Boeseman’s Rainbowfish Stats
Minimum Tank Size: 29 Gallons (110 Litres)
Care Level: Moderately hard
Water Conditions: 7.0-8.0ph (Moderately Hard to Very Hard)
Temperature: 80-86°F (26-30°C)
Maximum Size: 4 inches (10cm)
The Boeseman’s Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia boesemani), also known as Boesemani Rainbowfish, is a small tropical fish known for its stunning coloration. It has a very limited range in Indonesia, and is only found in three lakes and their surrounding tributaries. It is believed that the aquarium trade has contributed to the decline of these fish in the wild, and they are currently listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List.
In the wild they primarily inhabit the shallow waters of lakes with dense vegetation. They can also be found in the streams and rivers that feed into the lakes, and the vast differences in water chemistry helps to contribute to this species ability to thrive in many different water types in the home aquarium.
Boesemani rainbowfish stay relatively small in the home aquarium, and a well cared male will usually top out at around 4 inches (10 cm) in length. Females are somewhat smaller, and will grow to just slightly over 3 inches (8 cm) in length. Most will only live between five to eight years in the home aquarium, though there are reports of some living as long as 12 years.
Housing
Boeseman’s rainbowfish are an active and peaceful fish, and should be kept in an aquarium where they are provided with enough room to swim. The minimum size aquarium for them is 29 gallons (110 litres) and they only truly come into their own when kept in spacious aquariums with large numbers of other rainbows.
They tend to be very shy when kept on their own, and need to be kept in groups of at least six, though eight is really a better number to aim for. You will also notice an improvement in the male’s colors when kept in larger groups – which in of itself is an excellent reason to establish a large shoal of these fish.
It is also highly recommended that any tank containing Boesmani rainbowfish should be heavily planted with an open area for swimming. A heavily planted tank not only brings out their impressive colors even more, but will closely mimic their natural habitat which may reduce their levels of stress.
Boesemani rainbows are not an overly messy fish, but will benefit from the pristine water that a high quality filter provides. It is usually good practice to slightly over filter their aquariums, and a HOB (hang on back) filter usually makes the best choice for a Boesemani rainbowfish tank.
I would strongly recommend choosing an Aquaclear Power Filter
Feeding
Boeseman’s rainbowfish are omnivores in the wild and are known to eat algae, small crustaceans and aquatic insects. This diet should be recreated as closely as possible in the home aquarium, and this can be done though feeding them a high quality flake food, along with frozen foods and live foods. I personally recommend Hikari Micro Wafers, which is one of the best foods on the market.
Since most people purchase this fish for its legendary colors, you may want to consider feeding them a regular diet of frozen or live foods. This has been shown to improve the colors of the males, and also results in happier, healthier fish.
When choosing live or frozen foods, there are numerous choices that will be hungrily accepted by Boesemani rainbows. Some of the best lives foods are daphnia, mosquito larvae (illegal to culture in many areas), blackworms, bloodworms and brine shrimp. Their tastes in frozen foods are similar, and they can be feed frozen bloodworms, blackworms, dapnia and brine shrimp.
Breeding
Breeding Boesemani rainbows is relatively easy, especially given the fact they tend to not eat their fry. Like many other egg scatterers, the males and females should be moved into separate tanks while they are conditioned prior to breeding.
The males should be easy to identify, and will normally exhibit much brighter coloration than the females, and will also be much larger. The females will be smaller, with a more dull coloration and will generally have a narrower body – though they will plump up with eggs.
Once the males and females have been removed to separate tanks, they should be fed a steady diet of live and frozen foods for at least a week. At this point, choose the best fish from each tank, and place them in a fully cycled breeding tank. The water in the tank should be hard water with a pH of at least 7. It should also be heavily planted with densely growing plants, like Water Sprite or Java Moss.
The male and female will spend the next few days spawning frantically, and this occur on and off for several days. Once the eggs have been deposited in the aquarium, it’s usually best to remove the parents, since it tends to be easier to raise fry on their own. Plus, while the parents generally ignore the fry, they will sometimes choose to eat them.
