Photo: Горбунова М.С., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lake Kutubu rainbowfish
Melanotaenia lacustris
10 cm
Adult size
180 L
Minimum volume
5
Minimum group
8 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Melanotaenia
- Diet
- omnivore
- Social life
- shoal
In the wild
Overview
Described in 1964 by Ian Munro, the Lake Kutubu rainbowfish (or “turquoise rainbowfish”) is a brilliant turquoise blue in the adult male, with a back that rises with age. It reaches about twelve centimetres.
The IUCN lists it as endangered, as its entire range is limited to a single lake and its outflowing river.
- Scientific name
- Melanotaenia lacustris Munro, 1964
- Classification
- Atheriniformes › Melanotaeniidae
- IUCN Red List
- Endangered (EN)
Natural habitat
Endemic to Lake Kutubu and the Soro River, Southern Highlands (Papua New Guinea)
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
Lake Kutubu, one of the largest lakes in Papua New Guinea, formed when volcanic debris dammed a valley. Very isolated, it is home to 14 fish species, 10 of them endemic. The lake drains through the Soro River, in the Kikori basin, about 220 km from the sea.
The water is very clear, calm, hard and alkaline, rather cool for the tropics (20 to 25 °C); the rainbowfish gather near weed beds, roots and submerged logs.
Behaviour
Very peaceful but lively, it lives in a shoal of at least 6 to 8 and can disturb slower fish. It lives with other rainbowfish, barbs, danios, corydoras and hard-water cichlids.
An undemanding omnivore, it colours up better with live or frozen prey. It scatters its eggs among fine-leaved plants; breeding is easy, raising the fry more delicate.
Sources:FishBase Seriously Fish GBIF · Base map: Natural Earth