[Eilys Close]

During the Australian summer we got a group of fish to go into our turtle pond, which included some rainbows (I don't remember which, but they must be something hardy, and they're probably native to NSW or VIC because we're trying to imitate the turtle's natural habitat) along with cloud minnows, golden empire gudgeons and 2 feeder fish.

And, as fish are wont to do, they bred. I scooped up a few of the fry and dropped them in our tank to see what would happen. Two survived and have grown to inch long, silver ambigious fish, similar in appearance to a rummy nose tetra but with a slightly deeper stomach that is clearly silver and a more rounded nose (and, of course, without the tetra's colouring, or any colouring at all). I was told with great smugness that they must be the minnows, they were so boring and "clearly now rainbows". I was unconvinced. I could see a slighly pearlescent sheen on them but didn't know if I should put importance on it or not, considering many fish have that.

But tonight, after the light went off in the tank I was just watching our pregnant guppies when I noticed a strange fish. It was an inch long, with greenish-blue pearlescent scales on the top half of its body, and in the dark its stomach looked slightly rosey. Its fins had a black line around the edge and the fins were sort of "wavey". The fish gasped at me and the fins seemed to detract and lose the black lining and I realised it was the "minnow".

Does this sound like a rainbow to you? If so, what kind?

The facts:
-Maximum five months old
-inch long
-body shape like a tetra
-tail is v-shaped but slightly rounded
-silver 'blob' belly appearance
-2 dorsal fin
-possibly nocturnal
-coloured up at night - OR first appearance of adult colours and features at age 5 months

[Colin_T]

small narrow silver fish less than an inch long with 2 dorsal fins is probably a rainbowfish. (2 dorsal fins that are close together is typical of the Atherinidae family, which contains rainbows & hardyheads). As to what species, that is probably going to be impossible to tell unless you can show us a picture of the adults and tell us where you got them from, (ie: a particular river called XXX). Without that info the fish could be any number of a hundred rainbows and might even be a hybrid or cross breed between several different rainbows.

white cloud mountain minnows aren't exactly Australian but are still a nice fish. They might get eaten by the empire gudgeons when the gudgeons are full grown.
The 2 feeder fish could be small goldfish or Gambusia. Either way they are not native either

what sort of turtle/s do you keep?
have you got any pictures of them in their pond?

[Eilys Close]

Glad to hear they are rainbows! (I win the bet!)

The white clouds are just to clean the pond (only natural filtration methods and a tiny pump to keep the water moving) and the feeders ... well, we had hoped that the turtles would try to keep fit, especially since some are rescued (we are Herpological Society of NSW's WIREs contact persons) and thus might be wild. Oh well. Turtles aren't exactly known for their speed.

We have a few different turtles - some Sydney Shortnecks but most Murrays.

I will ask the person who bought the fish to see if they remember the species.

Once again, thanks!

[Colin_T]

do you get to look after other reptiles besides turtles, ie: lizards and snakes?

[Eilys Close]

*laughs insanely* Yes, we do. Let's just say our garage isn't used for our car. Geckos, pygmy monitors, cunninghams and their relatives, blue tongues, some central beardies, a pair of diamond pythons, etc... the list is long...

Through WIRES we're mostly turtle people, although we've had some lizards too. If you're interested in that srot of thing, there is a kind of raffle that the Herp Society have where you can "win" rescued animals that need a home. I don't know that much about it to be frank. Head over to Aussie Pythons and talk to spongebob -he's in charge of our reptiles, not me. I am the fishy person in this household


P.S. The rainbows are from the Murray river system, if that helps ident them. A red-tailed form of something, apparently.

[Colin_T]

I bet the burglars get a shock when they break into your garage, where's the car. What the hell are these. Ahhh snakes

Winning rescued reptiles sounds like fun but alas, the WA gov won't allow eastern states varieties across the border.

Spongebob is in charge of the reptiles I can just imagine a snake with a toy spongebob sticking up inside it

the rainbowfish from the Murray River are usually Melanotaenia fluviatilis
http://members.optushome.com.au/rainbowfishes/Fluviatilis.htm

[Eilys Close]

That species looks exactly just like what I'm beginning to see - we have a match! Thanks guys!