rainbowfish stocking questions

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fishinmt

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Jan 2, 2009
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I'm new to fishkeeping and I already want to upgrade my 10 gal to a 55 gal. I'm still a ways off from having the new tank set up and cycled but I've been looking at tanks on youtube for ideas. (greggz has a great tank!) I want some larger, colorful, peaceful fish for a planted tank so I have been looking at rainbows. I also wouldn't mind a larger school of smaller fish to go with them. (rasboras?).

1 - how many rainbows can I put in a 55 gal? There will be a few other inhabitants such as my danios, oto and dwarf gourami. I also think the peacock gudgeons and american flag fish might be nice

2 - should I stick with all larger ones (Melanotaenia boesemani, Melanotaenia splendida...) or does it look nicer to get more types (celebes Telmatherina ladigesi, Melanotaenia praecox...)

3 - should I get all males for the colors, or is it better for the fish to get a mix?

4- What else should go in the tank for color, movement, and overall good enjoyment when I sit on the couch and stare at it? :)

Thanks for your help.
 
About 5 rainbows will suffice. I think you should stick with the ones that get 4 inches. Bosemani rainbows would be great. :) I have the rainbows and they are doing excellent. You should find some cardinal/rummy tetras to be your fish school 10 would work.

You should get 3 males and 2 females. That is a great mix. The males will show off to the females therefore undergoing some nice color intensity moments.

You can introduce aquatic plants, driftwood, and plant substrate.
 
Here's my thoughts from my own personal experience.

1. I have 14 Rainbows in my 70 gallon, plus a couple of Roseline Sharks and two German Blue Rams. I have lots of filtration (2 Rena XP3's), plus two power heads for water movement (Penguin 660R). My parameters are always great and the fish are always happy. Remember, Rainbows don't get too big, and they are a thin fish. They don't produce a lot of waste, and I wouldn't be afraid to put quite a few in a 55.

2. I would recommend a variety of Rainbows, as it's nice to see the various colors moving throughout the tank. Really makes for an eye catching set up. Mine are all 3" to 5" size, and are very, very active. I have no experience with some of the smaller Rainbows available, but I am sure they are very nice as well.

3. My own personal thought is to go only males. The reality is the females are not very impressively colored. Since you can only fit so many into a tank, I want as much color as I can get. My tank is all males, and believe me, they do plenty of flashing and displaying to each other.

4. If you get a nice mix of Rainbows, you will have the "color, movement, and overall good enjoyment" you want. Just remember to have some patience, because it takes some time for them to color up and mature.

I hope that is helpful. Remember, just my thoughts from own personal experience. I know others might have different opinions, but that is what has worked for me.

By the way, thanks for the nice compliment on my Youtube video. When I set my tank up I looked at lots of tanks for ideas and found the videos there to be very helpful.

Greggz
 
1. it depends on the rainbows in which you intend to put in the tank. larger ones such as bosemanis, you could have about 6. smaller ones such as threadfins, more like 12.

2. you can mix some of the species together, but i wouldnt put the largest with the smallest.

3. get a mix for the best colors.

4. give them plenty of space to move, and feed them a bunch of different foods.
 
I have a mix of rainbows in a 120 and love the activity and the color. 3-5 of each of the following and it makes for a good show of color at all times.

Boeseman's - took a while to color up, but are doing very well now
Red Rainbows - bright red coloring at all times.
Parkinson's Rainbow - just got, might become my favorite, nice orange coloring on fins.
Turquoise Rainbow - beautiful colors now. When I first got, I am glad I saw a full grown male first or I would have probably passed up.

I have a few more Rainbows and some other schooling fish as well.

I love my Rainbow tank, it is one I spend the most time watching.
 
Thanks for all the ideas!
So I'll start planning for a planted tank with about 6-8 of them and go from there. I like the roseline sharks too - but I'm not ready for that kind of pricetag yet. I have one rena xp3 for filtration. I thought I'd just use the jet option instead of the spray bar option to get some current. Greggz -do the rena heaters work well on the intake? I noticed you had them.

I only have PetSmart around here (they have turquoise, boeseman, austrailian). Is it ok to get them there or will I get MUCH better colors ordering online? (I read on one site that they dont ship well)
 
If you wanted to go with threadfins, I'm sure you could have a nice school. I found this page a couple of months ago...he has 50-70 threadfins and some Dwarf Neon rainbowfish in a 75 gallon. Its a beautiful tank!
 
I agree that 5-6 is a good number. You definetly don;t want to go lower IMO. My Bosemani have a nice heirarchy. I have 5 males and 1 female. I like the female b/c it has developed an interesting behavior in the males. The dominant male actually changes his back from blue to bright white when he trying to mate! :)

Also, just to add, the higher your water quality the better colored they are. the also is true when stressed - they fade dramatically. But wonderful fish, and certainly one of my Fav's! :D
 
The Rena heaters work well. I bought them because I wanted an uncluttered look.

With my XP3's, I have the spray bars tilted up 45* to ripple the water surface. i don't like the look of air stones, so this works well for me. I use the powerheads to create water movement. The powerheads also have sponge filters which creates additional biological filtering.

In general, my experience has been over filtration and good water movement makes for a happy tank.

As for buying your Rainbows, I would be careful and picky. I've seen Boeseman's that range anywhere from intense blue/orange to washed out grey/yellow. I was lucky to have some good LFS's in my area that breed Rainbows, so I was able to see the mature adults before buying.

Good luck with your project.
 
Starstruck - that's a nice link. I can only hope to have a tank that beautiful one day!

>>As for buying your Rainbows, I would be careful and picky.
Looks like I need to go on a road trip :)
 
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