3 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Peaceful and active; keep in a group of 6 or more with other small peaceful fish.
392 species in our list are a good match.
Peaceful and active; keep in a group of 6 or more with other small peaceful fish.
Flakes, micro pellets, frozen foods and small live foods.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Mature males are more colourful, with orange to red fins and longer dorsal and anal fins; females are the deeper-bodied sex.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Egg-scatterer (spawning mops) · Easy
Egg scatterer that spawns daily for several weeks into plants or mops; adults tend not to eat the eggs.
A group of 6 or more.
A 60 L planted tank with spawning mops.
Warm water and live food.
About 150-200 eggs in total per female; laid in daily batches; eggs hatch in 7-12 days depending on temperature.
Feed infusoria, then baby brine shrimp.
A small rainbowfish from coastal northeastern Queensland, Australia, suited to a 60 cm tank.
Douglas Ogilby described the dwarf rainbowfish in 1915 and named it after his colleague Allan McCulloch. It has a long history in aquariums and was among the first rainbowfishes widely kept. At about 6 cm it suits community tanks well.
First described by J. Douglas Ogilby in 1915. Named for Named after Australian ichthyologist Allan R. McCulloch.
15 facts checked with sources
Hammer et al. 2019 split the 'M. maccullochi' complex: M. maccullochi s.s. (Cairns region), M. sahulensis (incl. the 'Skull Creek' aquarium form, Cape York, plus southern New Guinea) and M. wilsoni (Northern Territory). Legacy variant 'Skull Creek, PNG form' is wrong on both counts: Skull Creek is on Cape York, Queensland, and those fish are now M. sahulensis. 'Harvey Creek' (near Cairns) fits M. maccullochi s.s.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: genus Melanotaenia · Hammer et al. 2019, Two new species of dwarf rainbowfishes, Zootaxa 4701(3): Figure 9 (Zenodo)Legacy has no family; recorded as sourced.
FishBase: Melanotaenia maccullochi summary · Seriously Fish: Melanotaenia maccullochiSL.
Seriously Fish: Melanotaenia maccullochi · FishBase: Melanotaenia maccullochi summaryInside Seriously Fish range.
Seriously Fish: Melanotaenia maccullochi · FishBase: Melanotaenia maccullochi summaryWild fish of the Cairns region live in clear, acidic water (pH 5.5-7).
Seriously Fish: Melanotaenia maccullochi · FishBase: Melanotaenia maccullochi summaryLegacy has none.
Seriously Fish: Melanotaenia maccullochi60 x 30 x 30 cm = 54 L (Seriously Fish figure). Legacy 80 L is generous but not sourced.
Seriously Fish: Melanotaenia maccullochiSeriously Fish (2012) still says Papua New Guinea and Australia; since Hammer et al. 2019 the New Guinea and Cape York fish are M. sahulensis.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: genus Melanotaenia · FishBase: Melanotaenia maccullochi summaryLegacy 'males have a taller back' is contradicted: Seriously Fish says females are deeper-bodied. Red-orange male fins verified.
Seriously Fish: Melanotaenia maccullochi · FishBase: Melanotaenia maccullochi summaryLegacy 10-30/day not sourced; hatch 7-10 days near the sourced 7-12.
FishBase: Melanotaenia maccullochi summary · Seriously Fish: Melanotaenia maccullochiIUCN: Least Concern (2019, via FishBase). Locality forms should not be mixed (Seriously Fish).
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: genus Melanotaenia · Seriously Fish: Melanotaenia maccullochi