Small Rainbowfish

[CletePurcel]

I was at an aquatic store yesterday which has a lot of rainbowfish. I am thinking of getting some of the smaller species for my new tank (200 litre). They had Neon Dwarfs, McCullochs and Threadfins (they also had some Spotted Blue-eyes at £12.50 each )

Anyone have experience with any of these? E.g., compatibility, water parameters?

I would particularly like the Neons and the McCullochs if they go together.

My water is high pH and hard if that makes a difference. The tank will be fairly heavily planted. The guy at the shop said these fish are pretty tolerant to varying conditions.

Cheers.

 

[Sanj]

Hello,

I keep them all. Threadfins are probably your most sensitive, but especially in relation to other species and do best in a species tank.

Muccullochs and Neon dwarfs would be fine together. The Neons are better in thereabouts around neutral water, but captive bred specimens should be more adaptible if your water isnt in the extremes. When you say hard how hard is it? is your water the same as the LFS? If so then they should be adaptable. Also try to buy them in groups ideally 6 each, that way they feel more secure and interact within their own group more naturally.

I would be more cautious on the blue eyes, they are ok with small fish and i keep mine with juvenile praecox (neons ) and muccullochs.However they are not as hardy, they are also relatively short lived, 18 months and your fish are oldies often showing bent spines. £12.50 sounds quite steep, but then it depends on the strain. If they are Aru IIs (not to be confused with Melanotaenia Aru IIs) then yes id expect them to be around that price.

Caution on praecox as mass production has led to weak specimens, look out for any skin lesions/ulcers and stay well clear if they show any. It is best to keep an eye on the stock over some weeks before you buy them. If they continue to look healthy then chances are theyll be ok.

Make sure their diet is varied including alot of vegie food like fish foods containing spirulina for example.

 

[CletePurcel]

Hello,

I keep them all. Threadfins are probably your most sensitive, but especially in relation to other species and do best in a species tank.

Muccullochs and Neon dwarfs would be fine together. The Neons are better in thereabouts around neutral water, but captive bred specimens should be more adaptible if your water isnt in the extremes. When you say hard how hard is it? is your water the same as the LFS? If so then they should be adaptable. Also try to buy them in groups ideally 6 each, that way they feel more secure and interact within their own group more naturally.

I would be more cautious on the blue eyes, they are ok with small fish and i keep mine with juvenile praecox (neons ) and muccullochs.However they are not as hardy, they are also relatively short lived, 18 months and your fish are oldies often showing bent spines. £12.50 sounds quite steep, but then it depends on the strain. If they are Aru IIs (not to be confused with Melanotaenia Aru IIs) then yes id expect them to be around that price.

Caution on praecox as mass production has led to weak specimens, look out for any skin lesions/ulcers and stay well clear if they show any. It is best to keep an eye on the stock over some weeks before you buy them. If they continue to look healthy then chances are theyll be ok.

Make sure their diet is varied including alot of vegie food like fish foods containing spirulina for example.

Thanks for your reply.

The Blue eyes are listed as Pseudomugil gertrudae.I don't know if this makes them 12.50 a shot.

The McCullochs are 'captive bred in Europe'. It doesn't say about the neons.

I have water at 17 degrees hardness and pH of 7.8. I will probably install a CO2 system which will lower pH.

This shop is very good and I have been looking at their rainbow fish for a while. All their tanks are immaculate and they quarantine all fish for 2 weeks before sale. I think their water is similar to mine, but I would have to check that. The shop has a a few specialisms and rainbows are one of them. Practical Fishkeeping used this shop for photos for a feature on rainbows a couple of years ago. I wouldn't buy fish from anywhere else having been badly advised at other shops.

I would probably be looking at 6 McCullochs and 6 Praecox. The tank also has 6 cherry barbs, but these could be moved.

 

[Sanj]

Thanks for your reply.

The Blue eyes are listed as Pseudomugil gertrudae.I don't know if this makes them 12.50 a shot.

The McCullochs are 'captive bred in Europe'. It doesn't say about the neons.

I have water at 17 degrees hardness and pH of 7.8. I will probably install a CO2 system which will lower pH.

This shop is very good and I have been looking at their rainbow fish for a while. All their tanks are immaculate and they quarantine all fish for 2 weeks before sale. I think their water is similar to mine, but I would have to check that. The shop has a a few specialisms and rainbows are one of them. Practical Fishkeeping used this shop for photos for a feature on rainbows a couple of years ago. I wouldn't buy fish from anywhere else having been badly advised at other shops.

I would probably be looking at 6 McCullochs and 6 Praecox. The tank also has 6 cherry barbs, but these could be moved.

Oh are you talking about Sweet Knowle Aquatics then?

They are one of the better Rainbowfish suppliers in the UK. All spotted blue eyes are Psuedomugil gertrudae, but there are many natural forms that come from different locations in Australia and Indonesia/Papua New Guinea. Captive bred in europe usually means Czech fish farms. I have heard that praecox from eastern europpe are more hardy than those from SE asia, but i havent noticed much difference.

