Do boesmani rainbow fish ever have a black stripe?

**Bh25murph** · 02-28-2013, 06:08 PM

I was given a rainbow fish by someone and they said it was a boesmani but it is different from other boesmanis I've seen. It has a black stripe that runs the length of the body with yellow above the stripe and white (which is turning blueish) below the stripe and has orange and yellow fins. I'm wondering if juveniles all look like this since the fish is an inch and a half or is it not a boesmani. Also if it is a boesmani or if it is something else could it cross breed with my group of turquoise rainbows?

**Indian Woods Angels** · 02-28-2013, 07:34 PM

Sounds like a cross or a female from one of the brighter populations. Some of the more colorful populations females are really colorful. Most likely a cross though.

**jaysee** · 03-01-2013, 02:03 AM

Boesmanis are of the genus menalotaenia - a distinguishing characteristic of that group is a dark lateral line. It's generally not seen on boesmanis though. I doubt that's what it is. Juvis look like small adults. There are a lot of species in the genus - can you post a pic of the fish?

**Longshot** · 03-25-2013, 05:15 PM

I wish my camera was fast enough to catch my rainbows, but I have a male and a female, the male has a darker lateral line- blue in front orange behind. The female has more subdued coloration and her line isn't as dark, but they both have a noticeable streak. It's kind of bluish black.

**Lady Hobbs** · 03-25-2013, 09:47 PM

If they look like this, it's a male bosemani. If it's all gold, it's a female. Colors are more intense during spawning.

**Samoyed789** · 10-20-2016, 09:26 PM

I used to have boesemanis, and I have seen them occasionally develop long dark lines down their bodies. It would sort of come and go - one of the cool thing about rainbowfish is how noticeably their colors will change, even in the course of a day.