Celebes Rainbow

The celebes rainbow is a species of fish in the Telmatherinidae family, endemic to Indonesia.

Celebes Rainbow (Telmatherina ladigesi) is originated from Indonesia. In Indonesia, they can be found only near the town of Maros, so the other name of the species is Marosatherina ladigesi. Due to ornamental fish business and pollution, their numbers have dramatically reduced.

Males of Celebes Rainbow grow to 6-8cm, and females to 5-7cm in length. Their bodies are slender and almost fully transparent with a blue stripe along the sideline. The sexes can be easily distinguished, since males have elongated black dorsal and ventral fins, and are usually a little darker than females.

Peaceful Aquarium Fish

The Celebes Rainbow is a peaceful aquarium fish. It grows to 7.5 cm (3 inches). It eats prepared foods and small livefoods. It prefers a temperature of 20-28 C (68-82 F), a pH of 7.0 to 7.5 and a hardness of 150 to 200 mg/l. These fish are sensitive to water quality. If conditions are favorable spawning may occur nonstop for months, but they often eat their eggs. Eggs hatch after up to 11 days.

These fish dwell in estuaries, where freshwater rivers flow into the sea, so they live in fast flowing brackish water with lots of dissolved oxygen. Most of their day is spent hiding among the leaves of plants, where they eat small worms, insects or vegetable debris.