From Aqua Guide, the free encyclopedia
Turquoise Rainbowfish
Melanotaenia lacustris
- Temperature
- 20–25 °C
- pH
- 7 – 9
- Min. tank size
- 200 L
- Lifespan
- 5-8 years
- Diet
- omnivore
- Care level
- easy
Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. That describes the wild population — the criteria cover only wild populations inside their natural range, and captive-bred fish are not assessed. Captive-bred stock is widely available and takes nothing from the wild population.
| Scientific classification | |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name: | Melanotaenia lacustris |
| Family: | Melanotaeniidae |
| Origin: | Papua New Guinea (Lake Kutubu and its outflow) |
| Care Characteristics | |
| Care Level: | easy |
| Diet: | omnivore |
| Max Size: | 12.00 cm |
| Water Type: | freshwater |
| Temp Group: | tropical |
| Temperament: | peaceful |
| Min Group: | 6+ together |
| Varieties: | No cultivated strains — the wild fish is the appeal and adults need no improvement. Some suppliers offer selected lines for deeper blue, and colour varies considerably with age, condition, lighting and substrate. Most trade fish are commercially bred, which matters more than usual here: the species is endemic to Lake Kutubu alone and IUCN Vulnerable, so farmed stock is what keeps collection pressure off a single-lake population. Several other rainbowfish are traded alongside it and are separate species with different requirements — the Boesemani at 27–30 °C (81–86 °F), the neon dwarf at pH 6.8–7.5, the red, banded and Parkinson's rainbowfish among the larger ones. Melanotaenia species hybridise readily in aquaria, so a mixed rainbowfish tank produces crossed fry. That is a small matter if you never intend to breed, and a real one if you do — particularly for a Vulnerable species where captive lines have value. If you keep this fish, keep it as a species group. |
| Lifespan: | 5-8 years |
Quick Tips
- Bioload:Medium
- Min Tank:200 L
- Substrate:Gravel or sand; planted with open swimming space
- Plant Safe:Plant-safe
- Filtration:Moderate to high (some current; well-oxygenated)
Turquoise Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia lacustris) is a species of fish in the family Melanotaeniidae. It is native to Papua New Guinea (Lake Kutubu and its outflow). The turquoise rainbowfish is a deep-bodied, blue-green fish from a single lake, and adults are rarely seen in the shops that sell it. It is endemic to Lake Kutubu in the Southern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea — one lake, nowhere else — and the IUCN lists it as Vulnerable, threatened by overfishing and industrial development. It reaches 120 mm standard length. The buying problem is the one all rainbowfish share, and worse here: adult specimens are rarely seen in the trade, juveniles are what is sold, and full colour development takes over twelve months. A tank of grey-brown youngsters looks like a mistake for a year. It also wants hard, alkaline water — pH 7.0 to 9.0 — and will not do well in soft, acidic conditions, which is the opposite of what most people assume about a tropical fish.
Compatibility
- Temperament
- peaceful
- Keep in
- Groups of 6+
- Swims
- middle
- Fin nipper
- No
- Delicate fins
- No
Species similar to Turquoise Rainbowfish
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