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Passport
- Family
- Rainbowfish
- Grows to
- 8 cm (3.1")
- Lives
- 3–5 years
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Care
- Beginner
- Swims
- Mid-water
- Keep
- In a group of 6 or more
- Water
- 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
Indonesia
Care requirements
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On record for Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish: adult size, lifespan, minimum tank, temperature, ph, hardness, minimum group, diet, care level, swim level, tank length.
A figure that is not on record is left out rather than guessed. One marked Suggested comes from keeping knowledge rather than a page.
- Minimum tank 55 L / 14.5 US gal
- pH 6.8–7.5
- Hardness 5–15 dGH
- Diet omnivore
- Tank length 60 cm minimum
Care notes written from general aquarium knowledge, not from the cited sources.
About
Dwarf neon rainbows solve the rainbowfish problem. The family is full of beautiful fish that grow too large and swim too fast for an ordinary tank; this one stays small enough for a standard community while keeping everything that makes rainbowfish worth keeping.
A male in condition is electric blue along the flank with red fins, and the blue is genuinely reflective — it flashes as he turns rather than sitting flat like a painted stripe.
They're from the Mamberamo river system in West Papua, and they're bred commercially in large numbers, so the fish you buy is usually robust and used to ordinary water.
Tank setup
Give your dwarf neons length and a group. Males display at each other constantly, and that sparring is what keeps the blue lit — a lone male fades.
Keep several males and more females. The competition is the display, and spreading it between rivals keeps any one fish from being pushed around.
Keep the water hard and alkaline rather than soft. This is the general rainbowfish preference and it's the opposite of what a tank built for tetras provides.
Plant the sides heavily and leave the middle open. They use open water and want cover within reach.
Cover the tank. Small rainbowfish jump readily.
Feeding
Dwarf neons have small mouths and good appetites, and they feed near the surface and through mid-water.
Feed small flake, micro pellets and plenty of frozen and live food. Daphnia, baby brine shrimp and cyclops all bring up the blue.
Grade the food down. They're small-mouthed for their size and larger pellets get ignored.
Avoid: a dried-only diet, which leaves them pale, and avoid coarse foods they can't manage.
Filtration and flow
Moderate flow with good oxygenation. They're active swimmers that use a current happily.
Ordinary filtration handles a group easily.
Hard water, clean water and regular changes are the entire maintenance story. They're undemanding beyond that.
With plants
Dwarf neon rainbowfish are entirely safe with plants and never damage them.
Plant densely at the back and sides. Dark green growth makes the blue read far better than a sparse tank does.
Their taste for harder water suits vallisneria, anubias and java fern, all of which thrive in the same conditions.
Health
They're hardy and straightforward, and there's nothing specific to the species.
A pale male is usually alone, young or in water that's too soft, rather than ill.
Jumping is the practical hazard, and a covered tank solves it.
Breeding
Like all rainbowfish they spawn continuously rather than in a single event, releasing a few eggs most mornings.
The eggs attach by fine threads to fine-leaved plants or a spawning mop. Lift the mop every few days and move it to a rearing tank, and you'll accumulate fry steadily without having to isolate the adults.
The fry hang right at the surface and starve easily. They need infusoria or a very fine powdered food delivered at the top of the water before they're large enough for baby brine shrimp.
Tank mates
Avoid8
- Least Killifish Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish grows to 8 cm against Least Killifish at 2 cm, big enough to eat it.
- Scarlet Badis Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish grows to 8 cm against Scarlet Badis at 2 cm, big enough to eat it.
- Common Goldfish Common Goldfish is not safe with Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish: common goldfish and rainbowfish are a bad pairing.
- Demasoni Cichlid Demasoni Cichlid is not safe with Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish: african cichlids and rainbowfish are a bad pairing.
- Electric Yellow Lab Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish and Electric Yellow Lab do not mix: african cichlids and rainbowfish are a bad pairing.
Only with care10
- Convict Cichlid Convict Cichlid is noticeably larger than Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish and may bully it or outcompete it at feeding time.
- Jewel Cichlid Jewel Cichlid is noticeably larger than Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish and may bully it or outcompete it at feeding time.
- Chinese Algae Eater Chinese Algae Eater is aggressive and Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish is peaceful.
- Betta Betta is a risk to Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish: betta (male) and rainbowfish are a pairing to watch.
- Clown Killifish Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish is a risk to Clown Killifish: killifish and rainbowfish are a pairing to watch.
No conflict is recorded with the other 88 species in the database, so nothing to flag. 2 species are not covered at all, so they could not be judged either way.