Animal-World > Freshwater Fish > Rainbowfish > Parkinson’s Rainbowfish

Parkinson's Rainbowfish

Orange Rainbowfish Family: Melanotaeniidae

• Puzzles
• Postcards

Melanotaenia parkinsoni Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

   The Parkinson’s Rainbowfish is a stunning addition to your aquarium, and no rainbowfish collection can be complete without this beauty!

   The Parkinson’s Rainbowfish has a very unique color pattern, no other species looks anything like this one. The front half of the fish is a silvery blue. The back half has a broken orange coloration which extends through the fins. In a well light aquarium, the orange will light up to give it a startling fiery, almost volcanic glow.

   A beautiful fish which with a lot of personality. The Parkinson’s Rainbowfish gets along well with other larger, playful but good natured fish. These fish are fairly adaptable but a planted tank with swimming space suits them best and is an excellent way to showcase your beautiful specimens. If you can commit to maintaining a healthy aquatic system, keeping a species this striking should be your reward.

For more Information on keeping freshwater fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Dream Aquarium Build your own aquarium The Coolest and Funnest Screensaver in the World.

Distribution:
   The Parkinson’s Rainbowfish was described by Allen in 1980. They inhabit sandy, vegetated rivers and streams in Paupa New Guinea.

Status:
   This fish is not on the ICUN red list as of 2007.

Description:
   The Parkinson’s Rainbowfish is slender and long, but the body deepens and the back arches with age. The base body color is a dull lavender, with highly reflective silvery blue scales. Males will have brilliant orange fins with a thick black outline. They body of mature males will have blotchy orange marks which light up quite beautifully. The pattern of the orange markings is unique to each fish. There is a geographical color variant which displays yellow coloration in place of orange, although this form is considerably less common. Female coloration is a muted version of the males with no orange markings.

Size - Weight:
   The Parkinson’s Rainbowfish can be expected to reach about 5 inches in the aquarium (13 cm), although larger sizes have been recorded in the wild.

Care and feeding:
   Parkinson’s Rainbowfish are omnivorous fish that require a mix of live and processed food. Buy a high quality processed food frequently in small amounts as nutrition in these products quickly deteriorates past usefulness by this species. The live component of the diet should include a mix of foods like bloodworms, tubifex worms, water fleas, or brineshrimp at least once per week. If these are unavailable, frozen (defrosted) substitutes would be accepted.
   As with many fish, Rainbowfish will do best and are most effectively displayed in tanks which simulate their natural habitat. These fish are fairly adaptable but a planted tank with swimming space suits them best. A dark substrate and background will give the orange patches a fiery appearance. Try, if possible, to plan for one or two hours of sunlight hitting the tank. This should be during a time when you can view the tank as the illumination will make the fish even more stunning.
   Parkinson’s Rainbowfish don't require much special care for themselves, but they do require a well maintained tank to be healthy. At least 25-50% of the tank water must be replaced weekly. These fish are very active swimmers. Initially they will absolutely require a tank at least 30 inches long and 30 or more gallons. Eventually adults will need a much larger tank, with 100 to 150 gallons being reasonable. The tank should be securely covered as these fish have a tendency to jump.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:
   Parkinson’s Rainbowfish will swim in all levels of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:
   Temperature: 70 - 79° F (21 - 28° C)
   Hardness: 8 - 25 dGH
   Ph: 6.5 - 8.5

Social Behaviors:
   Parkinson’s Rainbowfish get along well with other larger, playful but good natured fish. They will adapt to a community tank of like tempered fish. This is most easily achieved by mixing Parkinson’s Rainbowfish with others in the Rainbowfish family. The Parkinson’s rainbowfish has a very lively personality and shouldn’t be combined with excessively shy or quiet fish. Don't be alarmed by some chasing between rainbowfish, this is rarely a concern unless a fish is injured, has nowhere to hide, or is constantly harassed (usually a result of one of the first two).
   Parkinson’s Rainbowfish are schooling fish and the ratio of males to females is very important to keep a reasonable peace among them. Although you can always keep single sex schools, the males are not likely to display their best coloration without a female presence. Properly stocking rainbowfish is a little tricky so we include the following recommendation for stocking. Choose which type of school you want to keep and how many fish.

Sexual Differences:
   Male Parkinson’s Rainbowfish will be slightly larger, deeper bodied, and will have more intense colors than the female.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   A breeding tank should be set up with a sponge filer and either many fine leaved plants or a spawning mop. A pair of healthy adult rainbowfish should be introduced. They should be conditioned with live foods and plant based foods. Remember, you are trying to emulate the bounty of the flood season so feed more and higher quality food than you normally would.
   After the female has produced eggs, the males will display an amazing show of intense colors and direct the female to the spawning site, spawn, and then rest. The spawning mop or plants should be removed and replaced after the spawning or the eggs will be eaten. The fish will repeat this daily for a few days, with steadily decreasing numbers of eggs produced. The parents should be removed when egg numbers fall or if the females show signs of fatigue.
   The fry will hatch after about a week and should be fed infusoria or a liquid fry food until they are able to eat small live foods. The fry are something of a challenge to raise until they are about two months old. The fry grow slowly and require clean water during the entire process.
   A problem to be aware of is crossbreeding. Rainbowfish in the wild will not breed with fish of another species, even when presented the opportunity to do so. But for some reason, rainbowfish of the Melanotaeniidae family in the aquarium will interbreed, often with undesirable results. Somehow the fry of mismatched parents lose most of their coloration. Since many of these species are rare, it is desirable to keep the bloodlines distinct, or risk losing the beautiful coloration that nature has taken thousands of years to develop. See an overview of how to breed Rainbowfish in Breeding Freshwater Fish.

Availability:
   The Parkinson's Rainbowfish, also sold as the Orange Rainbowfish, is moderately common. The going rate per fish is roughly $5.00 -$15.00 USD.

Add your comment here!

Back to Rainbowfish

Author: "Yvonne"

Aquarium Banner Exchange! Join Now Free.