Introduction To Rainbowfish

[Jayba]

A long time keeper of African cichlids, I was looking for something different. I had kept many Mbuna, Haps and Peacocks in the past. The advantage of them is that they are beautiful, they are easily accessible and they thrive in Alberta's hard water.

The downside to the cichlids was the aggression, but in order to keep the males color up you needed females in the tanks. This is a balancing act that can go very wrong. Then there was also the matter of the fry to deal with that could become troublesome. Multiple tanks, recovery tanks for the mothers etc. I was just tired of it and needed a change. A community tank full of tetras? Not really me, I wanted flash, something unique, something that had a story.

I don't recall how or why I ended up looking into Rainbowfish, but I did. I had seen a couple different types in fish stores, the same ones we have all seen before. Looking stressed out, drab and plain old boring. But the Melanotaenia boesemani had caught my eye, and the pics on the internet looked pretty cool. We have all seen them, blue on the front half, the back half yellow. So I went to a LFS to get a couple pairs. Long story short, I lost 2 of them to disease.

Weeks later after things had passed I didn't want something from a LFS, I would preferred to get them from a reputable breeder. I was referred to Rick Wilsack of Calgary. A local breeder with 30 something types of rainbows. We spoke and he suggested a few different species that would work well in my tank:

The names were different and complicated at first, but are rather simple when you get the hang of them. The first word is the Genus which is always capitalized, and the second is the species which is not capitalized. The location of collection is in brackets or italics, this is extremely important to include with the name as two fish can have the same names but can look different, because of simply a different location. It also emphasizes the purity of the species.

Below are the fish I have right now compliments of Rick.

M. praecox "Pagai". a dwarf Rainbowfish

Melanotaenia trifasciata "Goyder River"

Melanotaenia trifasciata "Running Creek"

Melanotaenia trifasciata "Wonga Creek"

Chilatherina fasciata "Faowi Village"

Glossolepis multisquamata "Pagai"

These fish are another great alternative to cichlids. The males color up in the presence of other males and females. The males circle each other flaring, sizing each other up, and trying to get the attention of the females. The nice part it that these fish are not as outwardly aggressive as some cichlids can be. They are more show than fight. Simply throw a mop made out of yarn in the tank, and let the egg laying commence. This is simply practice of course, I do have 3 trifasciata pairs from different collection locations in the one tank, and like cichlids, I don't want the breeding lines ruined by a fling with the wrong female. When I have the time to deal with fry I will set up a species tank, and let them get busy.

Rainbowfish thrive in the same water we have in Alberta, which is always important when choosing what fish to keep. I personally don't have the desire to spend hours dealing with water and the expense that it can bring. I prefer to keep it simple for right now. Maybe someday I will want complicated, but for right now a water change with 2 young kids hanging around is enough of a challenge.

Unlike cichlids wild caught specimens are very rare. There are very big restrictions on exports of these fish, and many are threatened or endangered. So if you have a F1 or even an F2 pair. Hold your head high, you are special. This is another reason that the bloodlines are so important.

For those of you who have smaller tanks, there are smaller Rainbows. The Melanotaenia "praecox" is a dwarf Rainbowfish that remains small. There are also the Pseudomugil's, which are small exciting fish about the same size as guppy's, that are a blast to watch. They are always looking to get the attention of males and females by posturing and flaring. These could be kept in a 10 gallon tank.

I invite you to check out a few new things, here is a link to a free complete downloadable book on Rainbowfish.

http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Book.htm

As well as a couple of webpages to check out photo's and explore

http://www.rainbowfish.info/forum/

http://www.regenboogvissen.be/index.php?page=vissen

http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Melano.htm

Feel free to post your questions or comments, there is allot of knowledge to be shared by people that frequent this forum. The reason I am posting this is because I as well as many others were unaware that these fish were such a great colorful option to cichlids. Enjoy them.......Jay

Edited April 14, 2011 by Jayba

[jcgd]

Fantastic post Jay. I've been waiting for this one. Hopefully this peaks some interest for rainbows. I've just started keeping them recently as well, and I've gotta say, they are awesome fish. So colourful and lively, and such personalities.

