Orange Blue Rainbowfish - Melanotaenia boesemani - DNZ

The Orange Blue Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia biesemani, from the Vogelkop Peninsula on New Guinea is also known as the Harlequin Rainbowfish, Coral Rainbowfish and Magnificent Rainbowfish. Well-known and equally popular in the aquarium hobby for quite some time, the Rainbowfish is a member of the spikefish family and was first described in 1980. These colorful comrades are easy to keep in the aquarium and can also be socialized and bred.

You will receive our Orange Blue Rainbowfish as German offspring.

Especially the males show the name-giving great orange-blue color. On their ellipse-shaped body they are silver-grey to green-bluish colored in the front half of the body and from the bipartite dorsal fin on the back half of the body up to over the fins orange. The fin seams may be white. With their larger stature and a final size of about 12 cm they become somewhat larger than the females. These do not develop such intense colors and form a rather greenish-blue cast on the otherwise mouse-gray body. Occasionally orange hues shine through on the rear part, also their fin tips are rather rounded. Therefore, the sexes can be easily distinguished color-wise.

Breeding is possible in the aquarium. The animals spawn mainly in a spawning substrate of java moss, but this can also be done with a spawning mop. The males become especially colorful at spawning time, with larger live food and water changes you can bring the animals especially well in the mood. Standing side by side the fish spawn in the spawning substrate with trembling movements. Their rather large eggs pull themselves to the substrate by means of adhesive threads. Breeding is most promising when the eggs are hatched manually in a rearing aquarium and the young fish are raised. The young hatch already after one to three weeks and can be fed with infusoria or slipperfish, after a while also with freshly hatched Artemia nauplii. Although their growth is quite slow and the fish are not fully grown until they are almost 18 months old, they reward it with their incredible colorfulness.

Melanotaenia boesemani can already be kept in aquariums with an edge length of 100 cm. Gravel or sand is suitable as substrate. A dense planting in different heights promotes their well-being, because in a fine jungle they do not only retreat gladly, partly they spawn in it, so they know it also from their habitat. A few roots complete the whole picture and also serve as a good structure. Nevertheless, sufficient swimming space should be ensured, because the rainbowfish like to swim a few laps. In water values with a total hardness between 8-25 °dGH, a pH value of 7-8.2 and at a temperature of 24-27 °C they can be well maintained. Partially shady corners are very convenient for them. This can be achieved with floating plants. Rainbowfish will even eat duckweed from the water surface.

Orange Blue Rainbowfish are peaceful and can be socialized well with other fish. Also, these group fish derive their strength from group size, so they should be maintained with at least 6 of the same species to prevent them from caring Cory catfish, but also Loricariids, Tetras and Danios, as well as larger invertebrates such as the popular Amano shrimp can be well socialized with them.

In their habitat, the orange-blue rainbowfish feed, among other things, on approaching insects, tiny crustaceans and on growth. In the aquarium they can therefore be fed optimally with a conventional dry food, as well as flake food or granulated food for omnivorous ornamental fish. Regular frozen and live foods such as artemia, mosquito larvae, cyclops, enchytrae and adere, round out their diet well.

Our food recommendation: NatureHolic professional main feed is a professional main feed for all aquarium fish. We supply Hauptfeed in the form of soft granules, which, thanks to its grain size of half a millimeter, can be easily absorbed by small to medium-sized fish. The soft consistency resembles the texture of insect larvae in nature and protects the fish mouth from micro-injuries.

Our plant recommendation: Use for the planting NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planarians and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free of algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend for fish keeping the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and keeping.