question about Rainbow fish

Sean W.

Sean W.

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Aug 8, 2013
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Whats up guys,

I am thinking about taking down my 22 gallon cube that i just have running, its pretty unimpressive, all plastic plants, a golden goruami a few barbs ( that i would return if i could catch ) and like 2 neon tetras. I was thinking about taking it down and replacing it with a 40 Gallon, 36" x 18" x 17"T tank, thats about as big as i can go in that space that i want to put a tank.

For this tank i was thinking of doing a planted tank with the same kind of LED fixture that i made for my 10 gallon planted tank, better substrate this time. I was thinking about doing a few ( no more than 3 ) classic boesemani rainbowfish and a few dwarf rainbow fish and other assorted fish, probably tetras and others, but the main center piece is going to be the rainbow fish. But i had a couple questions;


my main question is:

When i go into PetSmart to see their fish, they have a few different rainbow fish, but all of their colors suck, i was wondering if their lame colors is a result of bad water quality, stress, bad feeding or just poor genetics, probably a combination of all those things, but i was wondering if their color would come back when they are in a better environment and as they get older?

Do they get along with gouramis or angle fish?

i guess thats all for now...

thanks!
 
Sean W. said:
Whats up guys,

I am thinking about taking down my 22 gallon cube that i just have running, its pretty unimpressive, all plastic plants, a golden goruami a few barbs ( that i would return if i could catch ) and like 2 neon tetras. I was thinking about taking it down and replacing it with a 40 Gallon, 36" x 18" x 17"T tank, thats about as big as i can go in that space that i want to put a tank.

For this tank i was thinking of doing a planted tank with the same kind of LED fixture that i made for my 10 gallon planted tank, better substrate this time. I was thinking about doing a few ( no more than 3 ) classic boesemani rainbowfish and a few dwarf rainbow fish and other assorted fish, probably tetras and others, but the main center piece is going to be the rainbow fish. But i had a couple questions;


my main question is:

When i go into PetSmart to see their fish, they have a few different rainbow fish, but all of their colors suck, i was wondering if their lame colors is a result of bad water quality, stress, bad feeding or just poor genetics, probably a combination of all those things, but i was wondering if their color would come back when they are in a better environment and as they get older?

Do they get along with gouramis or angle fish?

i guess thats all for now...

thanks!
Click to expand...

yes allot of the color you see at the big box stores is due to stress and water quality, you can get some good gems out of them with some TLC.

they should be fine with all the fish you listed.

if you have space for 36'' x 18 ..go for a 65g!! they come in 36''x18''x25...awesome tank that gives more water volume for the foot print.
 
I used to work at petsmart and our fish were always pretty good. The main reason you couldn't see the colors was due to the blue background on the tank and the high lighting in the store. I won't touch on stress level, but it could have an effect.

I just bought some Madagascar Rainbows from my buddy's store and they look way better in my tank than they did in his at the petsmart.
 
When it comes to Boesemani's, there's a wide variety of colors depending on the strain.

Some are more yellow/silver, some are more orange/blue. From my experience, a washed out yellow/silver one won't change into a beautiful orange/blue one. If you don't see good colors even at a small size, you probably aren't going to see them later either.

I think it really depends on the batch they got in and from where they got them. At my local Petsmart, I've seen mostly poor examples. But once in awhile they get in a batch of really high quality ones. I mean they look totally different from their usual stock. I bought 3 a few months ago, and you can see them in a video I have in a thread about my 120G Rainbow tank below. They are the three smallest ones, and are only about 2 inches big. They looked beautiful at the store and the same in my tank.

So my advice is to be selective and start with good stock. Even it takes a little searching, it will be worth it in the long run.
 
IMO, a 36" tank slightly limits the species you'd be able to keep to some of the smaller species (like M. praecox) or to blue eyes (Pseudomugil spp.). A school of praecox ("dwarf rainbows") would look very nice. I had about 5-6 in my 30g at one point when it was setup.

Some may disagree, but I've seen some BIG adult bosemani's, for example...not always lengthwise either. They are large-bodied compared to the typical torpedo-shaped schoolers, and always active. Hence, they should be given a lot of relative space. Again JMO.
 
I agree with the post above. You really want at least a 48" tank for Boesemani's. They do get pretty big (4" to 5") and fill out when they mature.They are also pretty active and cruise the tank all day.

Praecox are more suited for a smaller tank. However, they are easily the least hardy species of Rainbows I have kept. All of the other common varieties are very easy to care for. I have some in my tank right now that are over 8 years old.

If I ever lose a fish, it is very, very surprising. That is, except for the Praecox. A year ago I had 8 and am down to 4 now. Haven't lost a single other fish in that same time frame. Maybe I started with bad stock? I don't know. I've read posts of people having the same experience with Praecox on other sites too.
 
Interesting, I never had a problem with mine although I think they were only in the tank for about 1-2 years before I changed stock. I do notice that some LFS stock just doesn't look healthy...even as juvies they seem far too skinny.
 
You also need to remember that juvenile rainbows commonly don't look that great. My wife looked at me like I was nuts when I brought home 7 little Iran reds. They were really dull colored and skittish. Now they are around 5" a dark red color and the bosses of the tank.

Genetics, good food, and lots of care are what they need to look great.

All of the species do better in a tank with lots of plants to give them something to play in and escape to when someone else is showing dominance
 
Good food, water changes, and you'll get bright colors. My rainbows were solid grey at my lfs until about three days after I put them in there.
Praecox, bosemani, and madagascars. Garlic and spirulina work wonders.
 
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