Celebes rainbowfish

Care at a glance

The Celebes rainbowfish stands out immediately with its yellow body and black lengthwise stripe, and in mature males the elongated, filament-like fin extensions on the dorsal and anal fins. It comes from the island of Sulawesi, where it lives in lime-rich, hard and alkaline water — very different from the soft Amazon waters many other schooling fish come from.

Keep it in a school of at least six, more if possible: kept alone or in too few it stays shy and never shows off its colours and fins. Provide stable, hard, slightly alkaline water and a tank with enough swimming length; beyond that it's a trouble-free, active community fish.

Related species

• Red rainbowfishGlossolepis incisus
• Threadfin rainbowfishIriatherina werneri
• Forktail blue-eyePseudomugil furcatus
• Turquoise rainbowfishMelanotaenia lacustris
• Clown killifishEpiplatys annulatus
• Licorice gouramiParosphromenus deissneri