# Are these bosemani??



## plants4fun

So I purchased 4 bosemani rainbow fish from my local fish store and the females are starting to look very different from each other.. Maybe someone can help me figure this out... 
Here is a pic of both "females"


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## Wiccandove

lkorexia said:


> So I purchased 4 bosemani rainbow fish from my local fish store and the females are starting to look very different from each other.. Maybe someone can help me figure this out...
> Here is a pic of both "females"


How long have you had them? The first one might be a male but sometimes when their juvies its hard to tell


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## darkangel66n

The boesmani available in the hobby now are all hybreds of different strains of similar coloured rainbows. As such you can see variations in the fish. Unless you bought them from a dedicated rainbow enthusiast expext some variation. The second problem is these fish are produced in large numbers in Florida ponds and it is possible it could be a different rainbow species all together.


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## Ashleyrezka

darkangel66n said:


> The boesmani available in the hobby now are all hybreds of different strains of similar coloured rainbows. As such you can see variations in the fish. Unless you bought them from a dedicated rainbow enthusiast expext some variation. The second problem is these fish are produced in large numbers in Florida ponds and it is possible it could be a different rainbow species all together.


That's good to know, I was looking to get some. Are there any rainbow breeders in the area? (Sorry to hijack the post)


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## plants4fun

no problem, i wish i knew this before buying them from the store 

I guess ill have to wait and see what happens.. ill update in a few months when they're fully grown.



Ashleyrezka said:


> That's good to know, I was looking to get some. Are there any rainbow breeders in the area? (Sorry to hijack the post)


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## darkangel66n

Gary Lange in the States is probably the worlds most knowledgable rainbow person. Locally there is Derek Tustin and out Chatham way there s Ken Boorman. There are los of others these are just guys I know. Best way to get good quality rainbows is to join a fish club.


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## Tino

Any update? To me they didn't look like bosemanis...


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## plants4fun

Tino said:


> Any update? To me they didn't look like bosemanis...


I can upadate pictures tonight, you'll be shocked


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## mitko1994

They look like bosemani to me. They are just young and the colours haven't developed yet.


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## plants4fun

Sorry I haven't had access to a pc to upload pics. But they did end up being boesemani.


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## PDan

*probably*

Sometimes I get M parva and M boesemani girls mixed up when they're young. I would have taken odds on your 1st photo - M boesemani. I wasn't as confident with the 2nd photo. The dark stripe along her tail doesn't look as strong. Then again, Melanotaenia can be a challenge to photograph.

The risk of dealing with LFS is buying a misclassified or hybrid fish - even an exhaustively bred bloodline. Each generation tends to become more susceptible to disease, and its colors and behaviors weaken. It's not a jab at LFS; some do the best they can with what they have. Some local breeders bring good livestock to LFS tanks.

I'm not interested in joining a fish club, but I've learned to appreciate forums like GTA where I might have the privilege of meeting breeders just the same. Before I moved to Ontario, I hung my hat at http://albertaaquatica.com/ which is where I found the 'bows I did when I lived in Alberta, thanks to this guy: http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showforum=150, and a few like him.

Here is an example:

Photo 1 (below) is an F4 group of young Melanotaenia boesemani "Lake Aytinjo" barely an 1.5" long. It seems there are 3 pair there. But there is one Pseudomugil gertrudae Aru II girl looking right at home.

Photo 2 is a pair from the same group, eight months later. They are 2" long.

M boesemani are extremely slow growers, so be patient with yours plants4fun. If you can manage to put a bonafide boy in there with them, you'll be in for an amazing show, and so will those girls.

Take good care.


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## plants4fun

PDan said:


> Sometimes I get M parva and M boesemani girls mixed up when they're young. I would have taken odds on your 1st photo - M boesemani. I wasn't as confident with the 2nd photo. The dark stripe along her tail doesn't look as strong. Then again, Melanotaenia can be a challenge to photograph.
> 
> The risk of dealing with LFS is buying a misclassified or hybrid fish - even an exhaustively bred bloodline. Each generation tends to become more susceptible to disease, and its colors and behaviors weaken. It's not a jab at LFS; some do the best they can with what they have. Some local breeders bring good livestock to LFS tanks.
> 
> I'm not interested in joining a fish club, but I've learned to appreciate forums like GTA where I might have the privilege of meeting breeders just the same. Before I moved to Ontario, I hung my hat at http://albertaaquatica.com/ which is where I found the 'bows I did when I lived in Alberta, thanks to this guy: http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showforum=150, and a few like him.
> 
> Here is an example:
> 
> Photo 1 (below) is an F4 group of young Melanotaenia boesemani "Lake Aytinjo" barely an 1.5" long. It seems there are 3 pair there. But there is one Pseudomugil gertrudae Aru II girl looking right at home.
> 
> Photo 2 is a pair from the same group, eight months later. They are 2" long.
> 
> M boesemani are extremely slow growers, so be patient with yours plants4fun. If you can manage to put a bonafide boy in there with them, you'll be in for an amazing show, and so will those girls.
> 
> Take good care.


