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Updated: 26th March 2009
Boesemani
Melanotaenia boesemani
Common Name
Boesemani Rainbow
Scientific Name Melanotaenia boesemani
Family Melanotaeniidae
Community Semi-Aggressive
Class Danio
Temperature 78ºF
Swimming Range Top-Middle
Adult Length 4-5 inches
Feeding Habits Live fish, blood worms, glass worms, brine shrimp and tubifex worms. Frozen plankton, beef heart, brine shrimp, glass worms and
blood worms. Freeze dried and flake foods also accepted.
Compatibility: An active, peaceful and schooling fish that mixes well with
the same sized active fish. Not recommended for any aquarium with slow
moving fish.
Habitat New Guinea: Moderately decorated with rocks, live plants and driftwood.
Breeding The male has a higher back and is intensely coloured, while the female is very pale in colour. They are egg layers.
Additional Comments When the fry hatch they have no body colour and are clear. When the fry reach 2 inches in size they will start to develop body colour. When the fish reach about one year in age their colour will really intensify.
These images were taken in the shop. Very little is on the internet about these fish. Apparently, according to one source, they are becoming "endangered" in the wild. So, if you can breed them, you may go down in history! What information I could find, after over an hour of searching, is printed below. These are apparently native to New Guinea, but another, sparsely detailed, site said they were of Australian origin. Spelling can differ on this name but it IS the same fish.
I found this little bit of information on an American Aquarium Site:
Rainbows are extremely colourful fishes native to Australia, New Guinea and Madagascar. Rainbows are schooling fish and should be kept in groups of six or more. Larger, somewhat more expensive and harder to find than many of the schooling fishes, Rainbows are easily cared for, active and make good first fish for those who want to try something a little less common. Look in your dealers tanks for the Australian Rainbow - Melanotaenia splendida, Boseman's Rainbow - Melanotaenia bosemani (half purple and half yellow males at adult), the Turquoise Rainbow - Metanotaenia lacustris and the Celebes Rainbow - Telmatherina ladigesi.
This is on a site known as Elmer's Aquariums:
Rainbowfish are indigenous to Africa, Australia, and other South Asian Islands. They inhabit streams, creeks, lakes, and brackish waters. Most are omnivorous, but will accept numerous foods including flakes, freeze-dried foods, frozen and live brine shrimp and blackworms. Depending on the species, pH requirements can vary from 6.0 to 8.0 and temperatures should be maintained between 72-82 °C. Rainbowfish are normally very active fish, and are often very hardy. They fit well in many community tanks, and the Australian Rainbow often mixes with larger fish. Suitable with other fish of similar size. Longevity: 4 years. Bosemani Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia boesemani, grow to 3.5 in., and prefer a pH below 7.0 and soft water.
The genus name Melanotaenia comes from the Greek word melanos meaning black and the Latin word taenia meaning stripe. The species name boesemani is a patronym. The fish is named in honour of Dr. Marinus Boeseman, the Curator of Fishes at the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Histoire of Leiden in the Netherlands and collector of the type specimens. According to labels that accompanied the type specimens that Boeseman collected, the native names for this species are sekiak and ikan rascado. Ikan is the Malay word for fish and rascado is a Spanish verb meaning to scratch.
They are endangered in the wild and are listed on the IUCN Red List. The habitat of this species is subject to broad fluctuations in water levels. It is thought that these fluctuations have become more severe in recent years.
Before they were successfully bred in captivity in numbers to supply the aquarium industry, the main threat to this fish in the wild was collection (mainly males) for the international aquarium fish trade. It has been estimated that up to one million fish per annum have been captured since their introduction to the hobby.