The pygmy rainbowfish (''Melanotaenia pygmaea'') is a species of

rainbowfish 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 ...

in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Melanotaeniinae 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 ...

. It 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 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Environment

The Melanotaenia pygmaea is recorded to be found in a freshwater environment within a benthopelagic depth range. This species is native to a tropical climate.

Size

The Melanotaenia pygmaea is known to reach the maximum recorded length of about 5.5 centimeters or about 2.1 inches as an unsexed male. A female can reach the maximum recorded length of about 3.5 centimeters or about 1.37 inches. The common length of these species is about 4 centimeters or about 1.57 inches.

Distribution

The Melanotaenia pygmaea is native to the areas of

Prince Regent River The Prince Regent River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The headwaters of the river rise in the Caroline Range near Mount Agnes then flow in a north westerly direction. The river enters and flows through the Prince R ...

, West Kimberley district, and northwestern Australia.

Biology

The Melanotaenia pygmaea is recorded to be found in fast flowing streams. They tend to occupy the deep pools or bottom of waterfalls in that general area. This species stays in areas that have rocky bottoms and that lack vegetation in the water. The Melanotaenia pygmaea stays in schools of at least 50 individuals on average. This species also does well when kept in an aquarium captivity. The male is considered to have more of a vivid, rainbow color than the females do. This species typically has a blue back with pale, yellow fins. The diet of this species is unknown, but it is assumed that they feed on small insects and vegetation such as algae.

References

pygmy rainbowfish Freshwater fish of Western Australia Kimberley (Western Australia) pygmy rainbowfish Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Atheriniformes-stub