> >What is a good species of rainbow to begin with? I'd prefer something
> >colorful and easy to raise.
>
> What's your water conditions (pH, GH, KH)? What you will find easily
> be dependant on this.
Unless the individual in questions has unusual water like yours it
probably isn't going to matter a rats arse. After all, most bows will
only take a pH range of around 4-8.5, temps from 13oC-33+oC (56oF-92+oF),
Ca/Mg hardness from 0-500ppm, salinities up to 15ppt. Sure, many of
these are not optimal and you certainly won't breed them under some of these
broad conditions but they'll live.
Most of the common shop bows in the US are fine for beginners, lacustris,
boesmani, "Australian rainbows" (usually some splendida type which look
ok when spawning but pretty silver the rest of the time, a very second
rate blonde to look at indeed-but cheap and very expendable unlike most
Sahulian blonds). Most of the more difficult (is there really such a fish?)
rainbows in the genera Melanotaenia, Chilatherina, Glossolepis you
will most likely only find in RSG/ANGFA members fishrooms.
Tootles
Peter J Unmack peter.unmack at asu.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------
DESERT FISHES RULE: To boldly thrive where no other fish can make it!
Check out the Australian desert fishes pages at
http://www.utexas.edu/depts/tnhc/.www/fish/dfc/
just click on the Australian portion of the map