Fish Identification

[cityfish36]

Hello,
 
A buddy of mine is moving to a new apartment and is giving me his 2 fish. He has no idea what kind of fish they are because he got them as a gift. If someone can please identify them it will help me out a lot.
 
Thank you. 

 

[Chad]

The colors are a bit either washed out from the light or drab from stess so it's a little hard for me to feel 100% but I think they are rainbowfish. Maybe an Australian rainbow. Similar to this...

 

[TallTree01]

They look kinda like dwarf neon rainbowfish? Not sure.

 

[cityfish36]

They look kinda like dwarf neon rainbowfish? Not sure.

thank you. I have only 2. is that okay ?

 

[TallTree01]

Ideally they should be in shoals of 6-7+ . If you decide on getting more then you won't regret it. They'll be so much more lively.

 

[Nordk]

Here's a thread with some more info:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/89827-blueneon-rainbowfish/

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Definitely a type of Rainbow fish.
 
TT's probably right on the species....

 

[iapple5678]

Definitely dwarf neon rainbows (Melanotaenia praecox). Looks like top one is a female.

 

[cityfish36]

Definitely dwarf neon rainbows (Melanotaenia praecox). Looks like top one is a female.

the male is constantly chasing the female. why ?

 

[TallTree01]

I'm guessing he wants to breed with her. The best way to combat this is with more females. The ideal would be maybe 1 male and 2-3 females.

 

[cityfish36]

I'm guessing he wants to breed with her. The best way to combat this is with more females. The ideal would be maybe 1 male and 2-3 females.

how long will the chasing go on ?

 

[TallTree01]

Til he no longer feels the need to chase her. When thatll be is anyone's guess.

 

[iapple5678]

As above best with rainbows is multiple females to one male. Usually for a proper school I prefer 2 males and 4+ females. Males will chase females, thats just their nature. its just important to have multiple females so he doesn't chase any particular one too much. I always go with 2 males usually so they have to spend some of their time displaying with eachother about WHO gets to chase the females around. Rainbows have a hierarchy in a group and are really fascinating fish with complex social order when in a proper group. Mine spawn early morning so they are always very active then and that activity calms down during the day.
 
Its also very common for rainbows to show washed out colors like in your pics when not kept in a proper group/environment. Their mood has a strong influence over their colors and they can change colors/shades pretty rapidly depending on the species.