend over days. Water quality should be near the top of their pH range. It is preferable to remove the adults after breeding. The fry hatch after two weeks and should be fed Infusoria and brine shrimp.

Bosemani Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia boesemani
Bosemani

Bosemani Rainbowfish - Profile

Scientific Name: Melanotaenia boesemani
Family: Rainbowfish
Temperature: 27 - 30 C; 81 - 86 F
pH: 7.0 - 8.0
Size: 9 cm; 3.5 inches
Life Span: 4 years
Breeding: Normal, Egglayer

Bosemani Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia boesemani
Bosemani

Bosemani Rainbowfish - Compatibility:

Bala Sharks, Barbs, Danios, Clown Loaches, Mollies, one Pleco, one Red Tailed Black Shark, one Rainbow Shark, Rainbows, Platies, Swordtails

Rainbowfish - Dwarf Neon Rainbow

Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia praecox
Dwarf Neon Rainbow

The Dwarf Neon Rainbow originates from New Guinea. It is also known as the Dwarf Rainbow, the Neon Dwarf Rainbow and the Neon Blue Rainbow. It is probably the most popular of all rainbows, because of its small size, its bright color, its active schooling nature and its compatibility with many other fish. The body is bright iridescent neon blue and silver. Males have red on the edges of their dorsal, anal and caudal fins. Females tend to be paler and to have yellow on their fin edges. Dwarf Neon Rainbows should be kept in groups of at least 6. They like well planted tanks with lots of open swimming space. They will eat floating flake foods and freeze dried bloodworms. They will also benefit from occasional live brine shrimp feedings.

Dwarf Neon Rainbows - Breeding

The red fin tips make it easy to determine the sex of Dwarf Neon Rainbows, but successful breeding can be quite difficult. Unlike most rainbows, dwarf neon's prefer acidic soft water, so a change in water conditions in the breeding tank may help. Spawning is easily accomplished by introducing a male and several females in a separate breeding tank. The eggs are spread among bushy plants or Java Moss. The trick is that the young are too small to eat live brine shrimp. Solutions include feeding fine powders or using bright spot lighting to help the young find live foods. Dwarf Neon Rainbows are continuous breeders, which means that they can spawn repeatedly in a period of days. That makes it more efficient to continually remove the young after spawning instead of the parents, although well fed parents will not bother the young.

Rainbowfish Tank

Dwarf Neon Rainbow - Profile

Scientific Name: Melanotaenia praecox
Family: Rainbowfish
Temperature: 22 - 28 C; 72 - 82 F
pH: 5.8 - 7.0
Size: 6 cm; 2 inches
Life Span: 4 years
Breeding: Difficult, Egglayer

Dwarf Neon Rainbow - Compatibility:

Bala Sharks, Barbs, Danios, Clown Loaches, Corydoras, Dwarf Cichlids, Guppies, Mollies, one Pleco, one Red Tailed Black Shark, one Rainbow Shark, Rasboras, Platies, Swordtails, Tetras - both large and small.

Dwarf Neon Rainbow Comments by Bernie

Dwarf Neon Rainbows & Cories are compatible with most Tetras, livebearers, Danios, some Barbs, sharks and many others. It probably comes down to what your preference is, but bear in mind that most of their compatible tankmates are schooling fish. It is still best to have 6 of the same species � fish usually recognize each other by colour and markings such as spots/stripes similar to their own.

Male rainbows can be feisty at times. They do normally prefer to be in a group, and also require a lot of swimming space. When any fish is in a smaller tank (referring mainly to anything under 30-40 galls.) their normal behaviour can change, which is why nearly everyone has different experiences with their fish and there is no telling what their behaviour may be.

Just a tip about Rainbows (you may know this already) is that it is best to feed them food that is small in size as they have quite a tiny throat compared to the size of their mouth, and larger sized food could get stuck in their throat.

Regarding growth - Fry usually grow really quickly but once fish reach adolescence it usually slows down (depending on their metabolism) and they can take many yrs. to reach their full size. It also depends on their diet and the amount of food they eat, If fed more they will grow faster usually. Maybe your cories are still young, and Rainbows can be quite the little greedy guts!

Dwarf Neon Rainbow Comments by Lemulpr

Neon Rainbows are beautiful, peaceful fish. They are very active, like Zebra Danios. So I really doubt they will have problems with what you plan to have. I had mine with an Angel, Discus, other bigger Rainbows, Clown Loach, etc etc. No problem. But they are school fish, so keep that in mind. You should get 3-5. Mine endure about a year, but I bought him as an adult. Juveniles have the tips of the fins in yellow. As they grow they will change to red. I think they are ideal for medium sized tanks. You will love them!!! But they aren't exactly cheap, at least here...