Hi, Gary! Thanks for taking the time to write --
> I don't think you'll see 3 inches listed for boesemani on Adrian's page.
Right, but most people don't know about Adrian's page. I send them there,
usually after they've already bought the fish :(
The people I'm dealing with are buying them from the local fish shop or chain
store. They are told at the *stores* that Boesemani only grow to 3 inches and
six are fine in a 20 gallon tank. There are a TON of sites on the internet
that have Boesemani listed as 3" max. I've emailed a couple and referenced
Adrian's site, just hope it does some good.
Also remember he has SL listings, which is from the tip of the nose to the
BASE of the tail fin, caudal peduncle. You might get another 1/2 inch out of
that tail. And a half inch is a lot to add to a dwarf fish. In a well planted
10 gallon tank I don't think 4 praecox is really too much. Six might even
work, just depends on if you're an overfeeder or an under changer of water.
Praecox can get to three plus inches and almost as tall (really ugly) in the
hands of people that really overfeed. I guess I would pretty much ignore
almost everything you read on the forums.
You don't think that 4 x 3" praecox is too much for a 10gallon tank? I'm
assuming they will be overfed, because people normally *do* overfeed.
I don't remember who started the "brackish water" and <most> rainbows but that
is typical of the sort of misinformation that usually comes out from forums.
It's usually put out there by people with 1-2 aquariums, who by answering a
lot of questions and are now "experts".
I did :) I asked the question because I had people telling me they were
brackish and they had either read it on the internet somewhere or it was in an
old book that had Rainbows in it. I definitely do not have the credibility
or experience that many of you have (not even close). Therefore, I really
need to cite a reliable source (like this list) that they are not brackish or
no one's going to believe me. Many people assume that "salt" = brackish
conditions, and that's a problem.
You really need practical information.
Definitely! That's why I joined this list. Best place to get it.
BTW even though many of these rainbowfish come from very soft and low ionic
strength water,
By "low ionic" you mean salt, right? I thought ionic could refer to other
things as well?
trying to reproduce these conditions for Melanotaediae is a disaster waiting
to happen, unless you're performing daily 100 % water changes. Unless your
water is over 450 ppm GH with an equally bad KH don't try to change that
either. Good water changes (50% at least every 2 weeks), live plants and
quality foods is one of the best things you can do for your rainbows.
Okay, so you are stating that rainbows shouldn't be in salted tanks -- period,
correct?
I, like Ron Bowman, also let at least one day go by each week without feeding
them, to help clean out their guts. If you keep your fish happy, they'll let
you know by showing their colors. And you'll have them around at least 5
years.
Well, I want mine longer than 5 years :)
My Boesemani are still juvies and just started coloring out a month ago. In
the morning when I turn the lights on two of the males are the darkest blue,
brightest orange -- breath taking! One of them, "the big guy" usually starts
herding up the girls and shows a wonderful wide stripe of yellowish green from
his dorsal to just between his eyes. Man, he is beautiful! Sorry, just had to
share that :)
I do 50% weekly changes, mucho plants, and try not to overfeed. I vary their
food daily with frozen Bloodworms, brine shrimp, f/d tubifex and occasionally
daphnia, some tropical flakes, and spirulina. Every second day I drop some
blanched zucchini or broccoli stem or yam in the tank for the bottom feeders
and they like to pick at that as well. I hope that's a good diet for them.
One last thing. I did see M. australis and praecox crosses a few years ago in
the US. If your fish start pushing 3 inches and show stripes in them then they
are probably one of the crosses. The stripes are pretty obvious. We don't
have any of the "striped" praecox in the US for those that are going to point
out the pics
The person I was asking for lives in Australia. Can I have a link I can send
her to so she can make sure she has true praecox?
She was told by her LFS that 4 praecox would work in her tank, and she brought
2 of them home. I asked her to hold the phone while I checked with you guys.
Personally, I think 4 praecox is too much for a 10 gallon, but if everyone
says it'll work . . .
I don't think she has any plants. I'll mention it to her and see.
If you don't mind, I'm going to quote this in the forum so that she can get
the info first hand.
Eileen Kortright
(Roan Art)