Great and diverse underwater world. Bright colors staining the water that it looks gray and unbelievable on land. The warm water of the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth is particularly rich in bright colors. Many colorful aquarium fish - immigrants from southern edges. There are among the bright and motley beauties of the fish, carrying a rainbow on his scales. The name of this amazing fish is a rainbow. After setting in aquarium a pack of such fish, you can admire this miracle every day.
Review of species
In the warm waters of the rivers and lakes of Australia, New Zealand and some Islands of Indonesia, there are small fish playing with all the colors of the rainbow. People did not remain indifferent to the beauty of this fish and moved the live rainbow to the aquarium. Unpretentious fish easily adapted to the new environment and began its distribution among aquarists, gaining popularity.
The size of the iris, the full name of which is rainbow melanation, is small. The adult part reaches a length of 5-16 cm depending on the view, which in nature there are about 70.
But for the content in the aquarium, only a few types of melanothenia are most often taken. We list and briefly describe them.
- Rainbow Melanothenia McCallocha . Little 60 mm long fish occurs off the coast of Australia. The males of this species are painted in a light shade of olive with brown. On the gill covers are notable stains of red. The tail is painted in bright carmine and red color.
The brightest and beautiful color from the fish during spawning.
- Neon Rainbow - A leaving from New Guinea, where it can be found in the waters of the Mamberman and surrounding swamps in the thick vegetation. Blue painting of scales has a neon effect, noticeable only in the scattered light, which provides aquatic plants. The length of the adult fish is about 80 mm. The males differ from the female slightly large size and a little brighter coloring red fins and tail.
Fish prefer to stay with a pack of 6-8 pieces and love fresh, neutral, not too tough water in low-fat reservoirs. For such a pack, there is enough aquarium with a volume of 60 liters.
- Aquarium fish turquoise iris (melanotenia lake) Right with Papua New Guinea. It dwells only in one small mountain lake Cutubu and the Soro's robust in it, which are in the southern province of Highlands. Fish size does not exceed 120 mm. Blue with a yellow-colored body painting during a spawning. Acquires an orange tint on the back. The intensity of the color of the fish depends on the supply. Blue melanothenia prefers fresh, relatively rigid, very larger water with a temperature of 20 ° -25 ° C. For a flock of 6-8 fish, aquarium needs a volume of at least 110 liters.
- Melanothenia Boesman Relatively recently became known to the general public. In his homeland - in Western Iriana in Indonesia - the Rajdownik of Boesman lives in every three rivers and is threatened with disappearance. The first fish brought to Europe served as the basis for obtaining hybrid individuals. A long-length adult iris reaches from 80 mm to 110 mm. Painted fish in two shades: blue color from the head to the middle of the body flows into orange-yellow at the rear half.
For comfortable accommodation, the boaesman rainbow glasses requires a low aquarium with a volume of 110 liters, filled with relatively rigid, slightly alkaline and slightly moving fresh water with a temperature of 27 ° C to 30 ° C.
- Three-band rainbow Wides in all fresh reservoirs of Northern Australia. In the natural medium, the fish length is about 150 mm, the aquarium three-rone reaches only 120 mm in length. The color of this fish is varied depending on the habitat and diet. Blue, green, red and yellow colors are dominated from the shades. But regardless of the painting of the scales, all the fish have red fins and dark longitudinal stripes. For one pack of fish from 5-6 individuals, an aquarium is required by no less than 150 liters.
Water in the aquarium should be moderately mobile, fresh, rigid, with a slightly alkaline reaction. Temperature regime from 24 ° C to 33 ° C.
- Red Rainbow (Ateraina Red) It dwells in Lake Sentany and located near the reservoirs located in New Guinea. A bright fish up to 150 mm long is distinguished by Red Coloring in males and yellow - in female. The most striking color has alpha-male flocks. It is noted that when the temperature is reduced to the lower permissible boundary, the red color becomes brighter in all males flocks, whereas with an increase in the brightness is saved only by alpha. The aquarium necessary for this species must be at least 150 liters. Water needs fresh, medium hardness, with a temperature of 22 ° -25 ° C, weakly liquefy.
