Western Rainbow Fish 8-10cm - Tropical Supplies

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Western Rainbow Fish 8-10cm

Name: Western Rainbow Fish 8-10cm
Brand: livestock
SKU: TS02270
Price: 18.95 GBP
Availability: OutOfStock

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Last stocked at £18.95

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Overview

Western Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia australis) – Hardy Beauty from Down Under

The Western Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia australis) is a stunning and resilient freshwater species native to the rivers and streams of Western Australia. Known for its shimmering silver-blue body that often flashes iridescent tones, males develop vivid yellow, red, or orange highlights—especially on the fins—during breeding or in well-maintained tanks.

Adaptable and peaceful, this rainbowfish does best in a spacious, planted aquarium with ample swimming room and gentle water flow. Its active schooling behavior and striking coloration make it a favorite among aquarists looking to bring both motion and vibrancy to their tanks.

Key Features:

Latin Name: Melanotaenia australis
Common Name: Western Rainbowfish
Coloration: Silvery base with potential yellow, orange, or red highlights in mature males
Temperament: Peaceful and social
Size: Grows up to 4 inches
Tank Requirements: Minimum 30 gallons with clean, well-oxygenated water and open swimming space
Diet: Omnivorous—high-quality flake or micro pellets, live/frozen foods like brine shrimp or daphnia
Compatibility: Excellent for peaceful community aquariums; best kept in groups of 6 or more

Tips:

Keep in groups of 6 or more to reduce stress and enhance natural schooling behavior.
Use dark substrate and background to help bring out their vibrant colors.
Perform regular water changes to maintain water clarity and fish health.
Mix with other peaceful species like tetras, danios, or small rainbowfish for a dynamic community setup.

Why Choose This Fish?
The Western Rainbowfish is a perfect combination of beauty, hardiness, and peaceful nature. Ideal for both beginner and experienced aquarists, it thrives in well-maintained tanks and rewards caretakers with vivid coloration and engaging group behavior. Its adaptability and compatibility make it a reliable and attractive addition to any freshwater community aquarium.

	Melanotaenia splendida australis, Neoatherina australis
Distribution	Australia
Maximum Size	12.5cm (4.9")
Temperature	22-28°C
Water Parameters	pH: 6.5-8.0, dH: up to 18 degrees.
Compatibility	Community
Lighting	No special requirements
Sexual Dimorphism	In mature fish, the males are often more colourful and develop longer dorsal and anal fins.
Feeding	Flake, granules and frozen foods

Description

Care

The Western Rainbowfish is known from creeks, lakes, marshy lagoons, reservoirs, rivers, and swamps. Here, it forms large aggregations along the marginal areas where there is dense vegetation and submerged logs/branches. This is a medium-sized, peaceful species that is ideally suited to planted community aquaria. The tank should be as spacious as possible, as these are fairly active fish, and they should be maintained in groups of 6 or more due to their shoaling nature. The juveniles of many rainbowfish species can often look a little drab compared to the adults, and as such are sometimes overlooked in the shops. However, once settled into the security of the planted aquarium, these young specimens will begin to colour up, gradually revealing their stunning adult beauty. Western Rainbowfish will not bother smaller tankmates, as their mouth/throat is too narrow to be able to swallow them. May also be seen on sale as the Red-tailed Rainbowfish.

Feeding

Flake, green flake, micropellets, and small frozen foods such as mosquito larvae, vitamin-enriched brineshrimp, and daphnia.

Breeding

A separate good-sized breeding aquarium should be set up with a substrate of marbles. A small air-driven sponge filter (with a mature sponge) should be added to give gentle circulation and filtration. A conditioned group (3 females, 2 males) should then be acclimatised across to the breeding aquarium, which should be furnished with plenty of fine-leaved plants/Java moss clumps. After a time, a male will swim in front of a female, displaying to her. He will then begin to drive the female over the plants, utilising the whole length of the tank. The relatively large eggs will be scattered over the plants a few at a time, usually totalling around 20-30 per day. These fish are known as 'continual spawners' which means that the spawning activity takes place over several days/weeks. This can present problems to the aquarist in that some adult fish may begin to consume the eggs as they are scattered, although this may not be a problem if the adults are kept well fed. However, many fishkeepers have found the eggs to be remarkably tough and have had great success in siphoning them out into another aquarium (containing matching water from the spawning tank) or else using spawning mops, which, when having caught a number of the eggs, can be moved to a separate tank (again with matching water) and replaced with a new mop, as and when each series of eggs are deposited. The eggs will usually hatch in 8-9 days (dependent on temperature) and once free-swimming, the tiny fry can be offered infusoria, moving onto larger foodstuffs as they develop.

Whether you’re collecting from our store, ordering dry goods, arranging local delivery or having livestock delivered nationwide, we’ve made it simple to choose the right option.

