# Rainbow Fish



## AV8TOR (Mar 28, 2004)

Less than a week away now from setting up my wifes 55 gallon Planted Tank. Just waiting on my light. We were thinking of going with Discus but now have settled in on Rainbow fish instead. I am looking for some good reading and hopefully a forum on Rainbow fish. Can anyone help me with this please?


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## cS (Jan 27, 2004)

James Hoftiezer has some nice references on rainbowfish. Just in case he redesigns the page, let me duplicate the top two links here:



> *Home of the Rainbow Fish*
> Home of the RainbowFish is the most complete and informative site I have found. It should be your first stop for any research. The authors have exhausted every possible source to provide every relavent detail of the fish and their environment. I would have no problem considering the site a point of truth for any related subject"
> 
> *Rainbowfish Study Group*
> The Rainbowfish Study Group (RSG) represents the apex of the rainbowfish in the United States. Their attempts to validate species lineage and genetics i the American breeding stock make them the 'local' source for information and are a great source of support.


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## AV8TOR (Mar 28, 2004)

Thanks cS, great stuff indeed.


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## AV8TOR (Mar 28, 2004)

After looking at these sites I have a question for those keeping Rainbow in your planted tank. What CO2 levels are you maintaining? Seems in this article they do not want you near 20 mg/L. It has been my understanding that for a planted tank you want levels around 20.
Thanks


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## jerseyjay (Jan 25, 2004)

AV8TOR said:


> After looking at these sites I have a question for those keeping Rainbow in your planted tank. What CO2 levels are you maintaining? Seems in this article they do not want you near 20 mg/L. It has been my understanding that for a planted tank you want levels around 20.Thanks


I keep 8 adults in my 55G with 20-30ppm of CO2 without any adverse reactions. Hardy fish which could be kept in low PH/KH levels as well as high PH/KH levels --> with fauna from Lake Malawi in Africa.


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## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

Jay, what species are you referring to? I've always wanted to house Pseudomugil gertrudae, but got discouraged since they require alkaline water.


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## Daemonfly (Mar 21, 2004)

They're most likely talking about the normal Rainbows. The Blue-eyes are usually listed with rainbows, but aren't quite the same.

I have 3 Pseudomugil furcatus in my 20g long with a pH of ~6.8 & KH ~5 and they're doing quite fine. I'm not sure how closely related they are to the Pseudomugil Gertrudae in regards to the alkalinity needs.


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## jerseyjay (Jan 25, 2004)

Raul-7 said:


> Jay, what species are you referring to? I've always wanted to house Pseudomugil gertrudae, but got discouraged since they require alkaline water.


Rainbows I kept in my 55g hi-tech planted tank.

- _Melanotaenia Praecox_
- _Melanotaenia boesman's_
- _Bedotia geayi_
- _Glossolepis incisus_
- _Melanotaenia maccullochi_
- _Melanotaenia trifasciata_
- _Telmatherina ladigesi_


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## Aaron (Feb 12, 2004)

I have Pseudomugil gertrudae "Giddy River" and Iriatherina werneri in my 15 planted tank. Ph at 6.8, I have no idea what GH and KH is. They do fine and I sometimes find fry at the surface. Generally speaking, Pseudomugil are pretty tough and can thrive in softer water. With anything, I think the key to success is stability. I would say the exception here would be those that are found on the coast and frequent brackish water like P. cyanodorsalis and signifer. Having kept both of these species, I can attest that they do not last long in soft acidic planted tanks... too bad, awesome fish.[/quote]


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## litesky (Feb 9, 2004)

Hey Jay,

How is your Bedotia geayi? What color is it? May I see some pictures?

thanks


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## Error (Apr 16, 2004)

I have kept a few rainbow species in my planted tanks. I have DIY CO2, though I haven't tested the dKH in a while. I currently keep Melanotaenia pierucciae, but in the past I have had M. herbertaxelrodi, M. lacustris, and M. trifasciata 'Goyder River'.

I think the coolest thing about planted tanks and rainbowfish is the surprises you get from time to time. Most of the Melanotaeniids will spawn in bushy plants, and once in a while an egg or two will grow to adulthood.

I used to keep Pseudomugil gertrudae, but they're just too small to really appreciate in anything larger than a 10 gallon. I feel the same about most of the blue-eyes.

Here are a few species of rainbowfish that are particularly spectacular, if you can find them: Glossolepis pseudoincisus, G. sp. 'Zig-zag', Melanotaenia catherinae, M. duboulayi, M. trifasciata 'Snake Creek', and M. affinis 'North New Guinea Blue'.


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## baj (Nov 2, 2004)

Hi,
I just got a pair of iriathernia werneri yesterday and was wondering about other's experiencers with them. What kind of food do they prefer? they chase down but refuse to eat the spirulina flakes that I give to the rest of the chumps (5 neons, 5 rasboras and a loach, and 4 otos). Do they eat freeze dried tubifex worms? frozen worms? frozen veggies?


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## Error (Apr 16, 2004)

Try frozen brine shrimp or daphnia. If that doesn't work, you may have to give them live food for a while before they'll take flake or frozen.

It has also only been a day. Give it a few more.


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