These fish, Boesemani and praecox, are becoming more and more common
in pet shops. Praecox is usually called "Neon Dwarf Rainbow" in the
pet trade, and not "Neon Rainbow". People buying them take
that "dwarf" label seriously and assume they don't get that big. Pet
shops are pushing them because they are "dwarf" sized.
Someone posted recently in one of the forums that their local pet
shop sold her 2 Melanotaenia praecox and wanted her to stock 2 more -
- in her 10 gallon tank. That's way too small a tank imho, but I
can't seem to find any sites that agree on the praecox max size! The
sizes seem to range from under 2" (common) to 3" (unusual)
(Rainbowfish Home), with the most common being 2.5".
It's difficult to advise anyone with this varying info, so, can you
guys tell me, please:
1. What are the max sizes for Melanotaenia praecox and Melanotaenia
boesemani? At what age are they considered adult?
2. Are they a "slow" growing fish? Ie: clown loaches can grow to
14"+, but they live 50 years and it takes them a while to get to
that size.
Whew!
Sorry for the mini-rant, but I love rainbows and think they should
*all* have the best environment :( It's hard to advise people when
the information is so disparate.
Eileen Kortright
(Roan Art)