Rainbow fish is a beautiful, colorful fish that has become popular in the aquarist circles only in the last few years. Always have a minimum of six individuals together in a group. As rainbowfish swim near the surface of the water, you do not need a deep aquarium and the length of the space is more important.

Rainbow fish

This tropical fish is easy to keep in an aquarium amongst other species, and many aquarists like it because it does not uproot or eat plants in your aquarium.

Rainbow fish comes from the tropical southern hemisphere, mainly from the waters around Australia but also parts Southeast Asia. It belongs to the Melanotaeniidae subfamily and its size can vary wildly, depending on the subspecies. The largest types can grow to 20 cm in length, but the smallest can be less than 3 cm long.

The best way to keep this colorful fish is to have groups of 10 to 15 individuals together. Always have a minimum of six individuals together in a group.

As rainbowfish swim near the surface of the water, you do not need a deep aquarium and the length of the space is more important. They also like to have some room for swimming around, and as these playful fishes like to jump out of the water you should be able to close your aquarium.

If you want your fish to spawn, rainbow fish is a good choice. Most of the time it is easy to tell the males from the females, as the male color is more vibrant. Some species like to spawn in pairs and some in bigger groups, usually two or three females for every male. The best way to enjoy the bright colors is to have several males together, because they develop their shine in order to attract the females.

You can also set up a smaller aquarium specifically for breeding.

The best water temperature for breeding is between 24 and 28°C and the pH should be on the alkaline side of neutral.

Rainbow fish can lay eggs daily during the breeding period, but they are famous for eating the eggs so it is best to remove the eggs and keep them in a separate container.

Hatching takes between 6 and 9 days. The baby fish can be first fed with liquid fry food or infusoria, and as they grow, you can start to add newly hatched brine shrimp. Breeding is relatively easy as long as you find out specific information for each subspecies.

This article was posted on Friday, January 7th, 2011 at 3:49 pm and is filed under Freshwater, Freshwater Aquarium, Rainbowfish. You can follow any comments about this article through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.