Ogilby's rainbowfish

Melanotaenia ogilbyi

Also known as Ogilby rainbowfish

FreshwaterFish

Ogilby's rainbowfish (Melanotaenia ogilbyi) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–84°F (24–29°C)
pH: 6.5–7.8
Adult size: 3.1 in (8 cm)
Minimum tank: 29 gal (110 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Lorentz River region, southern Papua, Indonesia
Family: Melanotaeniidae

Overview

A modest-sized, peaceful rainbowfish best kept in a school of six or more, where a settled group swims steadily through the midwater and the males take on a bronze glow. It is gentle and suits a calm community of similar-sized fish, though it is only occasionally available. Feed a varied diet of flake and small granules with frozen and live daphnia, brine shrimp, and bloodworm. A group is comfortable in around 110 liters with plants and open water to swim.

In the wild

Ogilby's rainbowfish comes from the lowland Lorentz River in southern Papua, where it has been found in swampy, slow-moving water. Keep it at 24 to 29 degrees Celsius in soft to moderately hard water around neutral, a pH of 6.5 to 7.8. A planted tank with gentle flow, some leaf litter or wood, and quiet open water reflects its sluggish backwater home.

Good to know

Melanotaenia ogilbyi, family Melanotaeniidae, was described by Weber in 1910 from specimens taken on the Lorentz River, and it reaches about 8 centimeters. It is a poorly known species, and breeding follows the usual rainbowfish pattern of medium difficulty, with adhesive eggs scattered onto plants or mops and small fry to raise.

Did you know

For most of a century this fish was known to science from just seven specimens collected in 1907. It went unrecorded until 1995, when new collections finally brought it back into view and into the aquarium hobby.

Tank mates

Ogilby's rainbowfish is a peaceful, schooling species that keeps to the middle. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.