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.