Boeseman's rainbowfish (''Melanotaenia boesemani''), also known as the Boesemani rainbowfish, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Melanotaeniidae The rainbowfish or Melanotaeniidae is a family of small, colourful freshwater fish found in northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea (including islands in Cenderawasih Bay and Raja Ampat Islands in Indonesia), Sulawesi and Madagascar. The lar ...

Geographic range

''M. boesemani'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

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 The Bird's Head Peninsula ( Indonesian: ''Kepala Burung'', nl, Vogelkop) or Doberai Peninsula (''Semenanjung Doberai''), is a large peninsula that makes up the northwest portion of the island of New Guinea, comprising the Indonesian provinces o ...

, West Papua,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

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 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

tetra Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA; formerly known as Trans-European Trunked Radio), a European standard for a trunked radio system, is a professional mobile radio and two-way transceiver specification. TETRA was specifically designed for use by go ...

s. 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 ''Caridina'' is a genus of freshwater atyid shrimp. They are widely found in tropical or subtropical water in Asia, Oceania and Africa. They are filter-feeders and omnivorous scavengers. They range from 0.9–9.8 mm ('' C. cantonensis'') t ...

'' and ''

Neocaridina ''Neocaridina'' is a genus of atyid shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although s ...

'' 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 Boeseman's rainbowfish (''Melanotaenia boesemani''), also known as the Boesemani rainbowfish, is a species of fish in the Family (biology), family Melanotaeniidae. Geographic range ''M. boesemani'' is Endemism, endemic to the Ayamaru Lakes and t ...

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