- Rajdownik PopoDetta (WilcyTochvosta Sineglazka) Externally looks like albino with big blue eyes. The body of the fish is translucent with fins of yellow. Prysto fish fish ripe raspberry. In the natural environment, it is the endemic of the eastern tip of the island of New Guinea. Fish is small - only 40-60 mm long. Prefers fresh, hard water with a slightly alkaline reaction. The temperature of the water in the range of 24 ° -28 ° C. The volume of aquarium for a pack of 8-10 individuals is needed at least 60 liters. Water movement should be weak.
Features of content
All variety of rainbugs is distinguished by unpretentiousness in the content. For comfortable accommodation of the flock of rainbugs from a minimum of 6 individuals, a pretty spacious aquarium is needed, as the fish are very movable. It is best to use capacity capacity from 100 to 150 liters. To protect against accidental jumping, the aquarium is required to cover with a lid.
Soil is better to use dark, monophonic. The light should be scattered.
The most beautiful rucking looks on a dark background among the water greenery during lightning lightning. At the bottom of the aquarium, you can position squigs and large stones without sharp faces.
Plants for rainbugs better choose with rigid leaves. Aubias, echinodoroas or lageandra mebold are suitable, so that the fish can not eat them. Greens can be much on the bottom and on the surface, but it is better to have it with groups, leaving open areas of water.
Basically, the iris live in a sedentary water environment, so You need to choose equipment for aquarium, focusing on this fact.
The color of the rainbugs depends on the quality of water. To preserve a living rainbow, you must regularly filter and make partial replacement of old water to fresh.
In nutrition of melanation unpretentious, there may be almost everything. They are suitable for any dry, lively or frozen food. With the pleasure of fish absorb the soft leaflets of aqueous plants. When feeding is best Mix different types of feed to provide fish choices. With this variety of iris open their most beautiful colors.
Care for iris easy. All care is In timely feeding and water purification.
Compatibility with other fish
Rajdownitsa - Peace-loving Stoy Fish Small Size . They are easy to get along near any non-aggressive fish, similar to them on temperament and sizes. They may coexist next to the scalaria, provided that they grown together, but young in this case is guaranteed to suffer.
Melanothenia Well coexist with Danio, Barbusmi, Guppies, Middle Mares, Mollyons and other types of pecilic, preferring rigid water.
Handbugs with Tanganik cichlids are not bad.
Donate calm fish, such as Corridoros, Boots and Anzitruses will take the empty bottom of the aquarium, as the iris prefer the upper layers of the aquarium for life.
For slow fish, the iris will cause inconvenience due to their mobility. It does not get along the iris with cichlids, gold fish and sommi.
Next to the predatory fish melanation will not survive, as it is too tempting as hunting production and feed.
Breeding
The iris is an absolutely noncain fish, so it can spawn both in a separate spawning, and in the general aquarium.
The most favorable conditions for promoting reproduction are as follows:
- Frequent replacement of part of water;
- a fairly sharp rise in temperature for a couple of degrees;
- water medium hardness;
- pH is neutral or low-alkaline;
- Enhanced nutrition of future parents.
For reproduction, the most fasten and bright fish are selected. The sex differences in the rainbugs are expressed in Neurko, but every year the female from male becomes easier. The males are larger and have brighter shades.
After mating, the female sweeps the caviar, assembled into the tape using adhesive thread. The total number of eggs is up to 600 pieces within 2-3 days. Spare can continue and longer, but no longer actively. Calf tapes are settled on the leaves of aquatic plants.
Caviar is transferred to an incubator where the water level is 15 cm, and in composition it does not differ from the spawning. Delete dead eggs that differ from the lively white color. After 5-7 days, larvae are hatched from the fertilized caviar, which for 2 days becomes fry.
You feed young infusories and liquid feeds for fry until they grow to the ability to consume microscopic worms, artemy, tubular, egg yolk and very small granulated feed.
After 1.5-2 months, the fools acquire an adult color and 7-9 months ready for reproduction.
It is important to remember that the iris is subject to interspecific crossing. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully approach the process of reproduction, since hybrids can lose their colorful properties of scales.
For the content of rainbugs, see below.