Eastern rainbowfish | |
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Male eastern rainbowfish | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Atheriniformes |
Family: | Melanotaeniidae |
Genus: | Melanotaenia |
Species: | |
Subspecies: | M. s. splendida |
Trinomial name | |
Melanotaenia splendida splendida W. K. H. Peters 1866 |
Melanotaenia splendida splendida, also known as the eastern rainbowfish, is a subspecies of fish in the family Melanotaeniidae endemic to Australia. [1]
The Eastern rainbowfish is widespread on the mainland, and is found in river systems east of the Great Dividing Range of Queensland, Australia, from the Boyne River south of Gladstone to Cape York Peninsula. It is usually found in large schools inhabiting small freshwater streams, but is also found in lakes and reservoirs. [2] It is kept as a tropical aquarium fish.
It is a small fish commonly found up to 8 cm but known to reach up to 14 cm.
Males are highly variable in colour from pale bluish-green or greenish-brown overall to yellowish and paler below, with a yellow or orange spot on the gill cover. [2] Females and juveniles are silvery with translucent or faintly coloured fins.
The Eastern rainbowfish is an omnivore and feeds on algae, insects, microcrustaceans and other small invertebrates. [2]
The rainbowfish are a family, Melanotaeniidae, of small, colourful, freshwater fish found in northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea, Sulawesi and Madagascar.
Melanotaenia is a genus of rainbowfish from Australia, Indonesia, New Guinea, and nearby smaller islands.
Boeseman's rainbowfish, also known as the Boesemani rainbowfish, is a species of fish in the family Melanotaeniidae.
The Waigeo rainbowfish is a species of rainbowfish in the subfamily Melanotaeniinae. It is endemic to West Papua in Indonesia. It reaches a maximum length of around 7.5 cm. This species was described as Rhombatractus catherinae in 1910 by Lieven Ferdinand de Beaufort|de Beaufort from a type locality which was given as a rivulet flowing into the Rabial River in Waigeo. de Beaufort gave this species the specific name catherinae to honour his wife, Catherine, who had assisted him on the expedition on whichthe type was collected.
The Lake Eacham rainbowfish is a species of rainbowfish in the subfamily Melanotaeniidae which was thought to be endemic to Yidyam, Queensland, Australia but has proven to have a wider range.
The Strickland rainbowfish is a species of rainbowfish in the subfamily Melanotaeniinae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea where it is only known to occur in the Logatyu River, a tributary of the Strickland River, in the Fly River system. It is currently known from only five specimens collected in 1984 by D. Gwyther and it was described by Gerald R. Allen in 1987.
The Lake Kutubu rainbowfish is a species of fish in the family Melanotaeniidae. It is also known as turquoise rainbowfish. It is endemic to Lake Kutubu in the Kikori River system, Papua New Guinea.
The dwarf rainbowfish is a species of rainbowfish in the subfamily Melanotaeniinae, also commonly known as the neon rainbowfish. It is endemic to the Mamberamo River basin in West Papua in Indonesia and common in the aquarium trade.
The pygmy rainbowfish is a species of rainbowfish in the subfamily Melanotaeniinae. It is endemic to Australia.
The honey blue-eye is an endangered species of fish in the subfamily Pseudomugilinae. It is endemic to southeastern Queensland, Australia, where it is found in mildly acidic, often tannin-stained, ponds and streams in wallum habitat.
The Australian rainbowfish, known less commonly as the Murray River rainbowfish or the crimson-spotted rainbowfish, is a species of freshwater rainbowfish endemic to Australia. They are very colourful, hence their name; males of this species are more colourful than females. Australian rainbowfish are schooling fish and will congregate near logs or riverbanks.
Melanotaenia affinis, the North New Guinea rainbowfish, New Guinea rainbowfish, or red-finned rainbowfish, is a species of rainbowfish endemic to New Guinea. It grows to 11.5 cm (4.5 in) standard length. Of the three known varieties, the so-called standard variety has the widest range. It is commonly found in the Markham, Ramu, and Sepik Rivers; their preferred habitat includes clear rainforest streams, swamps, pools, and lagoons abundant in vegetation and submerged logs.
Melanotaenia duboulayi, the crimson-spotted rainbowfish, less commonly known as the Duboulay's rainbowfish, is a species of freshwater rainbowfish endemic to eastern Australia. M. duboulayi has also been kept in aquariums since the early 20th century, and is the original Australian rainbowfish.
The black-banded rainbowfish is a species of rainbowfish belonging to the subfamily Melanotaeniidae. The species is endemic to Australia. Importantly, the species is the type species of the genus Melanotaenia.
The spotted blue-eye is a species of fish in the family Pseudomugilidae. It is native to Papua New Guinea and northern Australia. It adapts readily to captivity and can be kept in a small freshwater aquarium.
The Pacific blue-eye is a species of fish in the subfamily Pseudomugilinae native to eastern Australia. Described by Austrian naturalist Rudolf Kner in 1866, it comprises two subspecies that have been regarded as separate species in the past and may be once again with further study. It is a common fish of rivers and estuaries along the eastern seaboard from Cape York in North Queensland to southern New South Wales, the Burdekin Gap in central-north Queensland dividing the ranges of the two subspecies.
The Running River rainbowfish is an undescribed species of rainbowfish found only in Running River, part of the Burdekin River catchment in northern Queensland, Australia.
Melanotaeniinae the Australian rainbowfishes is a subfamily of the rainbowfishes of the family Melanotaeniidae. They are a group of small, colourful, freshwater fish found in northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea, islands in Cenderawasih Bay the Raja Ampat Islands in Indonesia and in Madagascar.
Melanotaenia splendida, the Eastern rainbowfish, is a species of rainbowfish from the subfamily Melanotaeniinae which is found in Australia.
The banded rainbowfish, also known as the Jewel rainbowfish,Goyder River rainbowfish,three-striped sunfish or regal rainbowfish, is a species of Rainbowfish found in the northerly regions of North Australia and Queensland. an adult Banded Rainbowfish can reach a stranded length of 15 cm -12 cm with a deep body usually exceeding 1/3 of their body length, like most Rainbowfish banded Rainbowfish vary in colour depending on where they were collected, but all variety's have a distinct dark mid-lateral band and bright red/yellow Dorsal, anal, and caudal fins.