Australian Rainbow (Melanotaenia splendida)

The Australian Rainbow Fish is just one of the few species that have the scientific name Melanotaenia splendida. These fish freshwater fish have large eyes and dark bands that runs horizontally through their bodies. They can be identified by the two dorsal fins that adorn these beauties. This type of Rainbow Fish can grow to about 6" in maximum length.

Also known as the Western Splendid Rainbow, they are often kept in schools in an aquarium and are considered to be peaceful, easy to care for and quite hardy. The follow water conditions in an aquarium of at least 50 gallons are acceptable, 72-75° F, KH 10-20, and pH 6.5-7.2. An ideal aquarium would have plenty of plants and gravel substrate on the bottom. The Australian Rainbow Fish is one of the easiest fish to breed in captivity. Once the male starts to display its bright colors the female and male can be kept together in a tank with moss substrate on the bottom and a temperature of around 75F. It only takes about a week before the fry hatch, once this happens you should remove the parents from the tank and feed the fry an omnivores diet. As they grow older you can begin to fed them live foods and flake foods.