Choice of fish?

They were added last night after a long acclimation. I probably should have quarantined, but they look really healthy. 🤞
They’re so pretty! I got a large group, so if I lose a few over the next year (hope not), I’ll still have a nice group. This is 14 males and 5 females. If it gets too crowded as they get bigger, I can move part of them to my 125 gallon.
Thanks for your help!
IMG_7058.jpeg
 
Kwyet said:
I like these Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish, but reading about them gives me some concerns.

Is it true that:

-they require a lid (I don’t have one)?
-they require 8 dkH or so (I have 0-1)?
-they are so boisterous that small fish (my Pygmy Cories) or slower, long-fin fish (my honey gourami) might be harmed?

Also, do they need more females than males, or vice versa? Does it matter?

I know some of you are Rainbowfish experts, so I would rather hear from you than trust all the different info I’m finding online.

Thanks again!
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All Rainbowfish can be jumpers. Doesn't happen often but over time it will happen from time to time.

Rainbowfish don't care about dKH. I have kept them for 4 decades in everything from liquid rock to pure RO. Makes no difference. Provide very clean water, good oxygen levels, and a limited but quality diet and they can live for many years in any dKH water.

In general Bows are peaceful, although they do "spar" and "display" with each other which is completely normal. But it's nothing to worry about. No one gets hurt. Unlike Cichlids which will out and out murder someone. And they typically only pay attention to other Bows and ignore everyone else. That being said a tank full of only Rainbows is a site to behold.

As to sex get what your prefer. With almost all species of Bows the males are more brightly colored. I've kept mixed sex and all male tanks and there is no difference in fully mature color/health.

Now to the M. Praecox (dwarf neon). It is very well known in the hobby that the Praecox is easily the weakest strain sold into the hobby. It's been that way for many, many years. Buy 10 and 6 months later you might have 6. Then a year later you might have three. At some point they stop eating and waste away. No one can explain it but in general you rent them not buy them.

That is a big difference to most Bows in the hobby. In general they are hardy fish and easy to keep. I have had many live over a decade.

If you want them because they remain small there are other options. Melanotaenia sp. Kali Tawa, Melanotaenia Kamaka, Melanotaenia Mairasi, Chilatherina alleni "Wapoga" to name a few. Spectacular fish with much better blood lines.
 
GreggZ said:
All Rainbowfish can be jumpers. Doesn't happen often but over time it will happen from time to time.

Rainbowfish don't care about dKH. I have kept them for 4 decades in everything from liquid rock to pure RO. Makes no difference. Provide very clean water, good oxygen levels, and a limited but quality diet and they can live for many years in any dKH water.

In general Bows are peaceful, although they do "spar" and "display" with each other which is completely normal. But it's nothing to worry about. No one gets hurt. Unlike Cichlids which will out and out murder someone. And they typically only pay attention to other Bows and ignore everyone else. That being said a tank full of only Rainbows is a site to behold.

As to sex get what your prefer. With almost all species of Bows the males are more brightly colored. I've kept mixed sex and all male tanks and there is no difference in fully mature color/health.

Now to the M. Praecox (dwarf neon). It is very well known in the hobby that the Praecox is easily the weakest strain sold into the hobby. It's been that way for many, many years. Buy 10 and 6 months later you might have 6. Then a year later you might have three. At some point they stop eating and waste away. No one can explain it but in general you rent them not buy them.

That is a big difference to most Bows in the hobby. In general they are hardy fish and easy to keep. I have had many live over a decade.

If you want them because they remain small there are other options. Melanotaenia sp. Kali Tawa, Melanotaenia Kamaka, Melanotaenia Mairasi, Chilatherina alleni "Wapoga" to name a few. Spectacular fish with much better blood lines.
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Well rats, I already bought them. The picture above is from my tank. I’ll just have to hope for the best.
 
Kwyet said:
Well rats, I already bought them. The picture above is from my tank. I’ll just have to hope for the best.
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Oh geez I think I started typing that response before you posted the picture!!

Well good luck. If you see any stop eating and start to waste away just know there is no cure. No medicine will fix it. It's best to cull them as they will not make it. Again very well known in the hobby.

That being said they look great in your tank. Hopefully you will be the exception! Keep us posted.
 
Good looking school of rainbows! I had a school of 10 furcata rainbows in a 20 gallon rimless tank, and 7 of them ended up jumping out, so keep an eye on them.

I kept the water level down a few inches, which seemed to help.
 
Thanks! So far so good, except one of them brained itself on the lava rock during a feeding frenzy. 🙁
 
GreggZ said:
Now to the M. Praecox (dwarf neon). It is very well known in the hobby that the Praecox is easily the weakest strain sold into the hobby. It's been that way for many, many years. Buy 10 and 6 months later you might have 6. Then a year later you might have three. At some point they stop eating and waste away. No one can explain it but in general you rent them not buy them.
Click to expand...
To add on to this, it seems to be more of a problem from ones bred in farms. I have had and know others that have some that we've been passing around in our club and they are much hardier. Also I know of some that have a collection location and I have not heard of any issues with those.
 
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