very interested in getting Rainbowfish, have a few ?'s

[DaveDoles]

First of all, I am new to AC. I would like to know if there are any Rainbowfish enthusiats out there. Basically, I'm going to get small tank for my room, 15 or 20 gal, and I have become an instant fan of Rainbowfish because of their compatibility with other pretty, peaceful fish who school.

The last time I had an aquarium in my room was like, when I was 12. I'm sure most of you know how much neglect and ignorance a kid at that age can exert over an aquarium. I had no grasp of water hardness or pH. I've grabbed several books about Rainbowfish and also Cichlids, but I guess the Rainbowfish will be cool for now.

With that said, I've seen a few websites that sell a wide variety of Rainbowfish for so-so prices. 1) Is ordering from websites completely safe from scam artists? The info on liveaquaria.com (http://liveaquaria.com)looks top-notch to me, and I even printed info of a couple Rainbowfish species.

I'm real particular with visual stimulation/graphic design when I buy something. I want the menu or, in this case, the website to guide me quickly and easily to what I need/want to buy. For instance, thatfishshop.com (http://www.thatfishshop.com/) offers an alleged variety of rare Rainbowfish from some explorer dude. But the graphics could really use a facelift. I'd grade the graphics with a C+, generously. And then we have fish2u.com (http://www.fish2u.com/index.html) where the discription/info of Rainbowfish is non-existent. Basically, 2) You think these sites are legit?

The thing that gets me is that shipping is astronomical. Of course, I understand the need to ensure the fish are alive on delivery. I just want to know 3) Is it worth it to buy from a website considering the high shipping?

Furthermore, 4) What species of Rainbowfish are compatible with other species of Rainbowfish?
5)What species of Rainbowfish are compatible with other peaceful species, such as neon/cardinal tetras and guppies?

That's about it for now, I guess I'll post more questions as they come to me. Your answers mean a lot since I'm excited to get a tank of Rainbowfish home.

Dave

[El Barto]

if your going for a small tank with several rainbows id go with neon rainbowfish. they are small (2.5'') and spor awesome colours. dont let them fool you at the lf where tey show brown with red fins. when they clolor up they are absolute jewels.if i were you i would order from the internet as a last resort. it comes to the same special ordering from your lfs. i believe that fish2u is legit as ive emailed them for info several times and i get promt response each time. as for the shipping prices its mostly worth it on rarer fish when you find a good buy. try aquabid. some sellers have free shipping. i peronnaly had no problem when i got stuff from aquabid even when shiped all the way here in canada. anyways ask your lfs to special order for you and you will save shipping . at least mine doesnt ask for shipping.sorry for the long post

[sky.eyes.woman]

Another thing to look into at least on aquabid is to try and find people selling the fish you want within a reasonable driving distance from where you live, they might let you pick them up. If driving there costs less than shipping, you'll save a few bucks and know exactly how your fish were treated on their way to you.

[El Barto]

great idea

[mindtonic]

The guy from thatfishshop.com sells a lot on aquabid and he's only recieved 4 negative feedbacks out of over 600, so I'd say he's pretty safe to deal with. In fact, I plan on ordering a bunch of rainbows from him in the very near future.

[Leopardess]

Most rainbowfish can be mixed with each other. But then you must be careful about interbreeding, which causes "mutts". If that happens, you must be absolutely certain to cull them (kill them) or ensure that they do not get back out into circulation via returning them to the petstore or giving them to friends. Rainbowfish lines are muddled enough.

In a 15-20g tank, IMO, you don't have room for the dwarf praecox. They are too big. Your best bet will be Celebese (Telmatherina ladigesi)or Threadfins (Iriatherina werneri). I vote for the celebese because they are hardier, more colorful, and IME more active. I'm not sure I'd put them in a 15g tank though...a 20 long, maybe, but probably not a 15g.

Most rainbowfish are extremely active swimmers...much like danios, but a lot larger.

Males can be a little pushy, especially towards others. Larger groups prevent this. IME it hasn't happened wtih any of the smaller species I've had (Celebese and Threadfins) and doesn't seem to be an issue with the slightly larger Madagascans.

Since I'm thinking you don't have the tank yet, may I strongly suggest you upgrade to a 29g tank or so? They shouldn't be much more expensive (maybe even cheaper if you buy the kit at walmart; i have it, it's fine...maybe a filter upgrade, but that's it).

RE: buying online. Places like liveaquaria are indeed legit. BUT with any store you buy from, without seeing what you are getting, there are bound to be screwups. Shipping the wrong fish happens semi frequently. I know a group of people who bought in to a reputable dealer and were shipped all the wrong fish - most of which came with a weird disease and died anyhow. However, the person who ran the place fixed the problem and sent them the correct fish free of charge. The difference is in how they handle their problems. You want someone who has a guarantee and will be willing to 'fess up and fix anything issues.

[DaveDoles]

Hmmmm, ok, sounds good....I'd be more inclined to buy from a place I can physically browse through. I just thought that the online sites were pretty dope because they sell fish I've never heard of and never seen in any fish store.

I'm originally from Honolulu. Still here. But I'll be moving to San Francisco in the Fall. All the pet stores here (still not accustomed to the different acronyms, they stand for completely different things to me, which is pretty funny taken out of context) carry the regular, fish variety for little kids. So, I guess you could say I'm very ignorant of any ways to obtain quality, rare fish.

So, any places in Frisco or around there that can offer me dope Rainbowfish?

Thanks for all the great replies btw..

Dave

[DaveDoles]

oh yeah, would it be safe to say that if i keep the rainbows in a limited space they won't grow too big, considering the feeding I'd give them? I mean, I figure that other domestic pets do that, I don't know how much that relates to rainbows though.

DD