# Chilatherina Alleni Wapoga rainbow questions



## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Hi paulieoz,

First most fish in our LFS are indeed 'stressed' and do not show their best colors with the possible exception of livebearers. That said you are wise to question the 'stock' of the fish you saw. Many of the rainbowfish we see in our stores today are either raised in large breeding operations in Asia or on fish farms in Florida. Regrettably few of these operations care about breeding quality fish, they are more interested in turning out the numbers (quantity) and sometimes species get 'crossed' with other species. That said, there are some quality breeders of rainbowfish to be found on Aquabid, rainbow-fish.org, Rainbowfish.info, and other sites. 

I believe that when purchasing rainbowfish it is important to know the pedigree of the fish, i.e. where it was collected, who collected it, and who raised it. Yes, adult rainbowfish can be expensive, but if you can purchase eggs from a quality breeder it is a much better (although slower) way to fill an aquarium with quality fish. In fact, here on our forum at TPT there is a well known rainbowfish explorer, collector, and breeder that has gone to Malaysia several times discovering new species and bringing them back to the U.S. to breed and introduce to the hobby including the 'Wapoga Red Laser' rainbowfish that was featured in _Amazonias_ magazine. 

Chilatherina alleni 'Wapoga Red Laser' (_Amazonias_ picture)









My 75 gallon with Melanotaenia boesemani 'Lake Aytinjo'; $30 worth of eggs + 4 years raising them to adulthood


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

Rainbows in a LFS sometimes will not show well. Females also will show much less or different colors.

The strange thing is, not too many people are breeding these, and they are generally hard to find. So it's doubtful they are over bred or from a fish farm. 

I would ask them where these came from. Could very well be they are good stock from a breeder somewhere in your area.

Here's a picture of one of my adult males. He displayed pretty close to this color even when a juvenile.


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## pauliewoz (Sep 22, 2015)

Seattle_Aquarist said:


> Hi paulieoz,
> 
> First most fish in our LFS are indeed 'stressed' and do not show their best colors with the possible exception of livebearers. That said you are wise to question the 'stock' of the fish you saw. Many of the rainbowfish we see in our stores today are either raised in large breeding operations in Asia or on fish farms in Florida. Regrettably few of these operations care about breeding quality fish, they are more interested in turning out the numbers (quantity) and sometimes species get 'crossed' with other species. That said, there are some quality breeders of rainbowfish to be found on Aquabid, rainbow-fish.org, Rainbowfish.info, and other sites.
> 
> ...


Thanks, I'll go back to the store in a few days and check if they colored up a bit. But I doubt it.

I wish I could find a good rainbowfish breeder in my area, but surprisingly even in as big of a city as Toronto, I'm having a hard time locating one.

I'm going to check out the websites you mentioned, but I doubt they will ship to Canada.

I didn't think I would fall in love with rainbows so much, but the colors are so mesmerizing and depending on time of day, mood or right after a water change the fish display so many different colors it's like I have different fish each time I look at the tank.

And your bows are beautiful by the way. 

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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

pauliewoz said:


> Thanks, I'll go back to the store in a few days and check if they colored up a bit. But I doubt it.
> 
> I wish I could find a good rainbowfish breeder in my area, but surprisingly even in as big of a city as Toronto, I'm having a hard time locating one.
> 
> ...


Hi pauliewoz,

Thanks for the kind words about my 'bows, it just reinforces what we discussed about buying quality fish. I am trying to get you a name or two of a quality 'bow breeder in your area. If I get a response I will forward the information to you.


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

Seattle_Aquarist said:


> Chilatherina alleni 'Wapoga Red Laser' (_Amazonias_ picture)


Quick note on above. The picture above is of a Melanotaenia rubrivittata, or commonly called the Wapago Red Laser. I believe the OP was referring to the Chilatherina alleni from the Wapoga River. 

Once again, more than likely good quality, as they are just not very common.

And Seattle, you do have some beautiful Bows there.


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## pauliewoz (Sep 22, 2015)

Greggz said:


> Rainbows in a LFS sometimes will not show well. Females also will show much less or different colors.
> 
> The strange thing is, not too many people are breeding these, and they are generally hard to find. So it's doubtful they are over bred or from a fish farm.
> 
> ...


Yeah, these did not look anything like it. Maybe they just came in the same day that I was there.

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Seattle_Aquarist said:


> Hi pauliewoz,
> 
> Thanks for the kind words about my 'bows, it just reinforces what we discussed about buying quality fish. I am trying to get you a name or two of a quality 'bow breeder in your area. If I get a response I will forward the information to you.


Wow, that would be great.  

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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Greggz said:


> Quick note on above. The picture above is of a Melanotaenia rubrivittata, or commonly called the Wapago Red Laser. I believe the OP was referring to the Chilatherina alleni from the Wapoga River.
> 
> Once again, more than likely good quality, as they are just not very common.
> 
> And Seattle, you do have some beautiful Bows there.


Hi @Greggz,

Yes, I confused the two...and that well known explorer/breeder corrected me - lol. And right back at you Greggz, nice tank of 'bows you have too!


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## pauliewoz (Sep 22, 2015)

Hey, since we're on the subject of rainbows. 

About a month ago I bought 3 red Irian jaya. I picked out two darker ones and one slightly lighter one thinking it was a female.

But after about a week in my tank the lighter one turned a bright red, while the other two are more brown than red. Is it possible that the bright red one is a millennium?

Here is a pic.










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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

That's a tough one to call. Even fish of the same species can show different colors at times. I had a few Irians years ago, and one of them was always a really dark burgundy, almost brownish. He never showed the same shade of red as the others. 

In my opinion, not a female. The females are kind of a tan/olive color, and they do not mature to red. Most likely all Irian males.

Curious if others have any ideas?


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## pauliewoz (Sep 22, 2015)

Greggz said:


> That's a tough one to call. Even fish of the same species can show different colors at times. I had a few Irians years ago, and one of them was always a really dark burgundy, almost brownish. He never showed the same shade of red as the others.
> 
> In my opinion, not a female. The females are kind of a tan/olive color, and they do not mature to red. Most likely all Irian males.
> 
> Curious if others have any ideas?


I think you're right, I was just at the LFS and they had some millenniums and they looked quite a bit different.

I'm a bit disappointed because they brought in a bunch of rare rainbows. And I'm already pretty much fully stocked.  

I was considering trading in the red Irians because I wasn't crazy about the brown/burgundy but now that one of them has turned so bright red I'll probably keep them.




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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

It's all personal taste, but for me I much prefer the Millennium. The Irian gets much larger (5-6"), remains a "darker" burgundy red, and has a larger scale pattern. The Millenium stays smaller (4.5"), gets "taller" and "rounder" (if that makes sense), has a tighter scale pattern and, to me, a more pleasing shape and brighter red color. This is from personal observation having kept both into full maturity.

Again, others may think exactly the opposite. Just my personal preference. I've got some albino Millenniums right now that look like they are going to be awfully nice when mature.


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