[Rainbowric]

Very nice post Jay. Hopefully we will get some good discussions about rainbowfish going with it.

I like the way you have it set up that if you click on any one of your images it will take you to your photobucket collection of photo's and I must say you have got some of the nicest images of the M. trifasciata "Wonga Creek" that I have seen. Not to forget to mention that he has been in your tank for less than a week. Google M. trifasciata "Wonga Creek" and you will see what I mean. Maybe someday when you are by you can show me how to do this with photobucket?

What I would like to add at this time to your general discussion of "Introduction to Rainbowfish" is a few words about the Genus "Chilatherina". We were doing a little bit of discussion about the Chilatherina fasciata "Faowi Village" in your post in the Freshwater Photography section.

http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=32406

I think that this post will be better suited here in General Discussion.

Up until fall of 2009 the only species from the Chilatherina Genus that I have seen in Alberta, and when I am on business trips to B.C, Sask, and Man. I would stop into a number of different LFS, is the Chilatherina bleheri. Seldom seen, and the quality of them was less than good. Characteristics of this fish is very similar to that I what we have spoke of the Chilatherina fasciata "Faowi Village" in the Photography section, peaceful, swift moving, and changing colors with the different moods of the fish. The first pair I had many years ago when the wife and I didn't have a lot of fish and we named them all, we named this pair Fred (Astaire) and Ginger (Rogers). In comparison to our other rainbows in our tank they moved around the tank like Fred and Ginger on the dance floor. I think that it is wonderful now that we have available in Alberta, four species from the Chilatherina Genus and possibly 5 by the end of 2011. Thanks to Gary Lange and his efforts in coming up to Alberta to both the Edmonton and Calgary spring workshops to tell us about rainbowfish and also bringing specimens of them with him, donating the sales of a dozen plus egg kits to each club he gave presentations to, we now have excellent strains of:

Chilatherina bleheri

Chilatherina fasciata "Faowi Village"

Chilatherina alleni "Siriwo"

Chilatherina campsi "Wahgi River"

Thanks Gary and hopefully we will see you again up here in Canada. :thumbs:

[Blue Ram]

Great post Jay and Rick. I've always been a fan of rainbowfish and am now back stocking some of my tanks with whatever I can squeeze out of Rick!

[ty_s]

makes me think why did i go with a pair of rams. nice fish guys

[Jayba]

makes me think why did i go with a pair of rams. nice fish guys

Funny you should say that. I have 8 of these Pseudomugil furcata in a 20 gallon tank with apistogramma cacatuoides. They all get along fine. The furcata are part of the Pseudomugil family. They are small, and top out at about 1.5 inches. So yes, you could have your cake and eat it too. :-)

[jvision]

@ 55Gallon - I'm sure I saw some of those furcatas at Nature's Corner this week.

[ty_s]

@ 55Gallon - I'm sure I saw some of those furcatas at Nature's Corner this week.

nope i did not i did not make it over that way the stores a bit of a pain on the bus lol so id big al's i am all about central located stores seeing i live down town

and those guys are cool i might have to get me some lol

Edited April 14, 2011 by 55gallon

[BettaFishMommy]

@55gallon, Nature's Corner from downtown via bus is so easy! just hop the #8 at the telus tower, come down to 51 ave (just before millgate), and walk a few blocks west. or if you're coming from downtown during peak hours, just about any of the millwoods buses at telus tower will bring you to 51st ave. big al's is farther away, lol.

wonderful post Jayba! i've recently started keeping rainbows too, and in my decision to downsize my tanks it's difficult to decide if the rainbows go or stay!

[ty_s]

but but but theirs this amazing store on 111 ave and 120 st lol and it is a short walk

[geleen]

There will be quite a variety of rainbows including: P. Gertrudia Aru 2, M.Nigrans, M. boesmani Lake Atynjo, M. herbertaxelrodii, M.splendida deep water creek, M. Aru 4 ,M.preacox and others, in the Edmonton area in the next year or so. I and several others are working with these as we speak.

