Lake Kutubu Rainbow Fish

[Mogs26]

Hi everyone!
Just another quick question. I am ready to add my rainbow fish (lake Kutubu) which are said to grow to about 4" max. However, I read one article today which stated that they need to be in a 4ft tank at least. I have not seen this before, but don't want them to be unhappy/unhealthy.
My tank is an Aqua One AR 980-215l, dimensions: 99x47x60cm. Would this be ok or should I look for something else? My final stocking list was to be:
12 golden barbs, 6 xray tetra, 6 harlequin rasboro, 5 Lake Kutubu rainbows, and 1 bristlenose ancistrus (sp). If the blue rainbows are too big, does anyone have a suggestion of something else I could keep happily with the above list-I am a newbie, so need 'beginner' fish!
Carole x

 

[KittyKat]

I have the same tank and had giant danios in it (same size, also active fish), I ended up moving them out because the tank was too small for their level of activity. I would feel the same about 4" rainbowfish, although I am sure many people do keep them in even smaller tanks.

 

[Mogs26]

Thank you
Not really what I wanted to hear, but at least I know before I buy them!!! Now to figure out what to have instead!! Suggestions please-you know what sort of thing I want!!
Carole x

 

[KittyKat]

Why not go for one of the dwarf rainbow species? They don't have a large body, but I find them just as attractive. Or some tetras do have a large silvery body..

 

[Carlovel1]

What about Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish?

 

[Mogs26]

What about Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish?

I now have a school of dwarf neon rainbows! They are very pretty, when they come out of hiding, but as they've only been in since lunch time, they are doing a lot of hiding I got them at MA in Morden and the guy that served me was very helpful, answering plenty of questions I will let them settle for a while before topping up the numbers of all the other fish
Thanks for all the help guys!
Carole x

 

[drobbyb]

I keep those. They do need a 4 foot tank IMO. They also can reach 5 inches if kept well, but fish that size are pretty old specimens Nonetheless, if you have ever seen a mature adult rainbow male you know that they not only grow long, but also deep and thick. Adults are actually quite sizable!

I would agree with the others though, dwarf rainbows or blue eyes would be the way to go. If you are looking for the classic rainbow shape, but don't fancy the dwarf neons, you might be interested in Melanotaenia kamaka, but they might be a little harder to find.

 

[Mogs26]

I keep those. They do need a 4 foot tank IMO. They also can reach 5 inches if kept well, but fish that size are pretty old specimens Nonetheless, if you have ever seen a mature adult rainbow male you know that they not only grow long, but also deep and thick. Adults are actually quite sizable!

I would agree with the others though, dwarf rainbows or blue eyes would be the way to go. If you are looking for the classic rainbow shape, but don't fancy the dwarf neons, you might be interested in Melanotaenia kamaka, but they might be a little harder to find.

Thank you! I have a school of the dwarf neons now and they are beautiful-they looked white in the shop, but are such a pretty colour IRL! They have palled up with my golden barbs, and spend a lot of time playing the bubble game with them or swimming together, which is nice to see-I only got them yesterday, but they seem to have settled well already, and livened up my tank a bit too!
Thanks for all the advice guys-I would have made a booboo if it weren't for you!
Carole x

 

[myrtle]

Dwarf Neons are lovely but beware that like all Rainbows they are jumpers! I learnt this the hard way and now keep as much of the lid on the tank as possible during water changes when they are at their most skittish. They are sensitive to poor water quality too so keep up the water changes; they love them!

 

[Carlovel1]

What about Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish?

I now have a school of dwarf neon rainbows! They are very pretty, when they come out of hiding, but as they've only been in since lunch time, they are doing a lot of hiding I got them at MA in Morden and the guy that served me was very helpful, answering plenty of questions I will let them settle for a while before topping up the numbers of all the other fish
Thanks for all the help guys!
Carole x

I was at MA@Morden yesterday too!

 

[Mogs26]

Dwarf Neons are lovely but beware that like all Rainbows they are jumpers! I learnt this the hard way and now keep as much of the lid on the tank as possible during water changes when they are at their most skittish. They are sensitive to poor water quality too so keep up the water changes; they love them!

There was a loud knock on the lid when I was floating the bag-I figured it was them in a bid for freedom!

 

[Mogs26]

[/quote]

I was at MA@Morden yesterday too!
[/quote]
We were there about 3pm-3.30
Are you local?

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

My local MA has some "Blue Rainbowfish" which I always presumed were Lake Katubus. However, when I looked at the "Rainbowfish bible" I now wonder if they wer actually the Mountain Rainbowfish, M. monticola...
http/members.optushome.com.au/rainbowfishes/Monticola.htm

How many Neon Dawrf Rainbows did you buy? These fish are quite skittish/shy and as much as six is the minimum, a group of 10-12 would almost certainly give them more confidence.
Do you have an idea of how many females are in the group? Females have orange/yellow fins, while the males have red fins, ideally you want twice as many females as males.

Neon Dwarfs are not keen on bright lighting, so if you already have or can obtain a sizeable amount of floating plant to diffuse the light intensity, this can help them relax.

 

[Carlovel1]

I was at MA@Morden yesterday too!
[/quote]
We were there about 3pm-3.30
Are you local?
[/quote]
I was there around 12:15PM, I'm a bit of an early bird

I wouldn't consider my self local, live around 8 miles from the centre, in Herne Hill.

 

[Mogs26]

My local MA has some "Blue Rainbowfish" which I always presumed were Lake Katubus. However, when I looked at the "Rainbowfish bible" I now wonder if they wer actually the Mountain Rainbowfish, M. monticola...
http/members.optushome.com.au/rainbowfishes/Monticola.htm

How many Neon Dawrf Rainbows did you buy? These fish are quite skittish/shy and as much as six is the minimum, a group of 10-12 would almost certainly give them more confidence.
Do you have an idea of how many females are in the group? Females have orange/yellow fins, while the males have red fins, ideally you want twice as many females as males.

Neon Dwarfs are not keen on bright lighting, so if you already have or can obtain a sizeable amount of floating plant to diffuse the light intensity, this can help them relax.

I bought 8. 3 females 5 males. I have a couple of fake plants and some Java moss and will get some Javav fern too. My lights are quite bright but they don't seem too bothered-they hide under the plants sometimes, but spend a lot of time chasing each other and the males are a parlicularly lovely colour. What other floating plant would you recommend? Bearing in mind that I am useless with plants and don't want to add CO2 etc!