Lake Tebera Rainbowfish
Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodi
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 9 cm
- Minimum tank
- 81 litres
- Temperature
- 20–26 °C
Species profile
Lake Kutubu Rainbowfish
Melanotaenia lacustris
Common names: Lake Kutubu Rainbowfish, Turquoise Rainbowfish, Blue Rainbowfish
Recognized speciesRainbowfish
Adult size
Up to 12 cm
Typical adult length 10–12 cm.
Up to 12 cm
Countries of origin
Good fit for your tank?
Good fit for
- A long aquarium with cooler, hard water
- A keeper with alkaline tap water
- A shoal of active, medium-sized fish
Think carefully if
- You keep warm tropical fish
- Your water is soft and acidic
- Your aquarium is short
A bright turquoise rainbowfish from a single lake in Papua New Guinea. It prefers cooler, hard, alkaline water and needs a long aquarium.
Appearance and Identification
A deep-bodied, bright turquoise to blue fish. Colour shifts with light and mood, and young fish are silvery and plain.
The turquoise colour is distinctive, but it takes time to develop. Check the seller's information, because many rainbowfish look similar when young.
Mature males are larger, more brightly coloured, and develop deeper bodies than females.
Tank Requirements
- Suggested filter
- About 440–550 litres an hour
- Suggested heater
- About 100–175 W for this tank
- Minimum tank volume
- 110 litres
- Minimum tank length
- 120 cm
- Minimum group size
- 6
- Recommended group size
- 8
- Activity level
- Very active
- Flow preference
- Moderate
- Planting preference
- Moderately planted
- Lid recommended
- Yes
- Jumping risk
- Moderate
Provide long swimming lanes, good oxygenation, and planted edges. A lid helps, because this fish may jump when startled.
Behaviour and Tankmates
Active and social, with males displaying to each other and to females.
Keep at least 6 to 8, and preferably more, with females included.
Not strongly territorial, although males display and may chase each other.
Good with robust fish that like the same cooler, hard water. Avoid very small fish, shrimp, and slow, long-finned fish.
Water Parameters
Hard, alkaline water suits this fish. Keep it cooler than most tropical community tanks, and keep oxygen levels high.
Parameter caveat
Long periods in warm water are not ideal. Acclimate slowly.
Feeding
- Diet types
- Insectivore, Omnivore
- Feeding frequency
- Once or twice daily
- Preferred foods
- Quality flake or small granulesUse as the staple, and feed small amounts because these fish rarely chase food to the bottom.
- Frozen or live daphnia, brine shrimp, and bloodwormOffer a few times a week for colour and condition.
- Spirulina or vegetable flakeAdds plant matter that a meat-heavy diet lacks.
An omnivore that takes small foods mainly from the upper and middle water.
A varied diet helps bring out the turquoise colour.
Breeding
- Breeding type
- Egg Scatterer
- Breeding difficulty
- Moderate
- Brood or egg count
- A small number of eggs each day over several days
- Incubation
- 9 days
- Parental care
- None
- Baby foods
- Infusoria or parameciumNeeded for the first days after fry become free-swimming, because the fry are very small.
- Fine powdered fry foodUse sparingly as a supplement, and siphon out anything left uneaten.
- Newly hatched brine shrimpIntroduce once the fry are large enough to swallow it, usually after several days.
- MicrowormsA useful next step for fry that are still too small for brine shrimp.
An egg scatterer that attaches adhesive eggs to plants or spawning mops. Eggs hatch in 7 to 12 days. Fry need infusoria first, then brine shrimp.
Habitat and Origin
- Geographic origin
- Oceania, Papua New Guinea
- Natural habitat
- Clearwater, Freshwater River, Lake
- Aquarium contexts
- Breeding Aquarium, Large Aquarium, Temperate Aquarium
- Audience level
- Intermediate
Classification
- Profile type
- Recognized species
- Genus
- Melanotaenia
- Family
- Melanotaeniidae
- Species group
- Fish, Rainbowfish
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Glossolepis wanamensis
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 10 cm
- Minimum tank
- 81 litres
- Temperature
- 25–30 °C
Madagascar Rainbowfish
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- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 10 cm
- Minimum tank
- 108 litres
- Temperature
- 23–32 °C
Murray River Rainbowfish
Melanotaenia fluviatilis
- Care level
- Beginner
- Adult size
- 10 cm
- Minimum tank
- 81 litres
- Temperature
- 20–25 °C