# Boesmani Rainbowfish



## sykogngsta (Apr 12, 2008)

Would a 29 gallon tank fit a small school of Boesmani Rainbowfish?


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## MikeS (Apr 27, 2008)

From LiveAquaria.com - "When maintaining a school of Boesemani Rainbow, an aquarium that is at least 4 feet in length should be used."


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

though a pair can be kept relatively happy in a 20L (which i believe has same dimmensions as a 29 except for height). i have a pair and they spawn every so often (but my other fish just love to eat eggs). however they are problematic in such enclosures; they have complete disregard for small fish (i have seen them nocking my other fish aside to keep them from eating), so you should try to keep them with small fish, which means bigger a tank.


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## rasetsu (Oct 11, 2007)

Short answer would be no. Bosemanis should be in groups of 6 (no less than 4). They grow to be 3-4 inches.


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## BruceWatts (Feb 27, 2008)

If you saw a school of full grown adults you would have your answer. They are fast swimmers and a 30inch tank would be too restrictive. They are very robust fish.

Bruce


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## oblongshrimp (Jul 26, 2006)

I have them in a 120gal tank and whenever I feed them they splash me....The move around a lot and I don't think they would be happy in that small of a tank


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## Katalyst (May 24, 2008)

I don't want to steer this topic in another direction but I was just about to post a thread asking a similar question. I have an established 90 gallon that is basically empty except for a school of long finned panda corydoras and weitzmani corydoras. Would the a 90 gallon be suitable for some rainbows? If so how many would you reccomend? I have 2 aqua clear 110's running on the tank currently.

Thanks.


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## valerietheangel (Jan 6, 2008)

A 90 would be a great size for rainbows, you could definitely keep some of the larger species with that size. I have australians and started with a school of 8, they're close to adult size and I've lost two (petsmart fish, gotta love 'em) but the remaining six school and are always very active. Also, if you buy yours at petsmart etc. be prepared for an amazing transformation once you get them home. Once mine were eating good food for about two weeks they really colored up and now show beautiful reds/purples and yellow/blacks.


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## Katalyst (May 24, 2008)

valerietheangel said:


> A 90 would be a great size for rainbows, you could definitely keep some of the larger species with that size. I have australians and started with a school of 8, they're close to adult size and I've lost two (petsmart fish, gotta love 'em) but the remaining six school and are always very active. Also, if you buy yours at petsmart etc. be prepared for an amazing transformation once you get them home. Once mine were eating good food for about two weeks they really colored up and now show beautiful reds/purples and yellow/blacks.


Thanks for your help Valerie! :icon_smil 

I'm going to look for a private breeder first and do a little more reading about them before I pick some up. Appreciate the response!

Kate


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## rasetsu (Oct 11, 2007)

Petsmarts in my area are stocking Bosemani Rainbows now. They look pretty healthy. The tag says 20 gallon tank minimum. That will work if you have one or two and nothing else. About 8 would be great in a 90 gallon. They are very easy and hearty fish. 

I had 6 and just lost one a couple weeks ago in a 75 gallon heavily planted stocked with cardinals, panda corys, and harlequinn rasboras.


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## TheXman (Oct 27, 2006)

rasetsu said:


> Petsmarts in my area are stocking Bosemani Rainbows now. They look pretty healthy. The tag says 20 gallon tank minimum. That will work if you have one or two and nothing else. About 8 would be great in a 90 gallon. They are very easy and hearty fish.
> 
> I had 6 and just lost one a couple weeks ago in a 75 gallon heavily planted stocked with cardinals, panda corys, and harlequinn rasboras.


Don't trust any of the recommendations from Petsmart. They'll also tell you that you can put clown loaches in the same 20 gallon tank, which is even worse! Boesmanis should be kept in schools, not pairs, and a 20 gallon is too small for a pair anyway since they are very active and often reach lengths of 5-6 inches if given proper care and are a few years old. A 4 ft long tank which can hold 55 gallons is the minimum size tank that adult boesemanis should be housed in. BTW, I saw two male Boesemanis at a small independent LFS the other day and they were both 7 inches long!! No joke, they were the biggest I have ever seen, and must have been 10-20 years old.


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## DaveS (Mar 2, 2008)

A 20g tank is way too small for any of the larger rainbows in my opinion. Rainbows are very active and like to have open swimming spaces.

As far as the 90g tank, you can have a nice large school of rainbows. When it comes to rainbows, I have found you don't need to have schools of the same fish per se, just lots of males to spread out the aggression. In my 75g tank I have the following rainbows:

3 bosemani,
2 emerald,
3 turquoise,
1 red tailed,
2 axelrodi
3 parkinsoni
2 trifasciata

(sorry I can't remember the Latin names for most of them)

They are all old and large and fat. You can drop a few females of any species if you wish for nice displays from the males, but it isn't necessary.

Dave


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## Bugman (Jan 7, 2008)

It's already been said but I will give more validation. Rainbows should be kept in schools and the length of the tank is very important. They need the room to swim. I would agree that 6 is a minimum. A 20 gallon is not adequate.

As far as the 90 gallon is concerned.........absolutely! I would recomend rainbows to anyone. One of my Favorite fish!! I have 8 in one of my 55's.


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## annette (Jun 18, 2008)

*boesmani rainbows*

I have kept these fish, they are awesome but truthfully your tank is not big enough. You need at least a 75 long for them. Also if you have a planted tank they will nibble and pull out your plants. I gave mine up for that reason, they destroyed my plants, but they are gorgeous. :fish:


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## annette (Jun 18, 2008)

Sorry but i disagree about putting even 2 in such a small tank, they grow to be big fish and are very active fast swimmers, they need room.


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