first can i just say what a fab idea this i.d. board is!!
i got this rainbow fish from my sister and i've searched for hours and hours on the internet to find one like it to identify which one so i can read about what they like/dont like/life span etc.
he seems happy enough. very docile. just slowly swims about. eats flakes and live food. doesnt entertain the algae wafers at all. also surprisingly doesnt ever bother the little fish. he's a gentle giant! his mouth is huge, so could eat them if he wanted too! he's about 5-6 cm long (he doesnt stay still so tricky to measure him! he comes to the glass though as soon as he sees you. he looks like he's made of metal, but i can assure you...he is real!! my sister had him for about 18 months i think, so he must be fully grown. although he comes to the glass and poses for the camera, he doesnt stay still, so a bit blurry...
tan*
OMG that was a fast response!! i was still faffing about choosing pictures when you replied!!!!
he is very similar in body shape and finnage, but the markings are not at all defined on my fish, whereas the link you showed me has a more defined pattern. maybe he is another type of giant danio? never considered the danio route!!!
maybe the less blurry picture i have substituted will help?
thanks inuyasha lover!
tan*
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thanks for the link inuyasher lover. this is very similar to mine, but mine is 5-6 inches which looking at my tape measure is 2 - 2.5 inches. i hope its not a schooling fish or i'll feel guilty keeping him alone !
tan
Hi tan, it looks like a Red rainbow (glossolepis incisus) to me .The first picture is mine about a year ago and the next picture is about 2 months ago .Don't take this the wrong way but could you try and take a better picture ,i know its hard because Rainbows are so active and it took me ages to get the second picture.I know a good Rainbow site have a look .http://members.optushome.com.au/chelmon/Glossolepis.htm
hi boff! thanks for the info. unfortunately mine arent anywhere near as colourful as those! its a bronze metal colour aound the edges and silver in the middle! comment not taken the wrong way!!! i will try and get a better pic!! problem is as soon as you go to the tank he looks right at me which is obviously no good for a pic of his body!!! then he cruises back and forth and everytime i press the button he's mid turn!!! with the flash on its too bright, with the flash off its too dark! i dont know how you guys do it!!
lets see if this is any better ....
thanks for your help guys!
tan
EDIT: the colour is as if he was all silver, but some 'peeled' off around the edges. the silver shiny bit in the middle looks slightly raised as if tin foil is stuck on him. he looks like a tarnished metal fish!!he certainly seems unique unlike all the other common fish in my tanks!
here's another. also on closer inspection i notice he has 3 gill slits. you can about see this on the previous picture. i have never seen that on a fish other than sharks! is that something that's on all big fish as a means of getting more oxygen in?
Looks to me like one of the more obscure species of rainbowfish, but I could be wrong. Sometimes a good place to look for those is Aquabid, as they will have lots to look at with good pictures. I think I remember seeing a similiar looking fish there, but it doesn't appear to be any of the ones posted there now. I also can't find anything that looks like it on the web.
I am starting to think it might be a hybrid because like Marc said i cant find any thing that looks like it ,but it does look like my Reds when they were young but your fish is 18 months old , then i thought it might be a female Red but they are a sliver-green .Tan i would love to see if you can get a good picture of its gills because i cant find any fish with 3 gills .
thanks guys!!!!! i also have looked everywhere for the past couple of months and havent seen another fish like it!! - hence it being posted here! will look at those links later and i'll try and get a pic of his freaky gills!! - when the ammonia was high they were very prominent, but now they're more discreet. i'll do my best!! thanks again!
Are you sure that it has 3 gill slits? Not that the gills are more pronounced than most? I've seen fish with a smaller than normal gill plate before, so that their gills were more exposed.
It does look a fair amount like a stickleback, too.
here's a picture in an attempt to show thw gills. obviously the fish wasnt opening them at the time the camera took the picture!! but to try and help i've done arrows on one of the pictures for you....
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