rainbow fish

[thalassic park]

Hi,
I was curious as to how many people are interested in Australian/New Guinea Rainbow fishes.
Also I would be interested to know what species you may have & as to the value of these fish in your local area.

[VoodooChild]

I really like the rainbows yet don't have a tank for them. Besides, I work at an LFS, so I just get my fix there. We usually have Melanotaenia bosemani (Bosemani's), for around $9, Melanotaenia praecox (Neon), for around $7, Glossolepis incisus (Red) for around $9, and Australian Rainbows for around $3. I also have seen lyretail rainbows (praecox I think) for $25 a pair. A very underated fish in my opinion.

[beviking]

I recently purchased 3 Praecox Rainbows for $12. Beautiful fish! Their fins look like flames and they shimmer like blue lightening. VoodooChild's price quotes are consistent with prices in my area too. I'm contemplating getting a pair of Bosemani's in the future. Looking to make a couple quick bucks???;)

[grace]

I love the rainbow fishes! Unfortunately I have only had intermittent luck in keeping them alive and healthy :( . Currently I have a female M. lacustrus (turquoise) that I've had for five years - just lost the male last year - and a female M. trifasciata (Goyder river) that I've had for about two years and is not very healthy, but I refuse to give up on her!

In the past I have had M. praecox, M. wanamensis (wish I new then how rare they are!), and C. Glossolepis. They are quite adaptable, but there are some surprising differences in the parameters of their natural habitats. Unfortunately, I made the typical mistake of not researching and understanding what I was doing when I had those fish.

If you haven't looked at it yet, there is a great book that covers most, if not all, rainbow and blue-eye species up to the late eighties. Of course mentioning it while I am at work and don't have the title and author isn't real helpful now is it?? :rolleyes: :)

Actually, I am trying to decide if I want to add more 'bows to my tank or save it as a discus grow-out tank! ;) :D

[thalassic park]

Hi,
I believe there would be no problems in growing out discus & rainbows together.
Do you know why you lost so many Rainbows?

[VoodooChild]

I agree with Thalassic. The harder water juvenille discus like will be great for the rainbows for a good while. For Christmas I got the Aqua Log rainbow book (I know I'm a nerd). It's called "Beautiful Rainbows" by someone German, they all are. It even comes with a cool poster! Flayvin!

[grace]

I'm really not sure what happened to them. I'm assuming it was inadequate care on my part. For quite a while I was playing with the water parameters - pH, hardness, etc. - to try to get them at a certain level instead of working with what I had. They would be OK for a several months and then stop eating. I don't remember seeing signs of parasites, fungus, etc. Who knows? But then I have this female that has lived through all of that and is big and beautiful and keeps laying eggs that won't get fertilized :D :o !

As far as growing out discus...my tank is only a 30gal. so I wouldn't have room for both. I'm considering a 90gal. planted discus tank in the future; so if I want to use my current one as a grow out I would have to find a home for the fish that are in the 30. My dilemma is do I wait until I'm ready for discus (which could be a while) or go ahead a add new fish to the 30? :confused:

Decisions, decisions!! :cool: :D

[TomFromStLouis]

I have pretty much decided that my angel tank will have the forktailed rainbow (m. furcatas) as the schooling feature IF I can find some. Anyone know any breeders of blue eyes?

[jiggerpolebill]

i really like rainbow fish. i have 6 praecox and a pair of trifasciata. the male trifasciata went berzerk on my male krib and they had some terrible fights. my wife finally separated them one night when she thought the rainbow was going to kill the krib. here's a great website recommended by wetman:

http://members.optushome.com.au/chelmon/

[redwing]

I had to add my voice to how great rainbows are. I have had bosemani rainbows for a couple of years now and love them! IMHO my rainbows are more colorful/happier with frequent water changes. About every 3-5 days I change about 30%. In my area bosemani are about 7.00 and dwarf neons 5.00. Several other kinds are available but the price varies at different times. Mine eat a combo of several foods including Omega One Super Color flakes.