Getting fish from Ric in Calgary right now is always possible as there are free rides available.

John

[Nauticus]

That is awesome John. I love furcatas and some of the other rainbows like parkonsonis already so with new species for the planted tank it can only get better.

[Jayba]

wonderful post Jayba! i've recently started keeping rainbows too, and in my decision to downsize my tanks it's difficult to decide if the rainbows go or stay!

If you end up keeping your 20 long you Gould totally keep some rainbows! You could get some Pseudomugil furcata or gertrudae, some M. praecox, thread fins or whatever cool combo you can come up with. Could be a wicked little tank!

[BettaFishMommy]

Jayba, i have six aussie rainbows (exact species unknown, they came from petsmart) in the 20 long now, and there's room for a few more fish in there, but i'm torn on keeping the rainbows and adding a few favourites from the planted 55, or selling the rainbows so i can fit more of mine and my kiddo's favourites in the 20. decisions decisions! lol.

[Rainbowric]

There will be quite a variety of rainbows including: P. Gertrudia Aru 2, M.Nigrans, M. boesmani Lake Atynjo, M. herbertaxelrodii, M.splendida deep water creek, M. Aru 4 ,M.preacox and others, in the Edmonton area in the next year or so. I and several others are working with these as we speak.

Getting fish from Ric in Calgary right now is always possible as there are free rides available.

John

Thanks John for volunteering the information as to the where about of some of the eggs and fish that Gary brought up. Looking forward to doing a trade with you for a pair or two of those

Melanotaenia splendida splendida "Deepwater Creek"

I like to add a few words about the Melanotaenia boesemani " Lake Aytinjo" that we now have as I have a number of people asking me about them. What is significant about the "Lake Aytinjo"? You are now 1 of the 3 breeders of Lake Aytinjo that I know of in Western Canada preserving this beautiful boesemani. I have noticed in the LFS many names placed on the M. boesemani, just Boesemani, Red Boesemani, Super Red Boesemani, etc. etc. Most of these I believe, some washed out F10 - 20 , some hybrids, and possibly some hormone treated. The boesemani that you and I have came from Jeff Burch who lives in London, Ontario. Jeff received some eggs in 2005 from a fellow ANGFA-NA member (Kevin Hosmer). Kevin said they were newly collected and would bring new blood to strengthen blood line in North America. Early in 2008 Heiko Bleher who discovered the Lake Aytinjo strain visited Jeff in London and identified them as being the Lake Aytinjo strain. You can read about this visit of Heiko, that he published in;

http://www.aquapress-bleher.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=382&Itemid=65

Heiko's article "JEFF BURCH – RAINBOWFISH BREEDER IN LONDON, ONTARIO" also highlights Jeff's efforts in preserving the C. bleheri and M. lacustis for which he has strains that he collected in 1983. It was in 1983 that Jeff changed his focus to Rainbowfish from breeding Discus, managing up to 225 tanks and selling fish wholesale to the LFS. Oh yes Jeff has many more species than I.

Back to the Lake Aytinjo boesemani, I have never seen a more vibrant coloured boesemani anywhere which is natural. When these guys light up for the female you would think that it is a salt water fish. They are pretty fast as a bird could see them from quite a distance when they would light up in the lake. Unfortunately they take a long time to mature, probably why we don't see them in the LFS. However they can live a long time. Jeff still has a group of fish living today from those eggs that he got as a gift from Kevin. I have attached a couple of pictures of my young males, that unfortunately are not displaying for females or other males in a unplanted tank. I would also like to thank Paul Mansfield for taking these photos with just a point and shout camera when he visited my fish room during the CAS workshop.

There is however another M. boesemani strain that we should watch for as eggs were sold at the Calgary Aquarium Society spring workshop. Gary Lange brought up a egg kit for the "Lacorte Strain" I hear that they are very nice boesmani as well!