4 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Peaceful, active schooling fish; keep a group of 6 or more with other peaceful fish.
272 species in our list are a good match.
Peaceful, active schooling fish; keep a group of 6 or more with other peaceful fish.
Flakes, micro pellets, frozen foods and small live foods.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Mature males are larger, brighter and deeper-bodied than females, with longer dorsal and anal fins; males from the Pascoe, Claudie and McIvor rivers stay slimmer.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Egg-scatterer (spawning mops) · Easy
Egg scatterer: spawns daily for several weeks into plants or mops; adults tend not to eat the eggs, but rearing in a separate tank is easier. Breeds year-round in the wild.
A group of 6 or more.
A 100 L planted tank with spawning mops.
Warm water and plenty of live food.
About 60-70 eggs per spawning in the wild; eggs hatch in 7-12 days depending on temperature.
Feed infusoria, then baby brine shrimp.
A northern Australian rainbowfish whose colours vary greatly by locality: usually green-blue with a dark mid-body stripe and yellow to bright red fins. The Goyder River form is one of several locality forms in the hobby. IUCN: Least Concern (2019).
Swedish zoologist Hialmar Rendahl described this rainbowfish in 1922. Its many local forms are named after the rivers they come from, and the vividly coloured Goyder River form from Arnhem Land is the best known in aquariums. Hobbyists often keep each river form separate to preserve its look.
First described by Hialmar Rendahl in 1922. Named for 'trifasciata' means 'three-banded' in Latin.
15 facts checked with sources
'Goyder River' is a locality form, not a species. Seriously Fish: several species may be involved; locality forms hybridise freely and must not be mixed, so shop fish without locality data are often hybrids.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: genus Melanotaenia · FishBase: Melanotaenia trifasciata summaryLegacy has no family; recorded as sourced.
FishBase: Melanotaenia trifasciata summary · Seriously Fish: Melanotaenia trifasciataSeriously Fish 15 cm SL, FishBase/Fishes of Australia 13 cm SL (commonly 8). Larger well-sourced figure used; SL.
Seriously Fish: Melanotaenia trifasciata · FishBase: Melanotaenia trifasciata summary · Fishes of Australia (Museums Victoria): Melanotaenia trifasciataWild range; Seriously Fish suggests about 27-29 °C in the aquarium. Legacy 22-28 °C is cool at the bottom.
Seriously Fish: Melanotaenia trifasciata · FishBase: Melanotaenia trifasciata summaryLegacy has none.
Seriously Fish: Melanotaenia trifasciata120 x 30 x 30 cm = 108 L (Seriously Fish figure). Legacy 200 L is generous but not sourced.
Seriously Fish: Melanotaenia trifasciataType locality Mary River, NT (Catalog of Fishes).
Fishes of Australia (Museums Victoria): Melanotaenia trifasciata · FishBase: Melanotaenia trifasciata summaryMale colours vary by locality.
Seriously Fish: Melanotaenia trifasciataLegacy 'adults eat some eggs' contradicts Seriously Fish.
Seriously Fish: Melanotaenia trifasciata · Fishes of Australia (Museums Victoria): Melanotaenia trifasciataLegacy 10-30 eggs/day and 7-10 days hatch partly outside sources.
Fishes of Australia (Museums Victoria): Melanotaenia trifasciata · Seriously Fish: Melanotaenia trifasciata'Bright red, yellow and blue bands' corrected: the 'three bands' are one dark stripe between two pale ones. 'Goyder River form most sold' not sourced. The species is IUCN Least Concern (2019); no source found that lists the Goyder River population as threatened.
Fishes of Australia (Museums Victoria): Melanotaenia trifasciata · FishBase: Melanotaenia trifasciata summary