Rainbowfish tank?

[jadelyn_]

Hello!

So, I sold my previous tank (180l) after putting my Shubunkin in the pond and am soon upgrading to a 240l Fluval Roma. The dimensions are 120cm long, 50cm high, 40cm width. I was hoping to keep rainbowfish, especially the Lake Kubutu. I know they are a shoaling species and should be kept with at least 5 others of their own kind.

My questions are:
- How many rainbowfish can I have in the tank?
- Will different species of rainbows shoal together? (Or do I need minimum of 6 of same species)
- Any that should not be kept together?

The only other fish I will have in there will be a male Bristlenose Plec.

Water info:
Hardness: 210mg/l CaCO₃
pH: 7.6

Thank you for any feedback!

 

[hobby5]

If you want happy fish go for one large school of a single species and yes you need at least 6 of every species. From my experience 6 is still too few for nearly all shoaling species. I would recommend to start with about 12. (Maybe even more depending on your other stocking) Try to have more females than males.

literature here (free pdf)

 

[jadelyn_]

If you want happy fish go for one large school of a single species and yes you need at least 6 of every species. From my experience 6 is still too few for nearly all shoaling species. I would recommend to start with about 12. (Maybe even more depending on your other stocking) Try to have more females than males.

literature here (free pdf)

Thank you! Unfortunately my LFS only sells juvenile rainbows so I won't be able to easily tell the gender.

How many rainbows in total do you think I could have? I like the blue rainbows so I might just go with one big school of those, but I'm not sure how many I can have in my 240l tank.

 

[Byron]

The Lake Kubutu Rainbowfish species is Melanotaenia lacustris. The data here
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/melanotaenia-lacustris/

recommends at minimum a 4-foot (120 cm) length (110 liters) tank for a group of 6-8 but preferably more (more is always better for any shoaling fish, as hobby5 mentioned). So, you seem well suited with your tank.

If this is the only fish (aside from the pleco) the 12 hobby5 suggested should work. One of our rainbowfish experts might be able to pin this down more, but you canhave too many in what is still (to the fish) a relatively small space. The Vancouver Aquarium where I live has a tank of rainbowfish (two or three of the similarly-sized large species) numbering in the hundreds, and it is impressive; but the tank is enormous, about 10 feet width, almost that front to back, and 6-7 feet in height.

Byron.

 

[jadelyn_]

The Lake Kubutu Rainbowfish species is Melanotaenia lacustris. The data here
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/melanotaenia-lacustris/

recommends at minimum a 4-foot (120 cm) length (110 liters) tank for a group of 6-8 but preferably more (more is always better for any shoaling fish, as hobby5 mentioned). So, you seem well suited with your tank.

If this is the only fish (aside from the pleco) the 12 hobby5 suggested should work. One of our rainbowfish experts might be able to pin this down more, but you canhave too many in what is still (to the fish) a relatively small space. The Vancouver Aquarium where I live has a tank of rainbowfish (two or three of the similarly-sized large species) numbering in the hundreds, and it is impressive; but the tank is enormous, about 10 feet width, almost that front to back, and 6-7 feet in height.

Byron.

Thank you!

I'd like to get as many as I can both for the fish's welfare (to get as many for a shoal) and my own personal aesthetic pleasure, but I'm a really strict stocking person (as a pond goldfish keeper) so I don't want to overstock my tank.

A rough kind of estimate would be great!

 

[hobby5]

12 was a rough estimate (a few more females will not matter)

This was considering adult fully grown fish. If you start with juveniles it might look a little empty in the beginning.

Tbh, after reading more about this species and watching some videos on youtube. It seems important to have not too many males and your planned tank were for my taste too small.