Alto comps and rainbows

[Alvil]

Hi

My Kendalli female decided to jump out of the tank last night, found her on the floor this morning a little to dry to put back in.

So I will have a tank to play with after I get rid of the male.

What do you think of this tank mates:

Tank is 4x18x20, fine crushed marble substrate, large canister filter, rocks and plastic plants

6xAlto comps about 5-6cm

6or8 Australian Rainbows

Pair of shell dwelers, either brevis or occies

Some rocks to divide the territory, some barnicles for the comps and small shells for the shell dwelers.

What rainbows that don't grow to big and have plenty of colour should I look for?

If I put some plants would the rainbows breed in this set up? thus providing free live food for the comps, or do they eat their eggs/fry.

Alex,

[Mazimbwe]

Alto's and Rainbows work very well together...as do shellies and Rainbows.

Just remember if you do combine the shellies and Alto's that Alto's like shells too which may be a point of contention within the tank.

Two fish I have used as dithers with shellies and Alto's with good success are;

bosemani(sp?) and celebes(sp?)...I am not sure if the celebes are true rainbow-fish but they do not get very large are very active and have worked very well for me.

As I have never had plants I am unsure about them breeding food for you...however, I do not see why they would not breed live-food for you.

HTH

[Alvil]

Hi Mazimbwe,

Thanks for your reply, I like the looks of the M.bosemani.

Are they a very active fish?

I have a small colony of Callochromis macrops with some other comps and I find them to be to active for the comps, maybe because they occupy the bottom of the tank.

Alex,

[anchar]

I have a number of M. praecox in many of my tanks. They do an excellent job.

merjo

[Dark Morelia]

There are quite a few Rainbows that would fit the bill.

Celebese Rainbows (Telmatherina ladigesi) are a bit of an odd-ball they're in the Rainbowfish family, Atherinidae, but they're in their own genus, and patently not from Aus. or PNG.

They are a gorgeous little fish with a max. size of about an inch. I've managed to kill all of mine through trying to keep them with boisterous larger Rainbows, so they dont seem to tolerate stress too well.

Similarly, I've never had any luck at all with Melanotaenia praecox. The very first pair my brother had were fairly hardy, but all the ones i've bought since have been completely unable to handle any stress at all.

There are just too many Rainbows to suggest, so have a look at Home of the Rainbowfish and see what you like.

Some of my favourites are..

• M. boesmani
• M. Splendida splendida
• M. s. Inornata
• G. incisus
• G. wanamensis

Rainbow species have as many localities as rift lake cichlids

Then, of course, there are the Blue-eyes to consider....*chuckle*

HTH,

Andy

[Alvil]

Thanks Merjo and Andy,

Looks like I will be looking for some rainbows in the near future.

I like all the ones that were sugested,with the bosemani probably my first choice, which ones would be the most peaceful, or are all the same.

Would it be ok to mix them as I don't think any fry will live for very long.

Cheers,

Alex

[Dark Morelia]

I'd say that in terms of peacefulness, they're all peaceful, though it's really up to the individual fish. I've had one or 2 that were nasty, but mostly, they're ok.

They will usually ignore other tankmates, but Rainbow to Rainbow fin flaring, occasional skirmishes, and colour flashes will never cease.

Best colours will be achieved with more males than females.(at least 3m:1f)

With regards to mixing, most species of similar size should be fine, but there are a few species that don't mix well, e.g. praecox, Celebese.

Blue-eyes don't mix with larger Rainbows. They get too stressed.

I had a M. maccullochi at about 6cm that used to try and rule the roost against Rainbows twice his size. So size isn't everything.

Let us know what you plan to get and we can tell you if they're particularly twitchy species.

HTH,

Andy.

[Alvil]

Andy,

The M. bosenami and M. splendida splendida would be my first two picks, but any of the others that you mentioned with the bosenami would do if they go together, probably four of each, I also like the M. praecox, but they might not go with the others as you said.

The blue eyes look good in a weird sort of way, but I would think too small and delicate for my tank.

Alex,

[Isachooky]

Hi all

Rainbows are great with altos as mentioned. I have a few types of alto's & shellies and keep a different species of rainbow with each colony. The alto's are more comfortable and venture out with these none aggressive tank mates.

If you provide a spawning mop (see rainbowfish online) for the rainbows, they will spawn daily, providing eggs and fry for the alto's. Who are continuously searching the mops for eggs.

One disadvantage with rainbows is that they are pigs and will eat as much as they can. This maybe a problem if trying to condition altos for spawning. Thus I try only keeping 2-3pr plus a few young per 4ft tank and generally prefer the rainbow species that average less than 10cm. ie M. boesmani, M. lacustrus, M. praecox, M. herbertaxelrodi, G. maculosus, M. pygmaea, M. sexlineata, M. sp. (batanta Is.) etc are some that I keep. The larger rainbows (G. incisus, G. wanamensis) can sometimes get a bit frisky, especially when spawning but are no threat to adult altos.

Rainbow fry and blue-eye species are great with shellies and juvenile alto's.

Rainbowfish online by Adrian Tappin is the best reference source on rainbows available. There are also state and a national ANGFA groups which deal with the keeping of natives especially rainbows.

Rainbows are extremely easy to maintain and breed and very addictive.

Beware