 

[CletePurcel]

Thanks for your reply.

The Blue eyes are listed as Pseudomugil gertrudae.I don't know if this makes them 12.50 a shot.

The McCullochs are 'captive bred in Europe'. It doesn't say about the neons.

I have water at 17 degrees hardness and pH of 7.8. I will probably install a CO2 system which will lower pH.

This shop is very good and I have been looking at their rainbow fish for a while. All their tanks are immaculate and they quarantine all fish for 2 weeks before sale. I think their water is similar to mine, but I would have to check that. The shop has a a few specialisms and rainbows are one of them. Practical Fishkeeping used this shop for photos for a feature on rainbows a couple of years ago. I wouldn't buy fish from anywhere else having been badly advised at other shops.

I would probably be looking at 6 McCullochs and 6 Praecox. The tank also has 6 cherry barbs, but these could be moved.

Oh are you talking about Sweet Knowle Aquatics then?

They are one of the better Rainbowfish suppliers in the UK. All spotted blue eyes are Psuedomugil gertrudae, but there are many natural forms that come from different locations in Australia and Indonesia/Papua New Guinea. Captive bred in europe usually means Czech fish farms. I have heard that praecox from eastern europpe are more hardy than those from SE asia, but i havent noticed much difference.

Yes. It's Sweet Knowle. I think there is a mistake on the price. It says 12.50 for the blue-eyes on the main page, but when you go to the details it says 2.50. Does this sound more like the correct price?

Do you think McCulloch and Neons would handle my water?

Cheers.

 

[drobbyb]

That would depend on the species. Some go for more than that, especially if their line can be traced back to their original collection location and date. It all depends on who you get them from. Farm raised fish are cheaper, but sometimes they are hybrids and they probably suffered a lot of stress in transit to your tank (farm -> distributor -> LFS -> You). Getting them from a private breeder removes almost all of the stress associated with getting fish (Breeder -> You).

Rainbows are particularly sensitive to stress and water conditions, and these stressed fish can easily get infected in the distributor or LFS tanks only to waste away and die in yours (M. praecox are famous for this).

I would buy from a private breeder.

 

[CletePurcel]

I would buy from a private breeder.

How do you find a private breeder? Sorry if this is a naive question.

 

[Sanj]

Unfortunately there are no serious breeders in the UK that I am aware off. Hence that is why I have been traveling to Europe to get mine. I do breed mine, but would not call myself a breeder on the lines of real breeders that have 50+ tanks constantly going. However once I have moved in a few months, I will be able to start my breeding programme and provide small numbers of fish occasionally.

However I would not write off all LFS, some are able to provide some very nice bows, but rarely can they tell you the strain and generation and who bred them.They are usually unable to prove they are a pure species. However that is only important really if you are going to breed yourself.

 

[Sanj]

It is always a bit risky with preacox, I would not rule them out, like Ive said beofre observe them for a while before you buy to give a greater feel for how they are doing. I should think the Muccullochs would be hardier.

 

[CletePurcel]

It is always a bit risky with preacox, I would not rule them out, like Ive said beofre observe them for a while before you buy to give a greater feel for how they are doing. I should think the Muccullochs would be hardier.

Thanks all for your advice. I will probably start with McCulloch's then if I go ahead.

Cheers.

 

[ChilliPepper]

The McCulloch's look lovely I do not think I've seen any in shops near me.

I would advise against the Praecox from most LFS as well. I have bought from several suppliers, and lost stock due to a mystery disease which cannot be treated. It's awful. And such a shame as they are beautiful little fish.

 

[drobbyb]

The McCulloch's look lovely I do not think I've seen any in shops near me.

I would advise against the Praecox from most LFS as well. I have bought from several suppliers, and lost stock due to a mystery disease which cannot be treated. It's awful. And such a shame as they are beautiful little fish.

See my post a few posts up The reason it can't be treated is because it's the handling stress that is the problem.

 

[catfishblues]

i have dwarf neons and i love them! very peaceful and hungry schooling fish.

 

[CletePurcel]

The McCulloch's look lovely I do not think I've seen any in shops near me.

I would advise against the Praecox from most LFS as well. I have bought from several suppliers, and lost stock due to a mystery disease which cannot be treated. It's awful. And such a shame as they are beautiful little fish.

See my post a few posts up The reason it can't be treated is because it's the handling stress that is the problem.

If the shop quarantines the fish for 2 weeks before putting them on sale would this stress disease have shown up by then? How long would it take before you know?

 

[CletePurcel]

The McCulloch's look lovely I do not think I've seen any in shops near me.

I would advise against the Praecox from most LFS as well. I have bought from several suppliers, and lost stock due to a mystery disease which cannot be treated. It's awful. And such a shame as they are beautiful little fish.

I'm not sure whether to go ahead with this now. As the McCulloch's are £7 each it would cost me £70 to get the 10 I was planning. If they are all probably going to die then rainbowfish don't seem like a good prospect for a beginner like myself.

I think I should wait until I have more experience.