Red-Striped Rainbow

[Jess]

Hi,

Ive got a fish in my 10 gal tank which i was told, when i bought it, was a red-striped rainbow! Ive looked on the internet and cant find much information about it!! Can anyone tell me what it is for sure?!

I tried to attach the picture but it wont do it again... annoying now! So if you can just click on the link it should take you straight to the picture!!!


Thank You!

Jess

P.S He's the one in the middle being harrassed by the guppy! lol

http/groups.msn.com/JesssPage/fishpix.ms...hoto&PhotoID=19

 

[Jess]

Anyone....? lol

I assume he's ok to go with my other fish, whatever he is... the guy at the shop said so Though my guppy is obsessed with him....

 

[Lateral Line]

I suspect the reason nobody is offering a name is because they are unsure. There are a number of factors, but probably the biggest is that it is obviously a small and therefore young fish. Many rainbows look alike when that size.

Another problem is that the colouration of rainbows tends to vary a good deal.

If I was really pushed to make a guess, given the picture, and a probably meaningless common name, I'd say Melanotaenia affinis, but with probably only 10% confidence. There are about 20 Melanotaenia species it could be.

The Rainbows as a group are pretty inoffensive, they make quite good community fish, but many grow to a reasonable size 3"/75mm+, they like larger tanks, with a lot of swimming space.

 

[Jess]

Oh, ok thank you! Ive had him about a month so yeah, he probably is young. He doesn't seem aggressive or anything so i guess its ok to keep him in my tank then?

I should (hopefully) be setting up my 120gal tank sometime in the near future. Im still not sure what im going to put in it other than my red tailed black shark, do you think he'd be happier in there than staying in the ten gal?! Can fish have TOO much space?!?!

anyway, thanks for the reply!

Jess

 

[digital_run]

no such thing as TOO much space

 

[Jess]

Ive just looked on a few websites and it a few of them said that rainbows should only be kept in at least 3's!! So maybe i should buy some more and put them in my 120gal!?

I was almost thinking of making it a pirahna tank! Guess thats out of the question if that little guys gotta go in there! lol

Jess

 

[Lateral Line]

Rainbows are always better off in groups, yes. I think the 120 will be a better home for him. Black Widows are also schooling fish and should really be in a group of 5 or more.

From your sig, what is a "Ragdoll cat"?

 

[Jess]

Its a semi-longhaired cat that looks like a siamese but goes limp when you pick it up. If you look on that site with the rainbow picture - click on the left hand side "pictures" and theres a picture of my ragdoll Holly and her daughter Lucy! i have some more but they're avoiding the camera...lol

They're gorgeous!