Boesmani Rainbow Fish Dilema

[corradophil]

I acquired a Boesemani rainbow fish a couple of months ago, which has done well in my Rio 125 community aquarium, however from research I've done since getting him, I beleive the tank is on the small side, so I have chosen not to get any more of them.

He's always been lively and his colour is getting stronger, I would say he is in good health, but over the last day or so, I've noticed him becoming quite aggressive towards the other fish, particularly the Cardinal Tetras.

I am gradually increasing the plants in the tank (eventually it will be heavily planted), but currently there are not enough to provide cover for any fish to get away from the rainbow.

If you were in my situation would you try to re-home him ASAP, keep him and get some decent plants in there for the others to hide, or keep him and get some companions of his own type, as these are shoaling fish.

He's a lovely fish, and I would really like to keep him, but only if it is not to the detrement of him or the other fish, all of which are smaller.

 

[Davo86]

To start with i would try the 're-introduce' technique, i.e. purchase some more plants, then remove the fish to a temporary home whilst you add the new plants and undertake a small water change, before re-introducing the fish to the tank.

Your tank size is around 33G so i would be tempted to add maybe 2 more to calm your current fish down.

 

[corradophil]

That is what I would like to do, I suppose I can firstly get some more plants in there and closly monitor the situation, as if I re-homed the Rainbow fish it would be to a LFS, so he'd be gone for good.

 

[Colin_T]

Rainbows are a schooling fish and need companions.
If the boesemani is a male (blue & yellow) he is bullying the smaller fish. Male rainbows can be a bit nasty when it comes to picking on smaller fish. If you can get a couple more rainbows similar in size to him he should pick on them instead of the tetras.
You want to keep rainbows in schools of 8 or more if possible. You can mix different species of rainbowfish but please do not cross breed different species.

 

[corradophil]

Rainbows are a schooling fish and need companions.
If the boesemani is a male (blue & yellow) he is bullying the smaller fish. Male rainbows can be a bit nasty when it comes to picking on smaller fish. If you can get a couple more rainbows similar in size to him he should pick on them instead of the tetras.
You want to keep rainbows in schools of 8 or more if possible. You can mix different species of rainbowfish but please do not cross breed different species.

I guess he is male as he is gettng Blue and Yellow markings, although very faint at the moment. If I were to put 8 or more rainbows in my tank, it would be over stocked. If I got a couple of females, would it be ok, or is 8 or more a hard and fast rule.

 

[Colin_T]

a couple of females would probably calm him down but some males just want to rumble and will bully the females too. Try the females first and if he keeps bullying everything after a few weeks then see about getting a bigger tank and then add a couple of big males to pick on him.

 

[corradophil]

a couple of females would probably calm him down but some males just want to rumble and will bully the females too. Try the females first and if he keeps bullying everything after a few weeks then see about getting a bigger tank and then add a couple of big males to pick on him.

He's been less aggressive over the weekend, but I think I will get a couple of females. I have put more plants in there now, so there are a few more hiding places.

 

[jennybugs]

Good luck with this. I have a boeseman pair and started off with 3 females and one male. I'd created an nice harem for him but between him and one of the females, they killed the remaining two females and a pair of tricolour rainbows too That all goes against the grain for what rainbows are meant to be like.

My male now persues the female alot, and I am on the verge of doing the 'remove and redecorate' idea and adding another couple of females to see if that helps the situation