Price's rainbowfish

Chilatherina pricei

Also known as Price rainbowfish

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–84°F (24–29°C)
pH: 6.8–8.0
Adult size: 4 in (10.2 cm)
Minimum tank: 42 gal (160 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Northern Papua, Indonesia
Family: Melanotaeniidae

Overview

Keep this slender rainbowfish in a school of six or more with room to sprint, since the males chase and display in fast arcs when the tank lights come up. It is peaceful and mixes well with other active, similarly sized community fish. Feeding is easy: it takes flake, granules, and frozen foods such as bloodworm, daphnia, and brine shrimp without fuss. A group wants a tank of at least 160 liters, favoring length for swimming room.

In the wild

Price's rainbowfish comes from Yapen Island in Cenderawasih Bay, off the north coast of Papua, where it lives in flowing streams over beds of boulders and rock rather than the weedy water most rainbowfishes prefer. Keep it at 24 to 29 degrees Celsius in neutral to alkaline water at a pH of 6.8 to 8.0, with steady current, smooth rocks, and open swimming space.

Good to know

Chilatherina pricei, family Melanotaeniidae, was described by Allen and Renyaan in 1996 and reaches about 10 centimeters. It is a slender fish with a dusky band along the flank and fins that flush yellow-orange in displaying males. The name honors David Price, who collected the first specimens. Breeding is of medium difficulty, the fish scattering adhesive eggs onto plants or mops.

Did you know

Unlike most rainbowfishes, which favor weedy, still water, this species lives over rocky, boulder-strewn river beds on Yapen Island, and it is named for David Price, who collected the first specimens.

Tank mates

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