Do You Know About The Rainbowfish Found In Australia? Find Why It Is Named So.

Posted by Anima Marine Life Image Bank on December 18th, 2020

The Australian rainbowfish is also known as the Murray River rainbowfish. It is a colorful fish species that are found in Australia and New Guinea. They are also found on the island of Madagascar. 

Why are they named “Rainbowfish”?

As you can see in the picture of the fish above, the Australian rainbowfish are colorful fish. Their sides are silvery brown and have a green or silver sheen. There is a blue stripe on their body that extends from the snout to the caudal fin. But the other fins are yellow and marked with orange or red as you can see in the picture of the fish. The males of this species are more colorful than the females. The males have several orange stripes that are running laterally across the posterior part of the body. Males also have red spots on the dorsal, anal and caudal fins with a blackish margin when breeding. The females of these species are less colorful, as they lack some of the brilliance and red stripes. 

A few other characteristics of the rainbowfish are:

1. These Australian rainbowfish are omnivorous. They feed on aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates and some filamentous algae. 

2. They are freshwater fish that are native to Australia.

3. They can reach a maximum length of 11 cm. but it has been seen that usually, the males are 8.5cm long while the females are 7cm long. 

4. They have an elongated body with a small head and large eyes, as you can see in the picture of the fish attached.

5. As you can see in the picture of the fish above, they have two dorsal fins and a pointed anal fin. 

They generally inhabit in the temperature ranges between 22 and 250C. Unlike other rainbowfishes, the Australian rainbowfish can survive in the low winter temperatures of 10 to 150C.