Rainbow fish Noob

**bryan** · 23rd Aug 2006, 10:31

I have 3 species of rainbows in my tank. One pair of boesemanis which I've had for almost 2 yrs are constantly sparing(I suppose they are males). However I notice some fish in other tanks and pictures have a very pronounced humpback(usually the large ones). I'm wondering why my rainbows don't? Does it come with age? Gender?

I recently added a pair of 'Salmon reds' but they lost color once they were introduced. They are now a dull metallic grey. Will the color come back? All are eating well(too well!) and active.

**benny** · 23rd Aug 2006, 10:35

Hi Bryan,

I don't reallly keep rainbow fishes, but I thought only matured fishes have the hump on their back. I may be wrong.

If I recall correctly, there was a website dedicated to rainbowfishes. Let me see if I can dig it out.

Cheers,

**bryan** · 23rd Aug 2006, 10:48

Thanks Benny!

My 2 yr old Boesemanis might be stunted then

I hunted through a few aussie sites dedicated to rainbows but most were more enthusiatic about breeding and showcasing the mindboggling variations

My main frustration now is sorting out the different species in the LFS as some mix them together and the colors only appear when you put them in a nice tank. At the LFS they all look the same- grey.

and the sales people can't tell the difference.

**benny** · 23rd Aug 2006, 11:02

Originally Posted by bryan

At the LFS they all look the same- grey.

and the sales people can't tell the difference.

Well... that's not a problem perculiar to rainbowfishes then!

I do agree that most of the local shops don't have a good working knowledge of their livestocks. What a shame.

Cheers,

**hwchoy** · 23rd Aug 2006, 12:27

Originally Posted by bryan

Thanks Benny!

My 2 yr old Boesemanis might be stunted then

I hunted through a few aussie sites dedicated to rainbows but most were more enthusiatic about breeding and showcasing the mindboggling variations

My main frustration now is sorting out the different species in the LFS as some mix them together and the colors only appear when you put them in a nice tank. At the LFS they all look the same- grey.

and the sales people can't tell the difference.

one thing you need to know about rainbowfishes, and I paraphrase what was recently said: "they hybridise with reckless abundance." not just within the genus but also intergeneric.

a lot of rainbowfish stock you see in the shops are already hybridise (intentionally or not) to some degree. hence your difficulty in identifying them, they look so intermediate. I just had three wonderfully red "M. trifasciata" but again they are almost certainly hybrids.

**bryan** · 23rd Aug 2006, 16:00

intentionally hybridized or not. I think it's pretty much unavoidable due to the proximity of sub-species. According to some of the sites, different sub-speices in the wild are located in the same region but just different streams or rivers. eg. Same species of rainbows collected in 5 different locations in the same region in australia turn up with slightly different color variations.

So how original is your rainbow?

By the way I just found out Boesemanis originate from Papua New Guinea.

**hwchoy** · 23rd Aug 2006, 16:03

I believe the populations in the wild are beginning to speciate following the major climatic change 10,000 years ago. Hence when they are put back together in proximity they will still hybridise without hormonal "encouragements".

Anyway PNG is part of the Northern Australian biogeographical region. You ever heard of the term Sahulland? It was affected similarly to our own Sundaland during the deglaciation event.

**FND** · 20th Sep 2006, 17:24

Originally Posted by benny

Hi Bryan,

I don't reallly keep rainbow fishes, but I thought only matured fishes have the hump on their back. I may be wrong.

If I recall correctly, there was a website dedicated to rainbowfishes. Let me see if I can dig it out.

Cheers,

Dedicated website Benny mentioned...

http://www.australianrainbowfish.com/
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homep...e/homepage.htm
http://members.optushome.com.au/chelmon/Contents.htm

**mandz** · 25th Feb 2007, 22:43

Hi Hwchoy and Bryan,

I've been intrigued by the world of rainbows recently and have been trying to find them. Do you guys have any recommendations on where to go for a good range of rainbows?

Thanks,
Keith

**bryan** · 26th Feb 2007, 08:25

Hello Keith,

Usually I get the less common ones from Qianhu and C328(I passed on an only pair of dodgy looking M.Parkinsoni at C328 recently). Not many shops want to sell them as they look awful in stock tanks.Common rainbows like bosemanis,incisus,neon, celebes,fucata, threadfin are found all over though. You might want to get a really large tank if you want to start collecting the different species.I still can't id some of my rainbows till today.Will post some pics for ID hopefully when I get my camera back, if ever.

**lwm999** · 26th Feb 2007, 21:12

I have a few of this rainbowfish, but do not know its name. Could someone please help to identify? Thanks.

**bryan** · 26th Feb 2007, 21:53

Originally Posted by lwm999

I have a few of this rainbowfish, but do not know its name. Could someone please help to identify? Thanks.

I think it is a hybrid M.trifasciata, most websites give them the name 'Crossing Rainbow'.They are very beautiful in dim light.

**mandz** · 26th Feb 2007, 21:53

Originally Posted by bryan

Hello Keith,

Usually I get the less common ones from Qianhu and C328(I passed on an only pair of dodgy looking M.Parkinsoni at C328 recently). Not many shops want to sell them as they look awful in stock tanks.Common rainbows like bosemanis,incisus,neon, celebes,fucata, threadfin are found all over though. You might want to get a really large tank if you want to start collecting the different species.I still can't id some of my rainbows till today.Will post some pics for ID hopefully when I get my camera back, if ever.

Thanks Bryan. I'm currently housing the rainbows in a 4 footer. As you can imagine, I'm only able to identify those that you've mentioned above, mainly the bosemanis, incisus and neons. I'm looking forward to find some less common ones at Qianhu.. hopefully this weekend.

**lwm999** · 27th Feb 2007, 10:56

Originally Posted by bryan

I think it is a hybrid M.trifasciata, most websites give them the name 'Crossing Rainbow'.They are very beautiful in dim light.

Thanks Bryan for the information. Found out that they are also called Banded Rainbow. Strangely I saw a few times that one of my Bosemani and Trifasciata stay close together as if they are like a pair. Not sure if that is normal behaviour.

**bryan** · 27th Feb 2007, 10:57

Originally Posted by mandz

Thanks Bryan. I'm currently housing the rainbows in a 4 footer. As you can imagine, I'm only able to identify those that you've mentioned above, mainly the bosemanis, incisus and neons. I'm looking forward to find some less common ones at Qianhu.. hopefully this weekend.

If you are interested in Bedotia Geayi (Madagascar Rainbow). I saw some at C328, above the plant tank, near the entrance last Friday night.Not a common sight.

**bryan** · 27th Feb 2007, 11:16

Originally Posted by lwm999

Thanks Bryan for the information. Found out that they are also called Banded Rainbow. Strangely I saw a few times that one of my Bosemani and Trifasciata stay close together as if they are like a pair. Not sure if that is normal behaviour.

Most of my rainbows will flare at similar size fish regardless of species,they will cross breed. I had the exact same problem in IDing the crossing rainbow, until I realised that most websites will not feature them as they discourage cross breeding when I found this(scroll down).

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/rainbows.htm

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