The Dwarf Neon Rainbow originates from New Guinea.  It is also known as the Dwarf Rainbow, the Neon Dwarf Rainbow and the Neon Blue Rainbow.  It is probably the most popular of all rainbows, because of its small size, its bright color, its active schooling nature and its compatibility with many other fish.  The body is bright iridescent neon blue and silver.  Males have red on the edges of their dorsal, anal and caudal fins.  Females tend to be paler and to have yellow on their fin edges.  Dwarf Neon Rainbows should be kept in groups of at least 6.  They like well planted tanks with lots of open swimming space.  They will eat floating flake foods and freeze dried bloodworms.  They will also benefit from occasional live brine shrimp feedings.

The red fin tips make it easy to determine the sex of Dwarf Neon Rainbows, but successful breeding can be quite difficult.  Unlike most rainbows, dwarf neon's prefer acidic soft water, so a change in water conditions in the breeding tank may help.  Spawning is easily accomplished by introducing a male and several females in a separate breeding tank.  The eggs are spread among bushy plants or Java Moss.  The trick is that the young are too small to eat live brine shrimp.  Solutions include feeding fine powders or using bright spot lighting to help the young find live foods.  Dwarf Neon Rainbows are continuous breeders, which means that they can spawn repeatedly in a period of days. That makes it more efficient to continually remove the young after spawning instead of the parents, although well fed parents will not bother the young.

For more information than you can imagine about Rainbows, link to Home of the Rainbowfish.

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