Rainbow ratio for 2 males

[Eileen]

I just got 2 male boesemani rainbows today for my 55 gal. community tank. I used to have dwarf rainbows 2 males/2 females that I rehomed on craigslist. I wanted to get the more colorful boesemani rainbows. The fish store only had 2 males left. I know of another fish store that will be getting more in next week. I was wondering if I should get 1 female or 2 female . I read one site that said get 1 female for 2 males. Can anyone please help me as I would like to keep the peace in my tank. I had no problems with the 2 males/2 female dwarfs that I used to have.

[Lady Hobbs]

Get yourself two. It's really not that easy to have rainbow fry because they are sooooo small. This will give you a bit better chance incase one female is not very cooperative.

[Jacko]

I would get at least 4 females, a school of 6 is nicer IMO and that'd be a 1:2 ratio, which is good for pretty much most schooling fish IME

[Eileen]

I have other fish in my 55 gal. tank they are 1lg. anglefish, 2 gold dust mollies, 6 harleqen rasboras which my dwarf rainbows used to school with, 7 glow-light tetras, 1 brown long finned busynose pleco. I do not want to get a large school as they can grow to about 5". So would 2/males 2/ females be ok. I do not want to breed them so can all males get along if I get 2 more males or is 2 females and 2 males be better?

[AquaLene]

Hi Eileen

Are your two male boesemani males fighting now? If not, then there is probably no reason to get any females at this point. The "girls" might cause them to start fighting.

From what I experienced, one male will always try dominate regardless of how many females you get, and it could either be serious competition/aggression or else just general "show-off" without any real aggression or fights.

I have 2 male and 2 female boesemani's and various other rainbowfish. Three of my males tend to dominate (3 different species) and the one boesemani male (larger one) is much more dominant than the other boesi & other male species who are timid and don't even bother to attempt to try get involved. Luckily the three dominant ones are all just sparing without any aggression. So no fighting between them or the timid males.

However, I have experienced in the past in-fighting between male rainbowfish which I actually had to separate as it got serious. (I have more than one tank so I could separate them)

Perhaps try and get two females now and see what happens, if the males get into serious fights either: return the females - or else only keep one male and one female.

Regards, Charlene

[Eileen]

Thanks for the reply, I had no reponse to the ratio question except from you. I have 2 male Boesemani males right now as the fish store only had these 2They are not fighting and are peaceful. I have a friend that has dwarf neon rainbows that I got 4 , 2 males and 2 females they were fine in my tank. I just rehomed them on craigslist as I wanted a more colorful rainbow like the Boesemani, I talked to her and she told me that she always keeps more males then females. She told me that the males display when you get a female and they are fun to watch. Do you think that if I only get 1 female it would be ok with the 2 males or should I just keep the 2 males as they are fine in my tank. I only have a 55 gal. tank and they are 2" now but will get bigger. I want to add a few more colorful fish in the tank still and maybe a few corys.

[AquaLene]

My first two rainbows I got were both males, they still displayed to each other regardless of there being no females. They try to establish dominance.

Watch them in the mornings (that's when they mostly display) their front half goes dark blue and back half bright yellow/orange. They also lift their fins up and swim around each other. It's sort of an obvious "who's the bigger and better looking of us" type of behavior.

With female's they just display for a bit longer and "show off" more to each other. It would be fine to get either 1 or 2 females. The dominant male will try hog the females no matter how many you get, and try and keep the other male away from them. (well this is what I have experienced with my rainbows)

Hope this helps!

[kennedpa]

I have 4 Salmon males, 2 female Salmons and 2 Bosies.... no fighting or chasing...everyone is happythumbs2: Note the ratio will change somewhat when they move in to their new home :-)

[Eileen]

Thanks for the great advice! How big does the Boesemani Rainbow get? I read somewhere that they can get to about 5-6" but another one posted the size at 3" Max. Which one is closer to the truth. What size tanks do all of you that answered my thread have for your Rainbows? Just wondering as I'm still trying to make up my mind about getting a female for the 2 males. :fish:

[Lady Hobbs]

Mine are not yet a year old but are probably only 3 inches. The rainbow site recommends two males to one female when trying to breed them. I got some fry that made it and ended up with 7 males and 2 females. The females are now very busy girls. :)

[AquaLene]

My biggest male is just over 3" (9cm). The females are smaller though. I don't think they will get any bigger than about 4" maximum.

[kennedpa]

growth IMO depends on your stock quantity, filtration and the size of your tank....BUT that IMO:22:

[AquaLene]

I agree with kennedpa, am sure they indeed vary due to tank conditions. :ssmile:

I have M. Herbertaxelrodi's (Yellow rainbowfish) that are quite a lot larger than the ones still left at the LFS (same batch I bought from).

The LFS owner also suggested that regular water changes also seem to "speed" fish growth up too. I do 2 x 25% changes a week at least, and most of my fish seem to grow pretty fast.

[Lady Hobbs]

I have the Splendidia, as well and they are nuts. Very fast, very dominate of the tank and big. Males are an easy 5 inches if not more and bossy.

[AquaLene]

oh for some splendida Lady Hobbs, you are indeed lucky. They form part of my wishlist, I just cannot find them anywhere here at all!! Enjoy them, they sound very entertaining. thumbs2:

[terrapin24h]

I have the Splendidia, as well and they are nuts. Very fast, very dominate of the tank and big. Males are an easy 5 inches if not more and bossy.

I most definitely concur. My splendida are VERY pushy. I am actually thinking about trading them in, they are starting to damage some of my other fish(my very peaceful rosy barbs believe it or not) Mine are very colorful, a mix of hes and shes, and are in a shoal of 6. The only fish they give any leeway to is the my blue 2 spot gourami. He gets what he wants :)

--chris