Starting rainbow tank

[Pseudomugil]

I've been keeping freshwater fish for about 9 years, and over the last few months I've become really interested in rainbowfish. I currently have a 20 gallon and 2 10 gallons with multiple rainbowfish.
Current stock list:
1 boesemani rainbow
3 praecox rainbows
1 turquoise rainbow
1 red Irian rainbow
1 Australian rainbow
3 Gertrude's rainbows
2 threadfin rainbows
I know most of these fish grow too large for the 3 small tanks but I'm setting up a 56 gallon soon and taking down the 2 tens (the 20 will stay). Will this be enough for all the rainbows? And if it is can I get a few more small species?

 

[Eggheadfish]

Hey pseudo,
I don't have a ton of experience with rainbowfish, other than keeping boesemanis. Ultimately, I felt that my 55 gallon was too small for their activity level, and rainbows should be kept in groups of a minimum of five.
If you are planning in going in that direction, I would recommend a bigger tank, especially with multiple species. Also, make sure there are plenty of hiding spaces as they will sometimes chase each other relentlessly. If you're limited to that size tank, I would try a group of five of two types, but that being said I believe different types of rainbows will still hang together. I know there are concerns about different species breeding so they must get along to a point. They're pretty good community fish but aggressive eaters so shy fish might not get their share. When I had mine, I kept them with rasboras, tetras, swordtails, silver dollars, cories, and an angelfish at different points in time. I ended up trading them to a guy that put them in a 90 gallon and man were they happy about that.
I wish you all the best!

 

[Eggheadfish]

And yes, you can get other fish for that tank, not sure if you mean more rainbows but I would suggest a bottom dweller since the rainbows pretty much fly around the whole tank

 

[nshepler]

All I know is that my Australians and my boesamani rainbows don't get along very well. They tend to stick with there own.


May the force be with you.

 

[Gsdsar]

I love my Rainbow tank. I have not followed the rule for 5 each. But they all seem very happy. Only issue I had was one Boes trying to kill another one. So one was moved to my community.

I have a mix, Boes, Turquoise, banded, Red, Celebes. It's an active and peaceful tank. I have a Brushnose Pleco as well. But that's it.


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[fishenthusiast]

I hope you're planning on raising the amount of Threadfins. A group of 6 at the very MINIMUM; 10 or more is better. A 1:1 ratio of females to males is okay, but a 1:2 ratio of males to females would be better. Also, they tend to be shy when kept with larger fish, so maybe they'd do better in a tank with only small Rainbowfish.


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[Pseudomugil]

I hope you're planning on raising the amount of Threadfins. A group of 6 at the very MINIMUM; 10 or more is better. A 1:1 ratio of females to males is okay, but a 1:2 ratio of males to females would be better. Also, they tend to be shy when kept with larger fish, so maybe they'd do better in a tank with only small Rainbowfish.


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I'm keeping the 20 gallon so I'll probably put the mini rainbowfish in there (Gertrude's, Furcata, Threadfin etc.). And yes I do plan on getting more thread fins but most of my rainbows come from a huge store an hour and a half away. Only a few species (Australian, Praecox, Turquoise) can be bought where I live.

Also, could I put 2 3-spot gouramis in with the larger rainbows? I want something a little different that pops

Sorry, one more thing. How long should the new 56 gallon be cycled for?

 

[fishenthusiast]

I'm keeping the 20 gallon so I'll probably put the mini rainbowfish in there (Gertrude's, Furcata, Threadfin etc.). And yes I do plan on getting more thread fins but most of my rainbows come from a huge store an hour and a half away. Only a few species (Australian, Praecox, Turquoise) can be bought where I live.

Also, could I put 2 3-spot gouramis in with the larger rainbows? I want something a little different that pops

Sorry, one more thing. How long should the new 56 gallon be cycled for?

Male gourami tend to be aggressive towards their male companions. You could get a male-female pair, but I would not get this type of gourami in particular. They are more aggressive than others, and belong in semi-aggressive setups. How about Pearl Gouramis? They tend to be much more peaceful than other larger gourami. You could try a male-female pair in the large rainbowfish setup.

In terms of cycling your new tank, I'd give it as much time as it needs for there to be proper conditions for your fish to live in. Once the water readings look okay, you'll be set to add fish!


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