boesemani rainbow not coloring up :(

[dragonfisher33]

so i wanted some boesemani rainbow in my 65gal planted tank but i'm having difficulty with them coloring up. i got them from Petco and are about 2.5-3inches long. but they look nothing like the following picture. they're more yellow than orange or blue and more bland than those that you see in books/online. I've heard that some, when reaching maturity, will show the "divided" color line and mine are still juvies. Any advice on this? or whether it's true or not? or simply just bad genes?

[dragonfisher33]

i also plan on keep them with discus in my 65gal planted tank. how is their bioload? i have read how to take care of them but i can't find anywhere about their bioload

[ddodad]

Originally Posted by huizheng1988

so i wanted some boesemani rainbow in my 65gal planted tank but i'm having difficulty with them coloring up. i got them from Petco and are about 2.5-3inches long. but they look nothing like the following picture. they're more yellow than orange or blue and more bland than those that you see in books/online. I've heard that some, when reaching maturity, will show the "divided" color line and mine are still juvies. Any advice on this? or whether it's true or not? or simply just bad genes?

I have 6 in my 70 gallon, I have the same issue I find as they are growing their color seems to be getting more an more vibrant. The issue is if they are stressed their color will never get to where we all want. Also the females are not nearly as colorful as the males

[Khazmachi]

They really color up over time. Just have to wait for them to mature, and keep up those water changes. As for that divided color you always see in pictures, that is what the males look like. If yours don't get that you either have females or something other than Boesemoni.
I had 6 for years, but only old guy remains. Here is a picture of him, wish I had a better one

[Mebbid]

Fish genetics play a huge role in the coloration of fish. It is most likely that the ones you bought were just from a dull colored strain. I would say its either that or just the fact that they are still young.

[dragonfisher33]

Originally Posted by ddodad

I have 6 in my 70 gallon, I have the same issue I find as they are growing their color seems to be getting more an more vibrant. The issue is if they are stressed their color will never get to where we all want. Also the females are not nearly as colorful as the males

wow, those are some stunning colors. how long did it take for you to get to this point? and anything special about your fish's diet?

[dragonfisher33]

Originally Posted by Khazmachi

They really color up over time. Just have to wait for them to mature, and keep up those water changes. As for that divided color you always see in pictures, that is what the males look like. If yours don't get that you either have females or something other than Boesemoni.
I had 6 for years, but only old guy remains. Here is a picture of him, wish I had a better one

Attachment 182345

i can clearly see the color on your rainbow. it's how i would picture them in my head. it's just strange that i never see them in the store like how you have it.

[ddodad]

Originally Posted by huizheng1988

wow, those are some stunning colors. how long did it take for you to get to this point? and anything special about your fish's diet?

Thanks it took about 4-5 months for the coloring to really start. I also found when I changed my light bulbs to a stronger wattage for my plants that also helped( I figure more visible in different wave length). They seem to be getting more and more colorful, I figure they are finally maturing

As for what the eat its a really varied diet I feed frozen blood worms, tropical flake, frozen mystis shrimp and funny enough the favorite of the entire community tank is the pleco pellets (new era). I go through that pattern twice then a day a fasting

[ddodad]

Originally Posted by huizheng1988

i can clearly see the color on your rainbow. it's how i would picture them in my head. it's just strange that i never see them in the store like how you have it.

In the store they are most of the time juveniles and are stressed so for sure their coloring will not be great. The same thing happened with my Bolivian rams they were very dull at the lfs but for some reason fell in love with them and wow after a week or two in the tank they became more colorful and striking then anything else in there

[Rivers2k]

I have been seeing Bosemoni Rainbows at petsmart and petco that cant be bosemonis they are a cool color they are all neon yellow and green but they don't look like any bosemoni I have ever seen. Is that what yours looks like?

[dragonfisher33]

Originally Posted by Rivers2k

I have been seeing Bosemoni Rainbows at petsmart and petco that cant be bosemonis they are a cool color they are all neon yellow and green but they don't look like any bosemoni I have ever seen. Is that what yours looks like?

maybe it's a different species of rainbow fish. mine are a blend of orange/yellow and barely any blue.

[ddodad]

Originally Posted by huizheng1988

maybe it's a different species of rainbow fish. mine are a blend of orange/yellow and barely any blue.

If you can post a pic of them. I have a funny feeling you have females not males

[dragonfisher33]

Originally Posted by ddodad

If you can post a pic of them. I have a funny feeling you have females not males

i can do that this weekend because the rainbows were for my parents' fish tank that i setup for them. right now i'm at my own place, about 1hr away from them. i might've gotten some females, but i got most of the rainbows from the same tank and chances are there's got to be a few males. fingers crossed though

[ddodad]

Originally Posted by huizheng1988

i can do that this weekend because the rainbows were for my parents' fish tank that i setup for them. right now i'm at my own place, about 1hr away from them. i might've gotten some females, but i got most of the rainbows from the same tank and chances are there's got to be a few males. fingers crossed though

I figure you should of, the issue is usually the males are always sold first since they will be more colorful (that's why I have 4 males 2 females) I am waiting for them to mature/ aggression then and I plan on rehoming 2 of the least colorful males into a large rainbow tank I'm planning.
Most lfs workers cannot tell the difference between juvenile males and females. I've been told if you can see a dark line while juvenile there
Is 80% chance it's a male (no clue how accurate it is but worked for mine)

[dragonfisher33]

Originally Posted by ddodad

I figure you should of, the issue is usually the males are always sold first since they will be more colorful (that's why I have 4 males 2 females) I am waiting for them to mature/ aggression then and I plan on rehoming 2 of the least colorful males into a large rainbow tank I'm planning.
Most lfs workers cannot tell the difference between juvenile males and females. I've been told if you can see a dark line while juvenile there
Is 80% chance it's a male (no clue how accurate it is but worked for mine)

dark line on which body part?

[ddodad]

Originally Posted by huizheng1988

dark line on which body part?

Horizontal mid-body. It was the trick at my lfs which sadly just closed

[Kimlafeiet]

If you can post a pic this weekend, it would be most helpful. There are so many different species of rainbows. As other have said, they might just be too young to show all thier coloring yet. I have seen the ones at my local Petco here, and they are so pale compared to the ones I have. I purchased mine from a local cichlid breeder, and they are AMAZING in color, especially compared to what I have seen at Petco. Not sure where you live, but if you are ever interested, they do ship all over, and I have had nothing but good experiences with them.
The boesmani in my avatar is one of MY actual fish, taken about a month ago. I feed a variety of NLS pellets, frozen bloodworm and brine shrimp, fresh fruits and veggies (peas and blueberries being thier favs) and they love the algae wafers I drop for the pleco. I also have live, low light plants which they love to swim through (tall swords mostly).

[dragonfisher33]

so, here's a lot of pics of my 6 rainbows; i tried to get from different angles so that maybe experienced rainbow keeps can help me sex them if possible. excuse the fact that all of these fish in a cramped space. i needed to relocate them to a bigger tank. i'm sure they suffer a little in exchange for a lifetime of paradise

[dragonfisher33]

here's more:

[dragonfisher33]

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