# rainbows



## e048 (Dec 23, 2010)

How do you breed rainbows the guy at my LFS store said its easy, because they lay eggs and forget about them, somebody tell me how?


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

I find they are rather easy spawners. I have dwarf australians and every time the air pressure does a big shift they throw eggs everywhere.
I guess what you will need to know is how to salvage the eggs and raise the fry.
I have not bothered with thsat aspect as I do not want the fry.


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## e048 (Dec 23, 2010)

well am i just supposed to mess with the air pressure then?


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

of course not.
Air pressure changes whenever the weather system changes. If a storm is coming usually the pressure drops. If it is going to be hot and dry here the pressure rises.
Sometimes a big water change will tell them to spawn.


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## toddnbecka (Jun 30, 2006)

Breeding is easy, feeding the tiny fry is the tough part. Set up a breeding tank with shallow water and and carpet the bottom with java moss. After they scatter eggs for 2-3 days move the adults out and raise the water level. An air-driven sponge filter is all that's necessary, green water and lots of live, floating plants will give the fry a good start. Golden pearls are a good food for tiny fry, they're available in different sizes.


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## e048 (Dec 23, 2010)

alright thanks, also do rainbows interbreed like cichlids? or are they sepcies specific?


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## e048 (Dec 23, 2010)

I have a few australians, and ornate rainbows... will they interbreed


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## toddnbecka (Jun 30, 2006)

No, they're completely different fish, not closely related enough to cross. The australians prefer hard/alkaline water and the ornates soft/acidic for spawning.


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## e048 (Dec 23, 2010)

alright and I think I may have been dupped when I bought my australians, I saw somewhere that they are supposed to get over 5in long, mine are barely 3in, Ive had them for over a year now...


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

The need optimum conditions to grow to full size. That goes for almost all fish.


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## e048 (Dec 23, 2010)

my tank is a little bit crowded thats probably why... 

I was looking into breeding other fish that I have and I noticed somewhere it said to use a spawning mop, what is that? where do I buy one?


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## Mikaila31 (Nov 29, 2009)

FYI breeding rainbow crosses is considered a big no-no among rainbow breeders. Its hard enough to maintain pure lines in this hobby without intentional hybridizing. 

Spawning mop is a spawning mop. Certain species lay eggs on spawning mops. The big bows are one of these. You don't normally buy spawning mops, you make them. You need some yarn. 

Rainbows are VERY easy to spawn, my boesemani spawn every other day. That is where the easy ends. Eggs need to be cared for in their own tank. Fry are VERY small and need LIVE cultured foods. Generally vinegar eels, BBS, micro worms, and ect. These all need to be raise. Rainbows grow very slowly. It takes about 4-5 years for a boesemani to really reach its adult size. Fry will be an inch at maybe 6 months old if you are lucky. 

If you think about it Boesemani wouldn't be $10 at petco if they were easy to raise. From what I have experienced from petcos rainbows is they are pretty poor quality like most chains. You need female rainbows too, which are not common in chains. Only the males show really good color, so they treat them with hormones and raise them so more fish are male. You need a few females to one male or he will stress and chase them all over the place.


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## e048 (Dec 23, 2010)

how do you sex a rainbow?


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