Click here to see several pictures of this fish.

Comments: This is a Premium Pet Fish, and we never see Premium Rainbowfish like these in any of the live fish stores or in the online fish stores that we visit.

These fish are very colorless when young, but become very colorful, and are very good schooling fish.

Premium Pet Fish are more energetic, hardier, and have brighter colors with a beautiful metallic sheen.

Click here to learn more about Premium Pet Fish.

Origin: found only in Lake Kurumoi, in West Papua, Indonesia.

Maximum Size: In aquariums these Rainbowfish can grow to be about 3" long, including their tails, rarely growing to 4" long. Females are usually smaller and plumper when mature.

Behaviors: Most Rainbowfish are active swimmers and are rarely aggressive. But they stay close together and quarrel constantly without doing any harm to each other.

Compatibility: should probably be kept in group by themselves with a few small catfish.

Click here to read more about compatible groups of pet fish.

Temperature: Rainbowfish can live pretty well from about 70 to 78 degrees F., but they're probably most comfortable at about 75 degrees F.

Click here to learn about aquarium temperature, aquarium thermometers, and aquarium heaters.

Feeding: Premium Fish Food Flakes when small and Premium Pellet Food when larger.

Click here to learn more about and shop online for premium fish foods.

Water Conditions: Rainbowfish seem to be tolerant of a wide range of water conditions.

Probably a pH from 6 to 7 with low to moderate hardness is recommended.

Most water in the US has a higher pH and is harder but seems to be OK, so it's probably best NOT to adjust the pH or the hardness of the water.

Here in our facilities the water is hard and the pH is usually about 7.8. We ship them in this water.

Click here for a lot more information about aquarium water conditions.

Aquarium Size: It's probably best to house this fish in at least a 10-gallon tank, but bigger is better. Keep at most one

Rainbowfish per 2-gallons.

Decor: Rainbowfish do not need gravel, and a layer of gravel more than 1/4" thick will usually fill with bits of uneaten food that will contaminate the water.

Click here for more about aquarium gravel. Live Plants are beautiful and improve the water quality.

Click here to learn more about aquarium filters.

The addition of Lava Rocks will keep nitrates in the ideal range.

Click here to learn more about using Lava Rocks in aquariums.

Life Span: Rainbowfish can live for several years with good water and good food.

Gender: at a young age and small size the males begin to grow larger and more colorful.

So it's easy to tell males from females, even when they are young. Males will become bigger and much more colorful.

Females are plumper and have less color.

Breeding: Female Rainbowfish lay a few eggs each day on plants or special breeding mops made of nylon yarn.

Popularity: Rainbowfish are an old time favorite, but this species was recently discover, and it has not had time to become really popular.

If you patiently raise them up, you'll be amazed by their colors.

Names: The scientific name of these Parva Rainbowfish is Melanotaenia parva.

Variations: There are two variations of this fish in Lake Kurumoi. The males being either bluish with a black horizontal stripe or silver with red speckling and narrow red/orange lines between each scale row on the side of the body.

Click here to learn more this species.

We hope you've enjoyed reading these comments.