Charlutz
Members
I’m interested and have never kept them before. I’m interested if you’re selling but also if you have advice on keeping them. Thanks!
Anyone breeding or keeping rainbowfish?
- Thread starter Charlutz
- Start date
Rainbowfan
CCA Members
Had some that accidently breed in community tanks...... go figure. A few questions for you. What size tanks are you looking to set up ? I used to keep Discus for decades. Got into rainbows thinking they would be easy after years and years of Discus . In my exuberance I bought any and all I could get my hands on. BIG mistake. Over stock ..... water changes everyday. Lesson learned. Rainbows are very slow growing and take a long time to grow , mature , and color up. Smaller varieties such as Praecox can hold up to maybe 6 or 7 in a 20 gallon tank. Larger varieties Bosemani , Madagascar , Turquoise , Goyder River , Australian etc would at least need a 55 gallon tank to once again hold 6 or 7 grown adults. Using the good ole inch per gallon theory , you could hold maybe as many as 10 adults in a 55 gallon but, you would definately need to do partial water changes every week. As far as places to find some nice rainbows you can check out Tropical Lagoon in Silver Spring They usually have a pretty good selection (currently they have some really nice Praecox and Bosemani ) Also House of Tropicals in Glen Burnie usually has a pretty good variety of rainbows. If you wanna do a road trip with the family , there is always THATFISHPLACETHATPETPLACE in Lancaster County Pa But BRING your CC and be prepared to miss a mortgage payment ..... that place is dangerous. LOL One last thought .... even PETSMART carry some nice rainbows from time to time ..... only problem is a lot of them are from Asia where they have been raised on tubifex worms hence diseases and parasites. I go to Steve at Tropical Lagoon and buy 1 or 2 portions of live blackworms. Using 2 small tupperware containers , I put in one the amount for a daily feeding. To it I add one half scoop of KANAPLEX and one half scoop of METROPLEX . Let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours to let the worms soak up the meds before feeding the fish. Do this for sevseral days ..... you will then see the fish excreet white stringy poop which means they are releasing the parasites etc. Then you should be good to go. Hope this helps. If you have any further questions , give me a shout. Respectfully Brian
Charlutz
Members
Thanks Rainbowfan. Got your pm and I’ll respond here. I’ve got a variety of tanks that are all empty that I’ve been cleaning out after years of no water. I’ll probably go back to keeping tangs at some point but thought I might set up a community tank as I got back into the hobby. I’d probably put the rainbows in a 40br or a 75. I’ve got a 125 and a 210, but I’ll probably wait a bit before figuring out how I want to stock the big tanks. I’ve also got a couple of 20’s, a 15 and three 10’s if I need isolation or grow out tanks.
I work near arundel mills, so about a 15-20 ride from HOT. Stopped in there a couple weeks ago to reacquaint myself with stock and prices. Tropical Lagoon also is relatively close. Great advice on the meds and treatment. That’s not anything I would’ve known.
I’d probably start with a group of less expensive ones, maybe $20/fish max.
My googling tells me they do well in planted tanks, which I’ve never been successful in maintaining. Do they need special aquascaping for health or is it just for a more natural setting? I have a ton of rock including some tall vertical pieces if they might adapt to those.
I work near arundel mills, so about a 15-20 ride from HOT. Stopped in there a couple weeks ago to reacquaint myself with stock and prices. Tropical Lagoon also is relatively close. Great advice on the meds and treatment. That’s not anything I would’ve known.
I’d probably start with a group of less expensive ones, maybe $20/fish max.
My googling tells me they do well in planted tanks, which I’ve never been successful in maintaining. Do they need special aquascaping for health or is it just for a more natural setting? I have a ton of rock including some tall vertical pieces if they might adapt to those.
Rainbowfan
CCA Members
Plants are a necessity I think. They absorb nitrates .etc. and give back oxygen to the tank. Low light plants such as Vals and Crypts would do really well. A few root tabs now and then and some liquid ferts once in awhile and you should do fine. As for your rocks ....... I would get some guppy grass and tie it onto the rocks with some sewing thread. As a side note almost all plants go through a melting process when purchased and placed into a new tank and with a different ph etc This is normal One more thought Tractor supply co carries Black Diamond Blasting media It runs about 15 or 16 dollars for a 50lb bag. The medium grade works great in an aquarium at a fraction of the cost of buying gravel from a pet store . Just have to rinse really really well before placing it in your tank At $ 20 a fish you'll have a huge variety to choose from! Your 75 gallon would be awesome if you are so inclined. If you have the time and ambition to set up your 75 I think you would be blown away at the results of your labor. Go for it you won't be dissappointed You'll see. Regards Brian
Charlutz
Members
I’ve always struggled with plants but am willing to give them a try again. I was in the habit of weekly water changes to manage the nitrates in my cichlid tanks.
