We love Rainbow Fish! Not only are they beautiful, but they are so fascinating! Did you know…

Rainbow Fish reach a maximum length of 3.5 in for males and 2.8 in for females. Their body is oval shaped.

Mature male’s coloration is blue or bluish-grey, sometimes almost black on the head and the front portion of the body, with bright orange-red coloration on the fins and posterior half of the body. Just behind the pectoral fin, there are alternating light and dark vertical bars.

Females display a broad, dark, mid-lateral stripe accompanied by a series of narrow yellow or reddish-orange longitudinal stripes corresponding with each scale row. Females have a shallower body depth and smaller, more rounded fin edges.

Rainbow Fish are Benthopelagic feeder. Benthopelagic means they live and feed near the bottom of a body of water – as well as in midwaters or near the surface. They also feed on insect larvae and small crustaceans.

Rainbow Fish can be found in three freshwater lakes in the Ajamaru Lake region of western Papua New Guinea in Indonesia.

Rainbow Fish pairs form when mating. They are an oviparous, egg-laying species. The eggs are attached to aquatic plants with adhesive threads or tendrils. After the eggs are attached, the parents do not engage in parental care towards the eggs. They are on their own.