Melanotaenia boesemani (Boeseman’s Rainbowfish)

Family: Melanotaeniidae

Distribution: Boeseman’s Rainbowfish live in the complex Ajamaru Lakes region, and surrounding feeder streams of Lake Hain and Lake Aitinjo, in the western part of Western New Guinea. Typically, its natural environment is clear, shallow, swampy waterway dense with thriving vegetation.

PH: At least 7.0 – 8.0

Temperature: 25°C -30°C (77 – 86F)

Hardness: Approx 5gDH based on natural habitat

Description: Boeseman’s Rainbowfish certainly put the rainbow into rainbowfish with their split bodied, unpatterned, vivid orange and blue-grey, and orange-red fins. Often this fish appears a lacklustre steel grey in an aquarium shop and hardly be worth buying. Patience, in combination with an attention to diet and water conditions, is needed to bring out the radiant colours in this extraordinary fish. Boeseman’s rainbow grow up to 11 cm (4.3 inches) in length. The females are usually smaller and less vivid in colours than the males.

Diet: Regular feedings of quality frozen, dried and an abundance of live food will ensure these easy feeders of a chance to show off their amazing array of colours and provide the best chance of optimal health. Feeding your fish on dry food only could cause its bright colours to disappear so provide diet variety for best results.

Breeding: Melanotaenia boesemani are easy to breed. However, due to the fact that they are egg scatterers, the fry requires more attention, and some have found them difficult to raise.

For best results, provide a separate breeding tank with temperatures in the uppermost regions of the suggested levels. As with most of the fish in this genus, it is advisable to provide a few females per male in order to avoid potential overstress caused by aggressive behaviour displayed by the males during courtship.

Plant out your breeding aquarium with java moss or spawning mops, slightly raise the temperature when the female appears plumper and the male displays more attention to her than usual – great indicators of their readiness to spawn.

Comments: Keeping Boeseman’s Rainbowfish in tanks is popular across the world. Suitable for a community aquarium or species tank, this fish thrives when the set up best mimics its natural habitat. This includes regular water changes and an abundance

of dense aquatic vegetation in a tank of at least 48″ x 12″ x 12″ (120cm x 30cm x 30cm) and 110 litres. Filtration and general tank maintenance will aid in the development of the male fish bright colours, which can take up to 12 months to mature.

Tip: Boeseman’s Rainbowfish is one of the more popular rainbowfish in the aquarium hobby. Be aware that the bulk of the fish found in pet shop tanks are mass produced in European fish farms. In the wild, this stunning active swimmer is the victim of overharvesting for pet trade, and as a result, is considered endangered and rare in its natural habitat.

This uniquely coloured fish is very peaceful albeit active and skittish. As it is a natural shoaling fish, keep it in the company of at least 6-8 others. Acceptable tankmates could include larger rainbowfish, characins, danios, barbs, and catfish such as Corydoras and the Rift Lake cichlid.