# Tankmates for Threadfin Rainbowfish?



## Grah the great (Jul 3, 2013)

Avoid fish that nip fins...that may be a given, but I though it would be worth mentioning all the same.


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## n25philly (Dec 12, 2013)

I've used to have threadfins. They are sensitive fish that are kind of a pain in the rear that after a while just didn't seem worth it.

They are super peaceful fish and not overly shy. They are a schoaling fish so I would get a decent number of them. It's best to have a low ph with them but they should be ok with a more neutral ph as well.

They are a pain because they have really tiny throats, so you have to feed them tiny foods. I ended up pretty much feeding them frozen baby brine shrimp every day. That and they would hang out around my cory cats at meal time and eat any specks that got up in the water. They also seem to be more prone to getting sick.

As mentioned don't put them with any fin nippers. I would say probably not to danios and definitely not to dwarf gourami's. (If you like gourami's mine did fine with a honey gourami) cpd's should be fine.


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## Fishermike (Feb 24, 2013)

I keep threadfins with neon green rasboras (Microdevario kubotai) and axelrod's rasboras (Sundanio axelrodi), both of which would be considered "nano-fish". 

[As the species names indicate, neither is really considered a rasbora anymore (they're both now considered miniature danionins, i.e., danio-type fish), but that's common names for you.]

I also have a ton of cherry shrimp in the tank, which is a heavily-planted "Dutch-ish" 24g hi-tech tank.

I don't find them especially challenging, to tell you the truth. Yes, they have tiny mouths (all of the fish in the tank do). I feed frozen baby brine shrimp and frozen daphnia on alternate days in the morning, and then they get hikari micro-pellets in the afternoon. They'll take crushed flake food, too, but I find that messy.

The main thing I would say is that you want them in a tank that you sit close to - they're not an across-the-room kind of fish. My tank is on my desk in my office, basically set up so it looks almost like my third monitor, in the corner where my computer desk and plan table come together. 

They're really beautiful little fish, but not garish. It's really their behavior that makes them interesting.


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## creekbottom (Apr 5, 2012)

I agree with this ^^. I don't do anything to my water, which is kinda hard and high pH. And also put them in a fairly new tank, they are fine. They live with chili rasbora's. They aren't the most colorful fish, but when they flash those fins... That's when they're cool. 

I feed NLS, and with the rasboras it's a good size food for everyone. They are peaceful, but hold their own at feeding time. I did find that when I first got them they were really shy, I added the rasboras and they figured out there was nothing to fear.


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## Clear Water (Sep 20, 2014)

I have had my for well over 1 1/2 years very hardy. I have cory's, danios, celestial pearl rasbora's, asian rummynose, & spark gourami in the tank with them. They may have tiny mouth but will eat about anything if you can get it there size. I dice blood worms for them and grind my flake food for them. They never stop putting a show on with there fins. A great peaceful fish.


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## Varmint (Apr 5, 2014)

I have two males in my Fluval Edge. They live with six Ember tetras. They school with and sometimes try to spawn with the Embers (poor things, but really funny). They are very compatible both in behavior and diet preference.


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## BlahT (Oct 10, 2014)

I have 3 males in a moderately planted tank with 6 neon tetra, 1 cardinal tetra, 3 platys, 5 female guppies, 2 small clown loaches, and a pair of GBRs. The rainbows get along with everybody and they eat flakes just fine. I just make sure that I crush the flakes before feeding. I found them to be pretty easy to keep and I don't do anything special to water. My ph is usually around 7.6.

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk


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## kamikaziechameleon (Feb 16, 2012)

I'd like to point out a few things. 

#1 there is no species page on this site for the thread-fin rainbow. I really hope we can put one up so we can share info on it to help pro-actively inform the users of this site a little more. 

#2 I've never modified water when keeping these fish. The PH in every tank I've ever had them has been near or over 9. 

#3 I've kept them generally in a school of no less than 6 (though 12 is the best) with an assortment of other animals: dwarf frogs, amano shrimp, ram cichlids, betta fish, danios, gouramis etc. The most important thing is keeping a group of them and keeping them with other fish in groups. Con specific social paradigms go a long way in preventing fin nipping. To explain keeping a single danio will be disasterous but if kept with atleast 6 danios the danios will bicker with themselves and leave the threadfin alone. Same with the ram, if kept in say 2 spawning pairs (so a minimum of 4) they are far more peaceful than when kept as a single specimen or in a single spawning pair. 

This is actually a powerful dynamic you can use to blend fish of varying levels of aggression in larger tanks, for example putting a ventralis (relatively peaceful tang cichlid with long fins) group with a demasoni (one of the most aggressive fish you can buy) group that will exist in total harmony if the groups are 12 or more each.(assuming a 6 ft tank or larger) 

#4 Food is not hard at all, simply buy smaller pellets, there are fry size pellets that they can consume easily without all the fus. They can also eat most crushed flake or many shrimp pellets. I'm rather amazed at the food fus being made here. I feed my 180 a blend of invert pellets, fry pellets, general community fish pellets, algae wafers, crushed flake, freeze dried shrimp pellets etc and mine do great. They will also graze a little in a well developed planted tank. If kept with spawning snails like ramshorn or Malaysian trumpet they can eat the freshly born babies.

I have one question and one concern. In my experience these are a short lived fish, less than 2 years(not based on ones I've kept personally but known others to keep). I'd read they live for a max of 2.5 years by some breeders. Now I've heard similar about other fish like rams and it was unfounded they can live up to 5 years from birth to death. I suspect the thread-fin might similarly live longer mine all perished in a heater malfunction each and every time I've lost them. Input here would be useful. 

I hope a species page is setup.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

I realize this is an old thread. Thus I may not get a response. 

I was thinking of getting some threadfin rainbow fish and putting them in a 20g high with a few flame tetra fish. Eventually I will move all to a 30g tank. Any thoughts?


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## GrampsGrunge (Jun 18, 2012)

If you mean H. Flammeus I'd get the flame tetras as youngsters, so they can grow into their social tank life with the threadfins, other wise the Threadfins will fare poorly with the aggressive feeding ( i'd refer to it as a 'frenzy'..) of H. Flammeus.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

GrampsGrunge said:


> the Threadfins will fare poorly with the aggressive feeding ( i'd refer to it as a 'frenzy'..) of H. Flammeus.


Yes, those are them. I already have the Flame Tetras (Von Rio). Hmm! I did not think of that. I had a similar problem when I had a Ram with Tetra. To get food to the Ram I over fed and got BBA algae problem.

Perhaps putting the Threadfins in a 29g first and then adding a few of the Von Rios would work. 

Until I get the 29g up I will just get 1 male to go with the 2 females I got. Then keep them in a 20g long until I decide if I want more, instead of get a school form aquabid


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