Click & Collect

FREE COLLECTION FROM OUR STORE

Place your order online and select Click & Collect at checkout.

Livestock will normally be bagged when you arrive, helping to minimise the amount of time animals spend packaged. If you’d prefer your livestock to be ready beforehand, simply contact us in advance.

Local Delivery

DELIVERED BY TROPICAL SUPPLIES • WITHIN 25 MILES

Order from our in-store range and have it delivered directly to you using our own local delivery service.

Minimum order: £50

Local Delivery Charges:
Up to 5 miles — FREE
5–10 miles — £10
10–15 miles — £15
15–20 miles — £20
20–25 miles — £25

Distances are measured “as the crow flies” rather than by road.

Once your order has been placed, we’ll contact you to arrange a suitable delivery date and time. We often combine nearby orders into efficient delivery runs, so local delivery may take a little longer during busy periods.

Ordering a large aquarium?
Please make sure someone is available to help unload the aquarium from our van when we arrive.

Dry Goods Delivery

FREE UK Delivery Over £75

Spend £75 or more on eligible dry goods and receive FREE UK delivery on orders weighing up to 20kg.

A great opportunity to stock up on food, treatments, filter media, accessories and other aquarium or reptile essentials while saving on delivery.

Free delivery applies to eligible orders up to 20kg and excludes livestock, aquariums, terrariums and other oversized items.

Qualifying orders will automatically show the FREE UK Delivery option at checkout — no discount code required.

Standard Parcel Delivery

Our standard parcel delivery charges are calculated according to the weight of your order and the available delivery service.

Orders placed before 12 noon may be dispatched the same day on our current dispatch days.

Express Pallet

75–500kg • Usually 1–3 working days

Designed for large and heavy orders that cannot be sent using our standard parcel service.

Please note: We currently dispatch parcels Wednesday to Friday.

Adding Something to an Existing Order?

If your original order hasn’t been dispatched yet, simply place the additional items as a Click & Collect order and leave us a note asking us to combine them with your existing order.

Available to Order

See something you want that we don’t currently have on the shelf? Many of our products can be quickly sourced from our suppliers.

Products marked Available to Order are not currently held in stock at our store but are available for us to order on your behalf.

Most items arrive with us within a few days and usually no longer than a week, depending on supplier availability.

Once your item arrives with us, we’ll either dispatch your order or let you know it’s ready for collection, depending on the delivery option you selected.

After receiving your order, we’ll check availability with our supplier. If there are any issues or expected delays, we’ll contact you to let you know.

Nationwide Livestock Delivery

Have your new livestock delivered safely to your door using our specialist livestock delivery service.

Minimum livestock order: £50

Thursday Delivery — £24

Order by: Wednesday, 12 noon
Dispatched: Wednesday afternoon
Delivered: Thursday before 1pm

Friday Delivery — £24

Order by: Thursday, 12 noon
Dispatched: Thursday afternoon
Delivered: Friday before 1pm

Saturday Delivery — £29

Order by: Friday, 12 noon
Dispatched: Friday afternoon
Delivered: Saturday before 1pm

Livestock Delivery Exclusions

Unfortunately, our specialist livestock courier is currently unable to deliver livestock to the following postcode areas:

AB30–AB56 • DD8–DD10 • DG3–DG14 • FK17–FK21 • KA18–KA19 • KA26–KA30 • PA20–PA38 • PA80 • PH3–PH18 • PH20–PH40 • TR21–TR25

All BT, HS, IM, IV, JE and KW postcodes are also excluded.

If you’re unsure whether we can deliver livestock to your address, please contact us before placing your order and we’ll be happy to check for you.

Add Dry Goods to Your Livestock Order

You can include suitable dry goods with your livestock delivery, making it easy to add food, treatments, filter media, accessories and other supplies at the same time.

Please note: Livestock deliveries cannot include frozen food or heavy items such as gravel, sand or other unsuitable bulky goods. These items must be ordered separately using an appropriate delivery method.

Already Placed Your Order?

No problem. If your livestock order hasn’t been dispatched yet, place another order using Click & Collect and leave us a note asking us to combine it with your existing order.

Your payment information is processed securely. We do not store credit card details nor have access to your credit card information.

Western Rainbow Fish 8-10cm

Description

Overview

Description

Click & Collect

Local Delivery

Dry Goods Delivery

FREE UK Delivery Over £75

Standard Parcel Delivery

Express Pallet

Adding Something to an Existing Order?

Available to Order

Nationwide Livestock Delivery

Thursday Delivery — £24

Friday Delivery — £24

Saturday Delivery — £29

Livestock Delivery Exclusions

Add Dry Goods to Your Livestock Order

Already Placed Your Order?

Payment & Security

Western Rainbow Fish 8-10cm

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