Bosmani Rainbows

[Ariel301]

Originally Posted by urbguy

i have a pretty established planted tank with about 16 neons, after doing some research about them, i feel like they might be cramped. i have a 55 gal.

You could fit one or two in a 55.

[PHalas]

Put some moss in your tank they will gravitate there & "compete/display" with other males & thats when they tend to show their best colors. But as mentioned in previous threads diet eg: Brine shrimp & Bloodworms will bring the best out in them.
Also mentioned the quality of the breeding stock your fish came from, when I buy Rainbows from LFS I try to pick the ones that color up the most, I know this is difficult to establish during the short time you are there to make a purchase. Do not be discouraged, I have had juevenile boesmani's in a tank and they lacked color initially & then gradually became very brightly colored with time.
As far as how many in a tank I had several in a 55 gal before and if they are approx the same size it's usually ok but, if you have a larger male with smaller males he will get aggressive & territorial and keep running the others to the outer areas of the tank when they come near where he has setup... usually in the center of the tank.

[steve_dowg2001]

nice rainbow pictures =)

[Bugman]

Originally Posted by Ariel301

You could fit one or two in a 55.

All rainbows are a social fish. One or two is not acceptable. A 55 is large enough to keep 6 to 8. I keep them in one of my 55's.

[daverockssocks]

Hard water isn't needed, mine are breeding in semi-soft water.

[zavikan]

my 38 gal holds 5 of them. Doesnt seem cramped at all. They are extremely active happy fishies. Can't WAIT to get a bigger tank and get more!

I have a red tail shark in there with them that wanted to wait for food to come to him at the bottom, but the rainbows are such insane piggy eaters that they would ravage what I put in. For a while he was pretty spooked at feeding time b/c the rainbows were just flashing about everywhere. He has gotten over that, and zips around like the rainbows now. He has learned to simply go up and grab a bite and bring it down with him. I'd add an algae wafer or something, but he seems perfectly content to fend for himself. Pretty smart.

[rasetsu]

I have 6 in my 75 gallon tank. Three are adults and three are juvies. Their growth rate, size, and color intensity does depend on their geneology.

They are semi aggressive....more boisterous than anything. They pretty much just chase each other around a little and display their colors. Only one time did the largest male attack a fish and that was a runt slow swimming harlequinn rasbora. I think he mistook the coloration and thought it was a blood worm. The do readily eat cherry shrimp when full grown, but to do not bother amano shrimp.