Rainbowfish sparring or mating behaviour?

[Fish4dawin]

Hello there people of TFF! I have a 33 gallon tank with 6 dwarf neon rainbowfish and some other fish. GH is 290ppm so their water quality is fine.

I've noticed two of my most mature male rainbowfish rubbing against each other and chasing each other around the tank. Is this just them trying to establish dominace? Also what should I look for in a breeding pair of rainbows? As in what courtship do they do and how long would it take for the female to release the eggs?

 

[Colin_T]

If 2 males are swimming next to each other showing off, they are sparring and this is normal with male rainbowfish.

If a male is displaying to a female, they are breeding.
Just watch the fish when a pr start displaying. The females scatter a few eggs into some plants and then swim back out in the open. This continues until she has released all her eggs for that day. The following day she will repeat the process. Under good conditions the fish will breed every day for months, releasing between 10-50 eggs per day.

 

[Fish4dawin]

If 2 males are swimming next to each other showing off, they are sparring and this is normal with male rainbowfish.

Yeah this is what's happening. Does this mean that the dominant male will pr off with one of the females. The ratio of the rainbows is 4 males to 2 females.

 

[Colin_T]

Either male will breed with the females. the two fish displaying to each other and simply showing off to each other.

You are better off having more females than males because the males can sometimes get overly excited and knock the females around. If there's more females, there is less stress per female.

 

[Naughts]

In dwarf neon rainbows you see increased activity when they display in the morning. They will show better colouration with an enhanced metallic blue and the males will show a dark stripe down the lateral line. It will happen daily as they scattter a few eggs each day rather than a big batch once in a while.

 

[Fish4dawin]

In dwarf neon rainbows you see increased activity when they display in the morning. They will show better colouration with an enhanced metallic blue and the males will show a dark stripe down the lateral line. It will happen daily as they scattter a few eggs each day rather than a big batch once in a while.

I haven't seen ny eggs. Is it possible that the other fish eat them before I can do anything about it?

 

[Naughts]

Yes, other fish will quickly learn when/where the eggs will be scattered. You will not be able to breed them in a community tank.

 

[Fish4dawin]

Yes, other fish will quickly learn when/where the eggs will be scattered. You will not be able to breed them in a community tank.

That's annoying. I might try and persuade my mum to get a 20 gallon as a breeder. Just not too many places to put one though.

 

[Colin_T]

The eggs are small and clear and get scattered in plants. If you have Java Moss in the tank, the eggs will be in that. You can move some of the plants into a bucket and see if anything hatches.