Is This Normal?

[bex1]

hi everyone.
A few days ago i went to my lfs to get some new fish and came back with 3 dwarf rainbows, theyre approx 3cm at the moment and i think i have 2 females (yellow on tail and fins) and 1 male (red on the tail and fins)
is that how you sex them
Anyway after the had been in quarrantine for a week they seemed fine so i added them to me community tank,
they are fine in there, very active, my question is:
They seem to shoal and swim around with the 6 x-ray tetra in there, is this normal they dont seem to be bullying or nipping them i dont think, just swimming fast with them.
Also the male seems to be chasing the females quite a lot, will they be ok
thanks x x x

 

[vix]

Hi bex

I have Praecox rainbows too, thats exactly how you sex them females have a yellow finnage males have red.

They do like to shoal and would probably better with 2 or 3 more, shoaling with other fish is normal too. These are very randy little fish and spawn constantly The male will chase the females and flash all his fins at her in courtship . Make a little spawning mop and you will soon have lots of eggs (providing they don't eat them all) and lots of babys. Mine bred within a week of having them, very hard to raise the fry though.

 

[bex1]

hi thanks for reply

how do you make a spawning mop

my tanks about fully stocked at the moment, so dont think i should get anymore just yet

cheers x x

 

[Parin]

hi thanks for reply

how do you make a spawning mop

my tanks about fully stocked at the moment, so dont think i should get anymore just yet

cheers x x

All rainbows should be kept in a schoal if you want to see their true behaviour.
They are great fish but often misperceived.

Anyway, the behaviour you describe is in fact normal.
They want to schoal, but can't since they are only 3. So they find other fish to schoal. However, this won't last since when they grow, they'll outgrow the tetra's, and then they probably won't schoal anymore.

As for the male chasing the female. Normal... He just wants to get some.

I'm raising M. praecox fry now, and it is indeed quite hard. I had about 50 fry, of which I think only about 8 or 9 are still alive at the moment. I'm hoping they'll all pull through, but 1 month is still too early to tell. They are eating brine shrimp eggs now though, so that's a good sign.

Anyway, enjoy your fishes