The fry will hatch in a bit over one week (usually 7-10 days), and they need to feed infusoria when they are freshly hatched. They can then be moved to live foods like baby brine shrimp, or any commercial foods that won’t immediately sink.
How may I procure American Flag Fish & boesemans rainbowfish? I have pet co. & pet Smart but have never seen these species in 50years of Tropical Fish care. Thank you!
Boeseman’s are usually pretty easy to find. Often if you express interest in the fish, local petstores are able order them in for you. If that doesn’t work, then you should check sites like aquabid.com, or local fish forums to find out where people get them in your area. I see them regularly in my area, but I live in Ontario, Canada.
American flag fish on the other hand tend to be much more difficult to find. There are long periods where I never see any of them, and then occasionally they pop up in a store. This is a fish that you will really have to search for. A good source for them is Big Al’s, if you have any of them in your area. Barring that, you’ll be left with either ordering them online, or finding a breeder in your area.
Do you happen to know what the Bosemani’s natural predators are?
I’ve read water fowl occasionally eat them, as well as grunters, cardinal fish, and freshwater snappers.
Hey Rob it’s me again I was just wondering whether these guys would be compatible with an angelfish and kuhli loaches. I would also like to get a recommendation for a smaller schooling fish that goes with angelfish and Boeseman’s Rainbowfish. Thanks Ethan
They tend to like very different water types. What’s your water like there? pH? Hardness?
I have boesmani rainbows in a 55 with tetra glofish and kuhlii loaches. Moderately hard moderately alkaline lake Michigan water.
Are they compatible with Discus
They prefer vastly different water types, with Boeseman’s rainbowfish need hard water, and discus needing very soft water. I don’t know anyone who has kept them together, so even if you could get the water to work, I don’t know how they wouldn’t react together.
I have them together and they are doing fine. Been in a 55 gallon for over 4 months and i haven’t had one problem with the breeds together, I also have blue ram cichlids (community fish) with them too.
We recently got a 55 gallon which is the biggest tank we have. We weren’t sure the kind of fish we were going for but the day after Thanksgiving we went to PetSmart to get fish flakes and they had these rainbowfish on sale for 4.99. I had to have them and I am so glad we did. They are awesome! We have a male and female in there with 10 bloodfin tetras, 3 dwarf guarami, 6 septa tetras, 1 pencilfish (he is what’s left of 4 bought like 6 yrs ago), 2 gold rams and assorted corydoras and 2 plecos. The rainbowfish hang out with the the diff fish, schools with the tetras sometimes and they are a joy to watch. They both have beautiful color and really make the tank complete. They don’t take food away from the others but we feed to make sure everyone gets enough. The rainbows are also the first two to come to the front glass to “see me” when I get home, come in and they hear my voice. We have 4 additional rainbow fish in quarentine now that we got to join with them after reading so much about their love to school. I’m looking forward to adding them since we just added another tank and will be moving the gold rams to their species specific tank. I just thought I’d share how much I have enjoyed these fish and what an easy addition they really are to your tank. Our water parameters are always in check, clean/water change schedule, feeding schedule etc are just routine. We didn’t have it make any adjustments for these
I really love hearing stories like this about amazing fish. There’s no better feeling in the world than having an aquarium that works well, with fish that interact and recognize you. I hope things continue to go well for you and your tank.
What do you know of blue ( turquoise ) rainbowfish?
While I’ve never kept them, I’ve read a fair bit about them. What do you need to know?
i was wondering if they required hard water like bosemans
They are quite content in moderately hard water, though they can acclimatize to a greater range and don’t need hard water like Boeseman’s Rainbowfish.
I have a boesemani rainbow that has been acting weird. Found out he is trying to mate with a female sword tail. I now know they do better in groups. Is it okay to get another male to put in or do I need to wait till his breeding rituals are through? I dont want him to kill anyone he sees as a rival.