Boesemani Rainbow

 Quick Care Facts

• Care Level: Easy   • Temperament: Peaceful   • Maximum Size: 3"
• Minimum Tank Size: 55 gallons   • Water Conditions: 72-79° F, KH 9-19, pH 7.0-8.0
• Diet: Omnivore   • Origin: Southeast Asia, Thailand   • Family: Melanotaeniidae
• Species: Rainbowfish   • Aquarium Type: Community

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Boesemani Rainbow fish originate from the heavily planted tropical waters of Southeast Asia, Thailand and surrounding islands. They are a schooling species that does much better within the aquarium environment when they are kept in schools of at least 6 individuals or more. Juvenile Boesemani Rainbows tend to have relatively dull colors that brighten and develop into a much more vivid coloration as an adult.

Male and females differ in coloration with the males exhibiting a blue and purple head that fades into an orange and yellow posterior, while adult females develop an intense silver coloration that extends the whole of their body. Many aquarium keepers have found that keeping Rainbow fish in aquariums with darker substrate and plenty of live plants works to bring out the full intensity of the Boesemani Rainbow fishes coloration.

Another benefit of keeping this species in a school is that the males will compete with one another for the females in the group, which they do by exhibiting the brightest coloration that they can muster.

When housing Boesemani Rainbow's in the home aquarium it is important to provide them with a long (4 feet or larger) aquarium that has areas of plants and plenty of room for these active swimmers to move about. They are also well known jumpers, thus their aquarium should be well covered in order to keep them from jumping out of the aquarium when startled.

Boesemani Rainbow are schooling fish and should be kept in groups (6 or more individuals) as they would live this way in the wild. Keeping single individuals is likely to cause the fish a lot of stress which will lead to poor coloration and more than likely a shorter lifespan. Another important aspect to keeping Boesemani Rainbow fish is to provide them with plenty of planted areas within the aquarium, which will simulate their natural habitat and provide them with cover when needed. Like most all tropical species, the Boesemani Rainbow needs stable water conditions and good filtration and water aeration.

Boesemani Rainbow are an omnivorous species that will readily consume a wide variety of commercially available foods. In order to provide them with all the nutrients and minerals that they need to maintain a healthy immune system, they should be fed foods that contain both meaty and plant based material. A variety of flake, frozen and freeze-dried fish foods fed 2 to 3 times per day is ideal.

Boesemani Rainbow have relatively small mouths and throats, thus should be fed smaller foods that they can easily swallow. Live or freeze-dried bloodworms are a great treat for a school of Boesemani Rainbow's to supplement their normal diet.