Eastern rainbowfish

Care at a glance

Overview

Eastern rainbowfish are large, lively schoolers best kept in a group of six or more, where males flash color and spar harmlessly for attention. They cruise the middle of the tank and suit a roomy community with other peaceful fish that can hold their own. Since they reach around 15 centimeters and are strong swimmers, give them plenty of length. Feed generously on flake or pellet with frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia, and some greens. Plant the back and sides thickly and keep a long open channel for cruising. Aim for a tank around 190 liters or larger.

In the wild

This is the eastern form of the widespread splendida rainbowfish, living in the rivers, creeks, and lagoons of coastal Queensland in eastern Australia. It favors warm, clear water that runs neutral to slightly hard, matching a pH of about 6.5 to 8 and a temperature between 24 and 29 degrees Celsius. Recreate the habitat with a sandy substrate, driftwood, rounded stones, robust plants around the margins, and clean, moving water from strong filtration.

Good to know

Melanotaenia splendida splendida is a subspecies within the family Melanotaeniidae and reaches up to about 15 centimeters, one of the bigger rainbowfish. The species splendida is highly variable and split into several regional subspecies, of which this eastern form is one. It spawns as a continuous egg-scatterer, attaching a few eggs a day to fine plants and mops over an extended period. Rearing the small fry through their slow early weeks makes breeding hard.

Did you know

The wider splendida rainbowfish is one of the most common and widespread fish in northern and eastern Australia, yet it comes in so many local color forms that hobbyists track them by their home river. This eastern subspecies is just one slice of that variety.

Related species

• 

  Banded rainbowfish

  Melanotaenia trifasciata

  5.9 in (15 cm)50 gal (190 L)75–84°F (24–29°C)

• 

  Duboulayi's rainbowfish

  Melanotaenia duboulayi

  4.7 in (12 cm)30 gal (115 L)64–82°F (18–28°C)

• 

  New Guinea rainbowfish

  Melanotaenia affinis

  4.7 in (12 cm)30 gal (115 L)68–86°F (20–30°C)

• 

  Western rainbowfish

  Melanotaenia australis

  4.7 in (12 cm)30 gal (115 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)

• 

  Australian rainbowfish

  Melanotaenia fluviatilis

  4.3 in (11 cm)30 gal (115 L)68–77°F (20–25°C)

• 

  Boeseman's rainbowfish

  Melanotaenia boesemani

  4.3 in (11 cm)30 gal (115 L)81–86°F (27–30°C)