Rainbowfish.

[van]

Hi folks. I've never kept rainbow fish before but purchased a pair of Chilatherinia sentaniensis and a pair of Melanotaenia lacustris this past weekend. They each have their own 33 gal. breeder tank but they are not very active. They eat but just kinda hang in one spot most of the time. I thought they were very active fish???Do they need company. I have several other tanks. Should I try a community tank or give them more time?

 

[freddyk]

Rainbow are schoaling fish, so the first step toward making them more active would be adding more of their own kind.

 

[Lateral Line]

I agree with Fred, they are a gregarious family, and are best suited to larger tanks with 5+ of their own kind. Mixed rainbows will also be more active. Plenty of open swimming space, but at the same time, easily accesible cover will build their confidence. They can be skittish, and will jump - so a good hood.

Be careful if you plan to breed then though. They hybridise readily. Often the females look alike. Mixing up known species with a view to seperating them later is often fine in principle.....

Hybridisation should, of course, be avoided.

 

[Toadfish]

Ok in my experience you don't have to worry about adding more than two of a kind to the tank, but they do need company either other rainbows or angels or dwarf cichlids I find are good. Also I find live plants help them in everyway (colour, activity, etc). I suggest (as a side note) to feed them some frozen food like bloodworms or MYSIS shrimp. Also just give them a chance to get comfortable it may take awhile, oh and you don't really have to worry about them breeding I've had a mix of several species (pairs of all) and they don't even seem interested, they need special setup for that (large single species shoal, planted, and right water).

 

[steelhealr]

Hi..I agree with toadfish. I have two Bosemani rainbows. I've had them for 5months and they are doing great. Excellent midtank swimmers...strong....great feeders. They really change colors from morning to night. They do need room to swim and need SOME company..my pair seem to be fine together without any signs of stress. SH

 

[van]

Thank's for the tips folks. The lacustris, I understand, likes a high PH. How would they do in a tank of young Tangankikan peacock cichlids?

 

[van]

Peacocks are from lake Malawi, of course. Silly me!

 

[Toadfish]

It's iffy, but if given enough space they should be comfortable, but I've found better tank mates to be kribensis, loaches, angels (if you have a more neutral pH), and less agressive or small african cichlids.

 

[freddyk]

The success of the rainbows with non-dwarf cichlids relies on numbers. A pair of them in a peaceful community may work out because there's no threat, but safety comes in numbers for these guys, and a safe fish is an unstressed fish.