Some Basic Rainbow questions...

**Lady Hobbs** · 05-09-2010, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by domjd05

Wow I'm excited the wife and I went rainbowfish hunting (for some reason they almost never are available here at least not the colorful males).. Well we found a whole bunch, and for a decent price! (Compared to some of the prices I've seen online).

Anyway, I got 4 australians, 1 turquoise (loving it, definatlet getting more tourqs) and 1 boeseman. I'm going to keep hunting for them around here but probably have to go online for some of the rarer ones.

Check AquaBid. Rainbows are always there for sale very reasonable.

I also did not like the Australian Splendid. Too large, too aggression.

**domjd05** · 05-09-2010, 06:20 PM

The australians I got are the "dwarf" kind.. they are all getting along great, but its only been 24 hrs...we'll see how things go in a few weeks...

Of course I will be doing my research! I don't plan to spend money on a rare fish and overnight shipping without knowing if the fish will work or not

**Lady Hobbs** · 05-09-2010, 07:35 PM

My problem with them was the amount of them I had. They spawned and I ended up keeping many of them so the tank was run over with the Splendia. They are really nuts in huge schools so what happened was probably mostly my fault.

**domjd05** · 05-10-2010, 01:24 AM

lol sometimes it's just really hard to get it right when keeping fish.. there really are so many variables to think about when it comes to long-term tank plans..

I only have 4 australians, Probably not going to get anymore more of those right off.

**Greggz** · 05-14-2010, 01:51 PM

I don't chime in here too often, but was browsing and your post caught my eye.

I keep a mostly Rainbow tank. Don't be concerned about mixing them, as they all get along very well. I prefer a few of many species, as I enjoy seeing the different colors cruising though the tank. They won't eat plants, so no concern there.

I recommend lots of filtration and water flow. Seems to keep them happy. I run two Rena XP3's, and two power heads. I notice that when I turn off the power heads, the activity in the tank slows considerably. As soon as I turn them back on, everyone is back on the move.

When searching for Rainbows, it really helps to know what you are looking for. Most LFS's don't have mature Rainbows, unless they were traded in. Most young Rainbows don't look like much, and you could walk right by them at the fish store and they wouldn't catch your eye. It takes some patience to let them grow out and show mature colors.

Here's a link to a youtube video of my tank. Hope that helps you out.

**domjd05** · 05-17-2010, 12:12 AM

Wow great tank!! What were the almost black with red finned looking ones? Almost looked like very well color new guineas?

Also notices some nice emeralds and tourqs I think!

**Greggz** · 05-22-2010, 01:35 PM

Originally Posted by domjd05

Wow great tank!! What were the almost black with red finned looking ones? Almost looked like very well color new guineas?

Also notices some nice emeralds and tourqs I think!

I'm not sure exacty which one you are referring to. Here's a list of the varieties I keep. They are actually much brighter and more colorful in person than in the video.

Boesemani Rainbow,(Melanotaenia Boesemani)
Turquoise Rainbow (Lake Kutubu), (Melanotaenia Lacustris)
Neon Rainbow, (Melanotaenia Praecox)
Millenium Rainbow (Tami River), (Glossolepis Pseudoincisus)
Goyder River Banded Rainbow, (Melanotaenia trifasciata)
Running Creek Banded Rainbow, (Melanotaenia trifasciata)
Lake Tebera Rainbow (, (Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodi )