Praecox Rainbow questions!

Hey all! I just got six praecox rainbows. I've never had rainbows though, so I have a few questions:

1. Is it normal for females to be smaller? One of the females in particular seems a bit skinnier and more ragged. Normally I wouldn't be concerned at all, but she's breathing really quickly. I did yesterday try to take a shy apisto out, but I didn't go after any of the rainbows of course, and I moved very slowly and didn't have the net in the water too long, so I'm not sure if that could have caused it. She's often away from the group, but she's often with the group as well.

2. Is it normal for males to chase each other a little? Nothing too aggressive and no nipping, that I can see, but they will chase back and forth across the whole tank. Can I expect it to decrease as they settle in and become less stressed?

3. Do males or females put on displays at all? The one female who is breathing heavily, I saw her and another female swimming around each other, and she would make her fins stand out, and they would brush against each other a bit. There was a male nearby, is it possible that they were competing for the male? Usually it's the other way around, and also I wouldn't think that mating would be the first thing on their minds after a stressful trip, plus I've read that it's difficult to breed these guys.


I think that's all for now, but stay tuned for more questions. Thanks for any info you can provide!

 

I have had my praecox for about 2 months now. maybe a little less so I can give you my experience but I am no expert.

I have 6 females and 3 males. My females are about half the size of my males.

My males do chase each other occasionally. It is as if each one has its own spot picked out in my bunch of hornwort and if another gets too close they give a little chase. Nothing as close to the idiocy of my danios though.

As for your last question I do not know. I have never seen myfemales interact in any way. My males will sometimes give a little chase to the females but the females seem to pretty much ignore each other.

 

Did you feed your Rainbows on the same day you got them?

 

JW: Thanks! It doesn't seem aggressive, so I'm hoping they're just playing around.

AP: Don't scare me with that article you just posted! Yes I fed them. I had to, if not the first or second day then soon after, because there are other fish in the tank. However the platies are voracious and I don't think the rainbows got too much.

 

Did you feed your Rainbows on the same day you got them?

I sure did.

 

Hey all! I just got six praecox rainbows. I've never had rainbows though, so I have a few questions:

1. Is it normal for females to be smaller? One of the females in particular seems a bit skinnier and more ragged. Normally I wouldn't be concerned at all, but she's breathing really quickly. I did yesterday try to take a shy apisto out, but I didn't go after any of the rainbows of course, and I moved very slowly and didn't have the net in the water too long, so I'm not sure if that could have caused it. She's often away from the group, but she's often with the group as well.

Generally female rainbow fish will be smaller than the male and more torpedo shaped. Males will have a distinct arched back with a pointed nose.

For Praecox Specifics, The male's fins will have a red outline and the female's fins will have a yellow or orange outline. These outlines will grow more distinct as the fish ages. Females are also more silver in color.

2. Is it normal for males to chase each other a little? Nothing too aggressive and no nipping, that I can see, but they will chase back and forth across the whole tank. Can I expect it to decrease as they settle in and become less stressed?

Yes. They will play often. If/when you see the two males facing in opposite directions, they are fighting. It's more of a competition. The winner gets the female and have rank.

3. Do males or females put on displays at all? The one female who is breathing heavily, I saw her and another female swimming around each other, and she would make her fins stand out, and they would brush against each other a bit. There was a male nearby, is it possible that they were competing for the male? Usually it's the other way around, and also I wouldn't think that mating would be the first thing on their minds after a stressful trip, plus I've read that it's difficult to breed these guys.

The male display is obvious. All male rainbow fish will change color. The body gets darker and more intense, and a light colored stripe will form from the arch of the back to the tip of the nose. Female displays are less noticeable. When a female has attracted the attention of a male, she will follow him. Together they dance or swim in a pattern and may eventually agree on a place to spawn.

I think that's all for now, but stay tuned for more questions. Thanks for any info you can provide!

 

Thanks for the info, wroberson! (I need to think of a shorter nickname for you haha.)

