knee Posted Monday at 06:49 PM Share Posted Monday at 06:49 PM I acquired a group (10-14) dwarf neon rainbowfish Melanotaenia Praecox. They're about 1"-1.25" and I really enjoy how active they are. The colors on the males are really vibrant at this size. I've read that they are not a true dwarf and can get a bit bigger. Has anyone kept these and was able to grow them at max size? How big can they really get? I'm starting to like them more each day but I also don't want them to get bigger than my centerpiece fish (Bolivian Rams). I replaced my pearl gouramis for some honey gouramis because the Pearls we're ruining the scale of the tank. I've also seen some videos where the praecox is kept with some bosemanis and they look similar in size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted Monday at 07:07 PM Share Posted Monday at 07:07 PM mine are about 3 yrs old. They have stayed under 3 inches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knee Posted Monday at 07:34 PM Author Share Posted Monday at 07:34 PM On 9/16/2024 at 12:07 PM, Tony s said: mine are about 3 yrs old. They have stayed under 3 inches. Which tetra or other common fish do you think resembles their size? I'm thinking they maybe similar to bleeding heart tetras? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted Monday at 07:44 PM Share Posted Monday at 07:44 PM haven't had those, but kind of like a big skirt tetra. Slightly slimmer and a touch longer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knee Posted Monday at 07:47 PM Author Share Posted Monday at 07:47 PM On 9/16/2024 at 12:44 PM, Tony s said: haven't had those, but kind of like a big skirt tetra. Slightly slimmer and a touch longer Ok thanks! Now I have a better idea of how big they can get. I'm still not 100% on keeping them because they might look similar in size to the Bolivian ram once full grown 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted Monday at 08:03 PM Share Posted Monday at 08:03 PM My praecox stay in the upper half usually. If that helps. Rams usually in the lower half Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mynameisnobody Posted Monday at 08:36 PM Share Posted Monday at 08:36 PM Yep, approx 3” for both praecox and boesmani. Enjoy those guys, they are a very cool species. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DallasCowboys16 Posted Monday at 08:57 PM Share Posted Monday at 08:57 PM I’ve seen male praecox pushing closer to 4” before but generally only in very large tanks. Their growth tends to be more subdued and top out under 3” in most standard size aquariums. Your Bolivian rams will almost certainly be larger than them at full grown size. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T. Payne Posted Tuesday at 01:37 AM Share Posted Tuesday at 01:37 AM I've been keeping and breeding praecox for years, I will say in an aquarium I have never had one over 3". One summer I put my group outdoors in a 300 gallon tub and had 2 males grow to a full 4". 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knee Posted Tuesday at 02:29 AM Author Share Posted Tuesday at 02:29 AM On 9/16/2024 at 6:37 PM, T. Payne said: I've been keeping and breeding praecox for years, I will say in an aquarium I have never had one over 3". One summer I put my group outdoors in a 300 gallon tub and had 2 males grow to a full 4". I think even at 2.5”-3” they’d still be close to the size of the Bolivian rams. I think I’ll be swapping them out for some thread fins instead. Was really hoping they’d stay under or at least max out at 2” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T. Payne Posted Tuesday at 02:34 AM Share Posted Tuesday at 02:34 AM I understand, hard to find healthy threadfins these days. Good luck. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted Tuesday at 02:36 AM Share Posted Tuesday at 02:36 AM On 9/16/2024 at 10:29 PM, knee said: I think I’ll be swapping them out for some thread fins instead. I was thinking about them. Not as colorful but very cool looking. Or red neon blue eyes would be a cool choice as well 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knee Posted Tuesday at 03:08 AM Author Share Posted Tuesday at 03:08 AM On 9/16/2024 at 7:36 PM, Tony s said: I was thinking about them. Not as colorful but very cool looking. Or red neon blue eyes would be a cool choice as well True but I do enjoy watching them flare at each other. They also get a bit colorful as they get older so I just need patience and good food. I currently have the praecox with some forktail rainbows and I think the threadfins will be closer in size to the forktails. On 9/16/2024 at 7:34 PM, T. Payne said: I understand, hard to find healthy threadfins these days. Good luck. I totally agree. My lfs got some healthy ones in but they’re almost at max size. I prefer getting them smaller and watching them grow 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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