1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Peaceful and shy; keep a group in a planted tank.
339 species in our list are a good match.
Peaceful and shy; keep a group in a planted tank.
Baby brine shrimp, daphnia, microworms and fine flake.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Males are yellowish to red with a neon-blue stripe along the top of the back, black-spotted fins and long fin filaments; females are similar but duller, usually without fin spots.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Egg-scatterer (spawning mops) · Moderate
Egg scatterer with no parental care: females lay a few eggs a day on plants, moss or mops, and adults eat eggs and fry.
A group of 6 or more.
A 30 L planted tank with spawning mops and floating plants.
Warm water and live food.
A few eggs per female each day over several days; incubation about 10 days, and fry need microscopic food for up to 5 days.
Feed infusoria, then baby brine shrimp.
A tiny blue-eye from swamps near Timika in Indonesian Papua, described in 2016. Males are yellow to red with a neon-blue stripe on the upper back. It first reached the hobby around 2011 as "red neon" and is listed as Endangered.
Before its formal description in 2016, this fish was traded as Pseudomugil sp. 'Red Neon'. Allen, Unmack and Hadiaty named it for the glowing red of breeding males. It is a tiny fish now bred by specialists.
First described by Gerald R. Allen, Peter J. Unmack & Renny K. Hadiaty in 2016. Named for 'luminatus' means 'lit up', for its glowing red colour.
15 facts checked with sources
Described 2016. The hobby fish first appeared in 2011 as Pseudomugil sp. 'red neon' (also P. cf. paskai, P. 'iriani', 'red orange neon'); Seriously Fish still lists it under that undescribed name, possibly from near Timika. ANGFA's account cites the 2012 hobby article on it (Evers, Amazonas), so the trade fish is treated as P. luminatus here, but Seriously Fish has not confirmed the match. Not to be confused with P. paskai or P. gertrudae.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: species of Pseudomugil · FishBase: Pseudomugil luminatus summary · ANGFA Home of the Rainbowfish: Pseudomugil luminatus (from Allen, Unmack & Hadiaty 2016)Legacy has no family; recorded as sourced.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: species of Pseudomugil · FishBase: Pseudomugil luminatus summarySize rule: Seriously Fish 3.5 cm SL for aquarium 'red neon' fish is the larger figure; wild type specimens were about 2.2 cm SL (ANGFA) or 1.9 cm SL (FishBase). Legacy 5 cm is too big.
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil sp. 'red neon' · ANGFA Home of the Rainbowfish: Pseudomugil luminatus (from Allen, Unmack & Hadiaty 2016) · FishBase: Pseudomugil luminatus summarySeriously Fish (preferred, for the aquarium 'red neon') 18-26 °C; wild collection sites were 26-28 °C. Legacy 22-28.
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil sp. 'red neon' · ANGFA Home of the Rainbowfish: Pseudomugil luminatus (from Allen, Unmack & Hadiaty 2016)Legacy 7-8 is too alkaline; wild water was pH 4.8-7.2.
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil sp. 'red neon' · ANGFA Home of the Rainbowfish: Pseudomugil luminatus (from Allen, Unmack & Hadiaty 2016)Legacy has no hardness.
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil sp. 'red neon'45 x 30 x 30 cm = 40.5 L (Seriously Fish ~41 litres); legacy 40 L matches.
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil sp. 'red neon'Legacy 6.
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil sp. 'red neon'Legacy 2 = moderate.
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil sp. 'red neon'Legacy story says southern Papua New Guinea; it is Indonesian Papua, not the country Papua New Guinea. IUCN: Endangered (2019, per FishBase); the type locality was damaged by mine-tailing sediment.
ANGFA Home of the Rainbowfish: Pseudomugil luminatus (from Allen, Unmack & Hadiaty 2016) · FishBase: Pseudomugil luminatus summaryLegacy 5-15 eggs a day and 10-14 days; Seriously Fish gives about 10 days.
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil sp. 'red neon'Legacy says 'southern Papua New Guinea' and 'vivid red body'; corrected to Indonesian Papua, and the neon-blue back stripe is the key mark.
ANGFA Home of the Rainbowfish: Pseudomugil luminatus (from Allen, Unmack & Hadiaty 2016) · Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil sp. 'red neon' · FishBase: Pseudomugil luminatus summary