Are You Interested in Rainbowfish??

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How'd'ya feel about Rainbowfish?

  • Luv 'em

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Urgly

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • They're shaped weeeerd!

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Apathy...

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Rainbow-Wha?

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Hmm... do tell more, Jon!

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
M

madasafish

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Jul 31, 2003
Messages
2,303
Location
NY, NY
So, I'm trying to figure out why nobody takes my bait (so to speak) when I suggest ppl fill their tanks with Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia and other genera) species. Praecox, Boesmani, Axelrod, Celebes, Threadfin, Australian, Turquoise are a few of the popular species, btw.

I've gotten a lot of neutral responses, and wondered if these reactions are due to unfamiliarity with the species, worry about the cost, disinterest, etc.

Let me know how you feel... You can be honest :D
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P.S. I may get some Praecox for my 55 planted some time soon...
P.P.S. Kudos if you buy some rainbowfish to make me happy :wink: (sorta j/k)
 
Well, I've cast my own vote--"Luv 'em."

So far 100% of voters (1/1) love rainbowfish! I project this to be a trend.
 
They just don't have them at my fish stores. So I voted tell me more.
 
I love how they look. I just remember doing a bunch of reading about them and finding out that they're pretty short lived. That sort of turned me off to them because they can be spendy little buggers.
 
Yeah... ok. Good call. I think it's too late to add that as a poll option. Alli, TankGirl, Roger, DIY: know how to add a poll option?? Is it possible?

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Well, just a brief synopsis, if ppl aren't familiar with the fish... Most come from the East Indies (if they're still called that) from Indonesia, Papua New Guinea (Iryan Jaya), other islands and Australia. One exception... the Madagascan Rainbow comes from Madagascar...

The fish aren't found in any other continents (according to fishbase). Here are a few links to decent pics of the fish:

Boesmani: http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.cfm?StartRow=2&ID=10489&what=species

Praecox: http://images.google.com/images?as_...filetype=&imgc=&as_sitesearch=&imgsafe=active (a few pics, none great)

Celebes: http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.cfm?StartRow=3&ID=6300&what=species

Threadfin: http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.cfm?ID=22673&what=species

Lake Kuromai: http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.cfm?ID=10514&what=species
 
Interesting...

Yeah my LFS gets the occasional *boring* rainbow. Only 1 store I know of gets Boesmanis and Praecox consistently...
 
My lfs get a wide variety of Rainbows in fairly often. Some of them are very pretty and I've always been fascinated with the Celebes Rainbowfish. However...I'm not real thrilled with the body shape of most of the larger Rainbows when they get older...even though their coloration CAN be spectacular!
 
Hehe. Fruitbat, you should have voted for "they're shaped weeeerd!" then :wink:

Yeah, that's what I felt at first, and still do to an extent. They have a *very* funny squashed, upside-down look to them. Personally, I feel that's one of their most endearing qualities now... They are different and I kinda like that! Sometimes I get a little tired of seeing the same couple of shapes of fish everywhere I look.

There are some amazing specimens of the Boesmanis at the New York Aquarium. All sites I've ever read say these guys grow to 4 inches, but I swear the ones at the aquarium were 5-6 inches. They had fantastic color to them, too!

*AlliV* any chance you took a pic of them when you were there in Aug?
 
I really want to try a planted tank with a school of the neon rainbows, but unfortunatly I dont have room for them at the moment. How would they do in a 20 gallon? right now it has 5 platy a swordtail , zebra danios, 2 cory, 2 rummy nose, a female betta, and a red eye tetra. The danios are going to a friend pretty soon though. I kow that red eyes and rummy nose do better in schools, but i was netting as many as i could when i got them at the pet store (see bargain post). Any advice on what to do with them? Also, how will the platys do w/ the neon rainbows?
TIA madasafish!!
 
20 is a little too small for even most rainbowfish spp. Threadfins would be ok, though. (Liveaquaria says they need at least 10 gallons, so you should be fine...)They do stay quite small (2" or so). Sounds like you have a prety full tank ATM, and I'd be concerned with giving your present fish full schools first. IMO you should concentrate on the rummynoses...

If you clear out space, you could almost certainly get 1 or 2 threadfins... But I'd just wait until you get another tank. Patience... not one of my virtues. :wink:

Also, I'd wait on getting other larger species until you have a space in which they can school with a certain degree of freedom. Most rainbows are schoolers and look a little forlorn when they're by themselves or in a cramped space:( I'd say a 55 or more is perfect for a school of Boesmani or Praecox.
 
Glad to see, btw, that on the thread "Can anyone ID these fish?" there were a couple of Rainbowfish spp. Fairly good pictures, too. If you're interested, check them out. They're Boesmani and Praecox Rainbows.
 
I had two threadfin rainbows in my 10 gallon community tank. They were very pretty and peaceful, but kind of boring. They never really did anything, they were just sorta there... Then the male got fish TB and died :( But the female is still there for a few days until I take all my fish back to the LFS so I can set up my puffer tank! :D
 
I am still trying to decide which species will be the centerpiece of my 55 gal tetra/danio tank. I've been considering rainbowfish, especially Boesmanis. However, I've read that you need a female: male ratio of 4:1 or else the males will fight. But the females are so drab. Is my info correct?
 
I have a bunch of rainbowfish pics that I saved to my HD a while back. I'll upload them for you guys to view and post the link.
 
My LFS has a good selection of Rainbow Fish. Some I suspect, are wild caught locally. There is a collection permit that you can apply for here. There are three or four varieties native to this region. The dull boring ones I suspect are getting the wrong diet. Here there is one with a red/orange tail and stripe down the side. It also appears dull when conditions are not correct. I suspect the local diet is hard to mimic in the aquarium because it is probably not well known.
 
Thanks for that, Mattrox! The second article is a good read and very interesting, and the first gives a nice overview of your fish and aquatic flora. Ever been to habitats that look like that? I'm now thinking I'll have to make Australia one of my next destinations for hiking and snorkling/diving!
 
I have been fishing on billabongs that have rainbow fish in them, fishing for barramundi. Have caught saratoga as well, our version of the arawana. No swimming up here though, crocodiles are deadly. There is diving but we are in an area of high tidal movement and lots of fine particles. Barrier reef is the place to dive. I hear East Timor has good diving too. Lot of places to hike though.
 
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