No photo yet
Sign in to submit the first photo
Bleher's Rainbowfish
Chilatherina bleheri
📍 Papua New Guinea (Oceania)
Bleher's Rainbowfish is a stunning species from Papua New Guinea, named after renowned aquarist Heiko Bleher, displaying vibrant iridescent blue and red coloration. Males are particularly striking with their deep body profile and vivid hues, making them a prized centerpiece fish for larger community aquariums. They are active, hardy, and relatively easy to keep, making them a rewarding choice for intermediate hobbyists.
Community Photos
0 photosPhotos are added when members log a tank with this species and upload a photo in their tank journal. Add your own tank to contribute.
No photos yet — add a tank with Bleher's Rainbowfish to be the first!
Sign in to vote.
Care Guide
Diet
Bleher's Rainbowfish are omnivores that thrive on a varied diet including high-quality flake or pellet foods as a staple. Supplement regularly with frozen or live foods such as brine shrimp, daphnia, and bloodworms to enhance coloration and vitality. Feed small amounts 2-3 times daily, ensuring all food is consumed within a few minutes to maintain water quality.
Behavior
Bleher's Rainbowfish are active, schooling fish that spend most of their time in the middle water column, constantly on the move. Males will display vibrant colors and engage in non-harmful sparring to establish dominance, especially when females are present. They are peaceful with similarly sized tankmates and do best when kept in groups of six or more to feel secure and display natural behaviors.
Breeding
Breeding Bleher's Rainbowfish is moderately challenging and requires a well-conditioned pair and slightly warmer water around 27-28°C. They are egg scatterers, depositing adhesive eggs among fine-leaved plants or spawning mops, which should be removed to a separate rearing tank to prevent predation. Fry are tiny and require infusoria or commercial fry foods initially before graduating to baby brine shrimp.
Tank Mates
Same family, similar water requirements and peaceful temperament; creates a stunning mixed rainbowfish display
Compatible water parameters and peaceful nature make this an ideal companion species
Shares similar habitat requirements and peaceful disposition; thrives alongside Bleher's Rainbowfish
Peaceful and compatible water parameters; smaller size means they won't compete aggressively
Peaceful schooling fish with overlapping water parameter preferences
Bottom-dwelling algae eater that occupies a different zone and poses no threat to rainbowfish
Common Diseases
Ich (White Spot Disease)
Small white spots resembling grains of salt on fins and body, flashing or rubbing against surfaces, lethargy
Raise water temperature gradually to 28-30°C, treat with copper-based or formalin medications, perform regular water changes
Velvet Disease (Oodinium)
Gold or rust-colored dust-like coating on skin, rapid gill movement, clamped fins, lethargy
Dim tank lighting, treat with copper-based medication, raise temperature slightly, and perform water changes
Bacterial Fin Rot
Frayed, discolored, or deteriorating fin edges, redness at the base of fins, lethargy
Improve water quality with frequent water changes, treat with antibacterial medications such as kanamycin or erythromycin
Intestinal Parasites
Wasting despite good appetite, stringy white feces, bloating, lethargy
Treat with antiparasitic medications such as metronidazole or praziquantel added to food or water
Tips from the community 💡
0 tipsReal experiences, care advice, and keeper notes. Finn learns from these too.
Sign in to share your experience.
No community tips yet — be the first to share your knowledge!
Quick Facts
- diet
- Omnivore – accepts flakes, pellets, frozen/live foods such as brine shrimp and daphnia
- lifespan
- 5-8 years
- max size
- 12 cm (5 in)
- tank size
- 55 gallons minimum
- temperament
- peaceful
Water it likes
- ph
- 7.0-8.0
- ammonia
- 0 ppm
- nitrate
- <20 ppm
- hardness
- 8-20 dGH
- temperature
- 75–82°F (24–28°C)