I am aware of the sexual dimorphism in praecox rainbows. I asked for three of each. The females definitely seem more slender and less round, and not as blue (besides the obvious differences in the fins). Good to know about fighting versus playing; I haven't seen any face-to-face squaring off yet, which is good.

 

Not face to face, but head to tail. They will start spinning trying to bite each others fins.

Other info about rainbows is their diet. Low protein. I don't remember the number because I found some HBH flake that are 28%. I don't give them brine shrimp a couple times per week, but it's mostly a low protein diet.

It's the handle I use everywhere.

I see you're in Chicago. I'm in Oak Park. I've had rainbow fish for 3 years. I will be ordering rainbow fish from wetspottropicalfish sooner or later. Two people can save on shipping. Not a request, just an idea. The request may come later. I plan on getting $100 in rainbows. They have some really nice ones. I've spent 300 bucks this week on plants, lights, chemicals and an rainbow fish. The fish was being sold at petco in Elmhurst for $9.99 as a Millennium(one only), but I think it's an emerald. It was kind of green and the Millenniums are Red. She's a female too, so I might be wrong.

I went through all the names of the fish and found s at yahoo. That's one messed up database. I'm still trying to ID a fish I have and the closest I've come to was a Bleheri. You can give it your best if you like. The fish in question is the big reddish one. The 1/2 fish that is green I am saying is a Millennium. Not the one I purchsed today though, but the two have a very similar color.

Also this picture will show you the "hump" or high arched back and pointed nose. I believe the greenish one is female. I say this through watching. Those two do get it one on from time to time as they can intermix.

 

Oh, I see. No spinning, just swimming after each other along the length of the tank.

Hmm, low protein, huh? I'll have to take a look at the NLS I'm feeding them. Although I can't imagine feeding one food to some fish and a different food to other fish. If anything I'd just alternate days, I suppose.

Your guess will be better as mine, as I only know the names of common rainbows (Australian, Boesmani, etc.). However you may try sending a message to Rogue or starting a thread (he'll see it), he's kept nearly every fish under the sun and can probably ID them for you. However doing a google search, the reddish one does look like a BleherI rainbow; or some of the pictures at least.

Googling Millennium rainbows for me doesn't turn up any pictures of green ones.

Unfortunately my tank will be pretty much stocked shortly (getting two angels from another member, and likely a GBR from someone) but once I graduate I'll likely be moving to a house in the Bolingbrook area and upgrading to larger tanks. So I won't be too far away. Thanks for the offer, though!

 

Hey all! I just got six praecox rainbows. I've never had rainbows though, so I have a few questions:

1. Is it normal for females to be smaller? One of the females in particular seems a bit skinnier and more ragged. Normally I wouldn't be concerned at all, but she's breathing really quickly. I did yesterday try to take a shy apisto out, but I didn't go after any of the rainbows of course, and I moved very slowly and didn't have the net in the water too long, so I'm not sure if that could have caused it. She's often away from the group, but she's often with the group as well.

I have both BosemanI and Turquoise Rainbows, never had Praecox, so I can only answer this in reference to those two. The BosemanI Females are smaller than the males, but the Turquoise are almost the same size.

Also, it is important to note that Rainbowfish are Shoaling fish, not Schooling fish. A few of them will often stray from the group and then go back. That is normal shoaling behavior.

2. Is it normal for males to chase each other a little? Nothing too aggressive and no nipping, that I can see, but they will chase back and forth across the whole tank. Can I expect it to decrease as they settle in and become less stressed?

My males do chase after each other from time to time. Never anything terrible. It will most likely never stop completely as long as you have both males and females together, but it may die down a bit.

3. Do males or females put on displays at all? The one female who is breathing heavily, I saw her and another female swimming around each other, and she would make her fins stand out, and they would brush against each other a bit. There was a male nearby, is it possible that they were competing for the male? Usually it's the other way around, and also I wouldn't think that mating would be the first thing on their minds after a stressful trip, plus I've read that it's difficult to breed these guys.

I have never seen mine put on a display, but perhaps that is because I don't want to breed them!

 

Thanks for your info! I didn't know they were shoaling fish, but that explains some of their behavior.