All fish / Melanotaeniidae

Boeseman's rainbowfish

Melanotaenia boesemani

Also known as boesemani rainbowfish, boesemani rainbow, boeseman rainbowfish, bosemani rainbowfish, boesman's rainbowfish, bosemans rainbow, two-tone rainbowfish, เรนโบว์โบซีมานี, ボエセマニー・レインボー, ikan pelangi boesemani, ikan pelangi ajamaru, 石美人

A deep-bodied rainbowfish whose adult males are steel blue at the front and bright orange to yellow at the rear, with the colours split by dark vertical bars. It is kept for this striking two-tone colouring, its active schooling behaviour and its hardiness in a planted community tank.

Care at a glance

Care level

Easy

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

9 cm

Temperature

26 to 30 °C

pH

7 to 8

Smallest tank

200 litres

Keep as

Shoal of 6 or more, ideally with more females than males

Diet

Omnivore: quality flakes and small pellets, frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp and daphnia, plus some vegetable matter

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

5 to 8 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

Ajamaru Lakes and Aitinjo Lake, Vogelkop Peninsula, West Papua, Indonesia

Breeding

An egg scatterer that lays adhesive eggs among fine-leaved plants or spawning mops over several days. It breeds readily in captivity, and the fry hatch in about a week and need infusoria or very fine foods at first.

Good to know

Wild populations are threatened by habitat loss and collecting, and Indonesia has restricted export of wild fish, so buy captive-bred stock. It hybridises with other Melanotaenia species, and many cheap farmed fish show poor colour.