Parkinson's Rainbowfish

Parkinson’s Rainbowfish

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Scientific Name

Melanotaenia parkinsoni

Min. Tank Size

55 gallons

Personality

Peaceful

Temperature

70-78°F

pH

7.0-8.0/8-18°dGH

Size

5.5"

Diet

Omnivore

Breeding

Egglayer

Compatibility

Other Rainbowfish, Danios, Characins, Barbs, Gobies, Rift Lake Cichlids and Corydoras.

Parkinson’s Rainbowfish

These fish are native to the south-eastern portion of Papua New Guinea where they can be found in coastal streams and pools. Parkinson’s Rainbowfish tend to inhabit flowing, densely planted waters. This species of Rainbowfish exhibits a brown or olive coloration on the upper parts of the body while the sides may be silver or silver-blue. Most specimens exhibit an orange stripe running laterally between each row of scales and males of the species may also have bright orange coloration on the fins. As with most fish species, the males are more colorful than the females.

Tank Set-Up

Parkinson’s Rainbowfish enjoy plenty of open swimming space and should not be housed in small or overcrowded tanks. A well-planted tank would be ideal with plenty of plants around the sides and back and the middle area left open. Use black sand substrate and a black background to accentuate the orange colors of this fish. Parkinson’s Rainbowfish do not have any special care requirements in order to thrive but proper maintenance in the form of regular weekly water changes is still necessary to maintain the health of this beautiful fish.

Feeding

In the wild, Parkinson’s Rainbowfish feed on insects and algae. In the home aquarium, you’ll find they are not fussy eaters and will accept just about anything offered. Since this species feeds on algae in the wild, feed a high-quality spirulina-based flake as a staple. Supplement this with live or frozen Daphnia, bloodworms or brine shrimp several times a week. For optimum health and coloration, feed a varied diet consisting of live and frozen foods along with a high-quality flake on a regular basis.

Breeding

Parkinson’s Rainbowfish are fairly easy to breed in the home aquarium as long as they are provided with adequate spawning sites – fine-leaved plants such as java moss or a spawing mop will do just fine. Although these fish may not eat their own eggs and fry, the fry are more easily raised in a separate tank. Following spawning, the eggs should hatch in around ten days and the fry can be fed a diet of infusoria and finely ground flake foods.