[Jonney_Boy]

I have a 75 gal planted tank.... ph approx 6.5 and water temp at about 24C... Community tank

I have about 10 bosmani Rainbows in the tank, they where purchased as about 10-11 months ago. Unfortunally it seems that only one of the rainbow has started to colour up.

I guess my question is how long does it take for the rainbows to colour up, and is there anything we can do to help it gain it's colour?

 

[roznalos]

Aren't boesmanni better off with hardwater? That maybe the cause why they're not coloring up. I'm not too sure, don't count on my answer.

 

[Lnb]

It really depends on how large they were when you got them. They reach adult size at about +3 1/2".

Young Bosemani - pic taken 1/2006

Mature Bosemani's - pic taken 4/2008

They color up when they reach sexual maturity and they are the deepest color when the lights first come on. The males are the most colorful, of course.

 

[plaakapong]

Also depends on the bloodline of your fish. Many fishstore rainbows are hybridized with other species and may never look like you want them to.

 

[Amazon]

Yes, they like hardwater. That should get your PH up, too. Also, I've started adding Brightwell's RainbowCode, which is trace elements for rainbowfish. My rainbows aren't adults yet, but their colors have been getting much brighter since I've been dosing.

A good diet helps too. Mine get bloodworms. mysis, brine, various pellets and flakes.

I have bosmani's, irian, millenium, and dwarf.

Hope this helps!

 

[Ariel301]

If yours are not getting that colorful after so long, they may be all female. You can check their sex by looking at the dorsal and anal fins. As you can see on the one pictured above (male) the fins have pointed tips. On a female, the fins are shorter and more rounded, and the colors will generally be duller.

I don't think hard water is a necessity for them; they have done well for me in a whole range of conditions without any adjustments to my water. A good diet of high quality food will help them also; I really like Ocean Nutrition's brine shrimp flakes. They seem to bring the colors out in most fish.

 

[Jonney_Boy]

here in Bc we have very very VERY soft water... gh and kh is under 1 out of the tap.

The rainbows are ranging from 2" up to about 3.5" in size right now, the best coloured one is the second biggest one... I'll try and get a few pics up if I have time I'm kind of lost how to sex the rainbows.... anybody have a link to a good site with side by side pics?

As for the hardness in the tank, i've measured the tank the other day and kh was under 1 (yipes!!).. i've since added about 1/2 pound of crushed coral to the filter... 2 days later the kh is just under 2... I will see how that goes and if I need more coral.

 

[plaakapong]

http://members.optushome.com.au/rainbowfishes/Boesemani.htm

 

[urbguy]

wow i love this fish, i was thinking about stocking up on these, like maybe 3-4. are they aggressive?

 

[Bugman]

I have very soft water and mine are just fine. Hard water is not necessary.

 

[Ariel301]

wow i love this fish, i was thinking about stocking up on these, like maybe 3-4. are they aggressive?

Mildly aggressive. They're sort of like barbs in personality, very active, fast swimming, and can be nippy. I've never had a rainbow attack other fish to hurt or kill them like cichlids will though. It's best if you keep both males and females; the males will be more interesting if they have females to display for. Since they do get fairly big and are active swimmers, they need a bigger tank. I wouldn't recommend less than a 55 for them, but 3-4 should be good in that size or bigger, depending on what you already have.

 

[Lnb]

Mildly aggressive. They're sort of like barbs in personality, very active, fast swimming, and can be nippy. I've never had a rainbow attack other fish to hurt or kill them like cichlids will though. It's best if you keep both males and females; the males will be more interesting if they have females to display for. Since they do get fairly big and are active swimmers, they need a bigger tank. I wouldn't recommend less than a 55 for them, but 3-4 should be good in that size or bigger, depending on what you already have.

I agree. Never had one hurt my smaller fish. Mostly, they like to chase each other.

They do not need hard water. NYC water is soft and they did fine. Clean water is a must and they don't like cool water, 78F is good for them.

 

[urbguy]

Mildly aggressive. They're sort of like barbs in personality, very active, fast swimming, and can be nippy. I've never had a rainbow attack other fish to hurt or kill them like cichlids will though. It's best if you keep both males and females; the males will be more interesting if they have females to display for. Since they do get fairly big and are active swimmers, they need a bigger tank. I wouldn't recommend less than a 55 for them, but 3-4 should be good in that size or bigger, depending on what you already have.

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.

 

[plaakapong]

Will Rainbows eat neons??http://www.rainbowfish.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1945

 

[jjp2]

In their natural habitat, they eat insects, fish, etc. My Rainbow fish have eaten frye, eggs, and small fish. By small, those where 1/4 - 3/8 inch oto's. Basically anything small enough to fit into their small mouths. Anything larger, they don't bother with.

I have them in low ph 5.5 during the day and 7.0 at night, with high CO2, my gh is around 9 -13 and kh is 3-5.

 

[Ariel301]

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]

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.