Praecox Rainbowfish – Melanotaenia praecox

Prae­cox Rain­bow­fish – Melan­o­tae­nia prae­cox is extreme­ly beau­ti­ful­ly col­ored dwarf fish species. They are quite amus­ing to watch and are high­ly intel­li­gent, aware of your pres­ence around the aquar­i­um. In the year 1994, Prae­cox Rain­bow­fish were iden­ti­fied as a rare fish species. The male Rain­bow fish boast bright­ly col­ored red fins and the females boast yel­low col­ored fins. The col­or­ing on their body is a pink­ish gray col­or. Their scales will fea­ture a bright blue when the light is reflect­ing on them with a range of fas­ci­nat­ing col­or from many tones of blues to laven­der.

Com­mon Name: Prae­cox Rain­bow­fish, Dwarf Neon Rain­bow­fish

Sci­en­tific Name: Melan­o­tae­nia prae­cox

Size: 3 inch­es /8 cm

Nat­u­ral Habi­tat: They inhab­it mov­ing jun­gle waters in West­ern New Guinea, Indone­sia.

Tank Size: 55 gal­lon /240 litre

Tank Mates: oth­er peace­ful, com­mu­ni­ty fish like Mol­ly, Gup­pies, Platy, Tetras.

Care Lev­el: Begin­ner+

Aquar­i­um Water Tem­per­a­ture: 23 – 32°C (73 – 89°F)

Aquar­i­um Water pH: Range pH 4.5 – 7.5

Feed­ing: Feed once or twice a day. They should con­sume all food in a mat­ter of min­utes. Any left­over food in the aquar­i­um should be removed with a fine fish net. Foods left­over in the water will alter water para­me­ters and the qual­i­ty of water in their envi­ron­ment. A flake food diet is a great food base for the Rain­bow, how­ev­er should be offered live foods as well to ensure the health­i­ness of the­se type of dwarf fish species. Live or frozen Brine Shrimp, blood­worms, fruit flies, micro worms, mos­qui­to lar­vae, diced up Earth­worms and daph­nia are great alter­na­tives.

Sex­ing: Males have red fins while females have yel­low to light orange fins. The males breed­ing stripe from top of nose to dor­sal fin flash­es yel­low dur­ing dis­plays.

Oth­er Con­sid­er­a­tions: The­se fish are quite pop­u­lar in the hob­by. Ensure that your aquar­i­um water has been cycled before adding the­se type of rain­bow fish.

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