How about diet? Do rainbows do well on pellets and flakes? I believe live foods encourage spawning, but what is a good staple diet? I’ve googled a bit and will continue to research but your first hand experience is great. Thanks again for the help.
How about diet? Do rainbows do well on pellets and flakes? I believe live foods encourage spawning, but what is a good staple diet? I’ve googled a bit and will continue to research but your first hand experience is great. Thanks again for the help.
FishEggs
Well-Known Member
Here's a great resource for help with plants in an aquarium.
Rainbowfan
CCA Members
Rainbows are not picky .....eat like hogs at a trough !!! I feed mine flakes , bug bites frozen brine shrimp frozen blood worms . The brine and blood I'll feed once or twice a week. Here's something for ya...........like to feed some shrimp pellets to my cories but more than half the time , the larger rainbows snatch them up before they hit the substrate below. Ticks me off ! Shout out to FishEggs for the info for GWAPA Brian
Charlutz
Members
Good to know about the feeding. They’ve settled in overnight.
How do y’all balance them in planted tanks? They look like jumpers. Do you use glass tops and deal with the compromised light? Or no tops, lower the water level and just accept that you’ll have some jumper losses?
How do y’all balance them in planted tanks? They look like jumpers. Do you use glass tops and deal with the compromised light? Or no tops, lower the water level and just accept that you’ll have some jumper losses?
Rainbowfan
CCA Members
Glass tops Have lost a couple of prized fish over the years.....always heartbreaking Measure the inside aquarium frame and mbiddle brace support. You can then go to any hardware store and have them cut some glass Buy some cheap handles Use some old airline tubing cut down the middle length wise to use on cut glass edges As long as the glass is clear... the lighting will be fine Let me know what kind rainbows you got Also congrats Brian
Charlutz
Members
I’m going to try with the glass tops first and see how the plants do. Fish are the priority. I wound up getting 10 Celebes rainbows, about 1.5 - 1.75”. Put them in a 40br with 6 cherry barbs about 1” and a male betta for some color. Haven’t spent much time watching them, but they formed schools that changed from rainbows only and barbs only, to a mixed barb and rainbow school. That was pretty neat to see in the first hour or two. I had a school of two dozen tanganyikan cyps back in the day, but it’s been a while and fun to watch.
If I decide to add bigger rainbows like the boesmani or reds, I know I need to move them to the 75g, but can they be mixed with the Celebes or do they need a separate species tank? That won’t happen for a while in any case. Thanks!
If I decide to add bigger rainbows like the boesmani or reds, I know I need to move them to the 75g, but can they be mixed with the Celebes or do they need a separate species tank? That won’t happen for a while in any case. Thanks!
FishEggs
Well-Known Member
i just go open top but have floating plants to let them know where the top of the water is.
Rainbowfan
CCA Members
I would only add one pair of bosemani At the stock rate of your tank you are already reaching a max load of inch of fish per gallon
Charlutz
Members
Thanks, I’ll check back on stocking levels before I add some of the larger ones. I’d prefer to move them to the 75g but I could always go to the 125g, though I’d prefer to hold that for when I get back into tanganyikan featherfins.
Probably not my last question, but do the larger rainbows crossbreed? I’d guess yes, given the similarity of body type, especially the females. I’ve seen tanks with reds and boesmani together and they are strikingly beautiful but may have been all male tanks or tanks where the young weren’t kept. Thanks again for info and help.
Probably not my last question, but do the larger rainbows crossbreed? I’d guess yes, given the similarity of body type, especially the females. I’ve seen tanks with reds and boesmani together and they are strikingly beautiful but may have been all male tanks or tanks where the young weren’t kept. Thanks again for info and help.
Rainbowfan
CCA Members
Yes They can and will crossbreed. Right now I have a 55 gallon set up with aussies and yellow rainbows In the process of setting up a 20 gallon to breed because I finally realized the dominate yellow was spawning and the dominate aussie was eating the eggs and trying to court the yellow female... I owe you an apology ..... Didn't want to rain on your parade but, Celebes can be some of the most difficult of rainbows to keep. They need very clean water wtich means regular water changes. I've kept them in the past successfully but , heres the rub . They are extremely sensitive to changes in water conditions. Meaning I found that doing smaller water changes more frequently during the week instead of that 10 or 20% water change on the weekend reduced the stress on them They're a lot like butterfly rams in that respect. My other rainbows when I change the water , the temp. ph etc. can be off by a few degrees and no big deal. Not so with the celebes. Just keep that in mind. Also keep an eye the the cherry barbs as a general rule they are the least aggressive of barbs unlike tiger barbs etc. As long as you have some plants,rock s and maybe some driftwood you'll probably be okay as the fish will be able to mark out and claim their different territories
