Boeseman's Rainbowfish
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Boeseman's rainbowfish (''Melanotaenia boesemani''), also known as the Boesemani rainbowfish, is a species of fish in the family Melanotaeniidae.


Geographic range

''M. boesemani'' is endemic to the
Ayamaru Lakes The Ayamaru Lakes (sometimes spelled Ajamaru) are a group of lakes found in the west-central part of the Bird's Head Peninsula in Southwest Papua, Indonesia. The nearest village to the group is Greemakolo. The many villages around the Ayamaru Lak ...
and their tributaries in a mountainous region of the Bird's Head Peninsula, West Papua, Indonesia.


Etymology

The
specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''boesemani'', is in honour of Dutch ichthyologist
Marinus Boeseman Marinus may refer to: *Marinus (crater), a crater on the Moon *Marinus (given name), for people named Marinus *Dr. Marinus, a recurring character in the novels of David Mitchell See also *''The Keys of Marinus ''The Keys of Marinus'' is the ...
, the collector of the
type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...
specimens.


In captivity

''M. boesemani'' is also available in the aquarium hobby, where it is prized for its excellent colours and peaceful demeanor. The colour pattern is completely different from most other forms of rainbowfish, as it has a half orange-red rear and a bluish-grey or purple front which in some specimens is almost defined perfectly. ''M. boesemani'' will often grow to lengths that exceed if given the right food and water conditions. Like most rainbowfish they are capable of adjusting their color intensity. Their color intensity may be a sign of mood or health. Generally more intense is seen during night time. They are kept best in groups (with as much as or more females than males) due to their community and friendly nature and can be easily kept with many different species of fish, including some tetras. They are a relatively hardy fish that prefer weakly alkaline pH conditions. Good tank mates include other rainbowfish, barbs, tetras, corydoras, snails, gouramis, danios, discus, guppies, swordtails, and loaches. However, smaller freshwater shrimps in the genera '' Caridina'' and '' Neocaridina'' may be viewed as prey. Ghost shrimp, vampire shrimp, amano shrimp and bamboo shrimp can live with them. Always adult shrimps are added first then baby rainbowfish. Care must be taken to give hiding places for shrimp and open spaces for rainbowfish. Generally they are very hardy fish but they are prone to
columnaris Columnaris (also referred to as cottonmouth) is a symptom of disease in fish which results from an infection caused by the Gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacterium ''Flavobacterium columnare''. It was previously known as ''Bacillus columnaris, ...
.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q833254 boeseman's rainbowfish Freshwater fish of Western New Guinea Fishkeeping Taxa named by Gerald R. Allen Taxa named by Norbert J. Cross Fish described in 1980 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot