Rainbowfish
Rainbows are becoming a more popular and widespread 
aquarium fish because of their unique colours and due to the fact that they are readily easy to breed and keep. They originate in the warmer climates of northern Australia and Papua New Guinea. They are unique and come in hundreds of different styles due to minor variations in the places in which they were captured. The same type of fish can be found across a wide area but each will have a slight variation depending on its location.
They are great community fish and will school with each other and different species of rainbow. They co-exist very well but you have to be careful that they do not cross-breed, this will result in the loss of colour and the offspring will be ugly looking mutations of the parents.
That is why keeping rainbows in a specific species tank only is the best idea.
Some rainbows will stay very small, such as the popular threadfin. The dwarf rainbows only grow up to 4cm max and look great in a large school in a big aquarium.
The sense of small fish gives the illusion of depth and size. Some rainbows however will grow to be very large, around 10-15cm, although they grow big, with age there colour strengthens and they look mind-blowing at around 1-2 years old.
They can be fed solidly on flake food but for a healthier diet and variety it is recommended to feed them both vegetables and meat every now and again. They are omnivorous and should be fed mainly vegetable based foods. They will also readily consume mosquito larvae as this is what they will eat in the wild.
They can easily be bred in the aquarium by keeping the required pH, temp and lighting constant. Often a water change will influence the females to lay eggs and once they start, they will probably lay eggs most days from now on. The eggs can be taken at this point and put in a separate aquarium to hatch them.
A great community fish!