Here's one of the males. Its definitely a boesemani. and he's looking sharp.


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## PDan

*Ah!*

Hey plant4fun. I see I didn't read your original post carefully enough. Yes, definitely a boesemani boy - and you have two 

Give them a mop to spawn on, and you'll see the males' colors flash and flare. Their spawning behavior is quite a spectacle - one of the reasons I've endeared to these fish.


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## plants4fun

PDan said:


> Hey plant4fun. I see I didn't read your original post carefully enough. Yes, definitely a boesemani boy - and you have two
> 
> Give them a mop to spawn on, and you'll see the males' colors flash and flare. Their spawning behavior is quite a spectacle - one of the reasons I've endeared to these fish.


How big of a mop? 
also, the only other tank i have is a 5 gallon chi..... i feel like that's too small.. what do you think?


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## PDan

*mop maker, mop maker, make me a mop*

Take a look see http://www.rainbowfish.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2511

You can make a "floating pom-pom" using a cork, or you can forego floatation and let the mop lay in the tank bottom. They'll puzzle at its presence, perhaps even shy away from it at first. But your 'bows will figure out what to do with it, regardless of where the mop is, or how big you make it.

A floating mop in my tanks would typically settle in a back corner. The photo shows one dangling among some jungle vals in a 29g (for example). Seems to be some happy (ahem) duckweed in there too.

A mop will tend to draw their spawning attention. Moving a mop to a grow-out tank is easier than trying to deal with eggs on a plant. Hatching eggs and growing fry is a labor of love plants4fun. It's a sharp learning curve, where joys and frustrations abound  Always worth the time to read and learn about before hand. A 5g tank is a fair size to try if you want to give it a shot.

Even if you opt out of breeding, the mop will keep your boesemani active in your present tank. The boys will show off, sparing with each other, enticing the girls to the mop. Sometimes a girl will hover around the mop and wait. There's plenty of videos of their spawning antics online. When you least expect it, a wiggler will show up at your tank surface... It's a sensation unlike any other  which might be enough to give you the fever 

I'll just add that the fish in the photo were awaiting their final move. Because there are mixed Melanotaenia in that tank, I never intended to grow out any of the fry that hatched.


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## Wiccandove

As an alternative to a mop, I've had success with floating water wisteria. I made a ring out of airline tubing and extra suction cups so it stays in one place. I'm not doing large scale breeding of my rainbows but I did manage to get 7 turquoise rainbow fry (I had to pull the plants right after the spawn since everyone else in the tank thought the eggs were a yummy treat). Even if you don't raise fry, the mating behavior of the males is beautiful and its worth setting up something they feel the need to display over.

You can see my floating wisteria in the top right of this picture of my tank taken a few weeks ago


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## PDan

Wiccandove said:


> As an alternative to a mop, I've had success with floating water wisteria. [...] (I had to pull the plants right after the spawn since everyone else in the tank thought the eggs were a yummy treat).


Verily! Plecos and corys will figure out the mop activity is their dinner bell too. Rainbows are pretty quick to snap up any eggs that happen to fall. Plenty of protein pills to go around 

Say wiccandove - am I counting three M lacustris in your photo? 1M just above the swords on the left. Looks like 1M and 1F a little higher than mid tank on either side of your drift wood. Nice tank btw.


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## plants4fun

Here is an updated picture of the crew. 
the 4 of them share a 40 long along with some harlequin rasboras

I was only trying to take a picture of the male... but the rest came by to say hi.


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## PDan

gotta ask how your boesemani are doing.


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## plants4fun

PDan said:


> gotta ask how your boesemani are doing.


They;re doing great  they look the exact same as the above picture lol


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## jsic37

plants4fun said:


> So I purchased 4 bosemani rainbow fish from my local fish store and the females are starting to look very different from each other.. Maybe someone can help me figure this out...
> Here is a pic of both "females"


First pic looks very similar to the turquoise rainbow. Second looks more like a bosemani rainbow. Its hard to determine what the fish will be when their juveniles. I had the same problem with my angels and cichlids. a lot of juve cichlids are often very plain looking brownish with black stripes or a dull metallic grey colour. The colourful distinctive features don't show up until adulthood. Out of the 6 angels I have I am only sure that 1 is a female as the rest are too young and small to tell.


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