4 replies to this topic

[tjvkooten]

so i have a 85 gallon aquarium, which i plan to keep rainbow shiners in but i have a couple of questions:

 

first of all what is the maximum amount of shiners that would fit in here?

how jumpy are they? my aquarium has an open top and if neccessary i'll need to make something on top of it

could i breed them inside this tank? i hear a lot about them eating their eggs/fry, if not how big should an aquarium to raise them be (until i can put them with the big ones)

[Michael Wolfe]

I had a school of yellowfin shiners (a fairly close relative of rainbows) in  a 75 and had 30 or so in there easily with minimal jumpers.  Depending on your filtration and husbandry, you could have as many as 50 fish in there as far as I am concerned. I cannot help you with the breeding part, there  are others here that are much more qualified.  I have usually had them in community tanks, not breeding setups.

[tjvkooten]

i'll be starting with 10, i have ordered them from my local pet store, and they should arrive next week.

breeding is something for later, is suppose i'll have to make a second tank for eggs/fry.

[gerald]

Occasionally a few fry born in the adults' tank might survive and grow up if you have dense plant thickets, but usually you will need a separate tank to hatch the eggs and raise the fry.  10 to 20 gal tanks are good for raising young - depends on how many fish you plan to keep of course.  Search the forum: there are many threads here on breeding N. chrosomus.

[phreeflow]

I started with 10 in an open top tank and kept them with exotic plecos. Over the course of 4 months, they jumped out one after another until I was left with 3 that were very comfortable in the tank. I promptly built a lid before I added more to the group. Have 7 now but only 1 is starting to show colors. When ready, I will place a shallow bowl of marbles on one side of the tank so they could breed, then remove it to another tank to hatch. Wish me luck and hope yours breed as well!

Edited by phreeflow, 27 June 2016 - 05:09 PM.

[Khai Wan]

My experience with rainbow shiners. During breeding period, they will jump out from the tanks due to chasing and excitement etc.. 10 gallon tank is good for raising fry. For adults, if you want them to be happy and also breeding, a minimum of long 20 gallon tank is a must. I bred mine with 40 gallon long tank. If you do weekly change of water and feed them generously with nutritious food like frozen bloodworms, quality pellets etc, they will breed almost every 2 weeks quite consistently throughout the whole year, at least this is my experience breeding them. Rainbow shiners need to be in a group to be happy and comfortable, 6 or 7 should be fine but the more the merrier. They eat like pigs, and they will not shy away from you. They will come to you begging for more food. They will nip your fingers too. I think rainbow shiners is one of the hidden jewel of our native fish besides that very impressive central longear sunfish.

[lilyea]

My experience with rainbow shiners. ....I bred mine with 40 gallon long tank. If you do weekly change of water and feed them generously with nutritious food like frozen bloodworms, quality pellets etc, they will breed almost every 2 weeks quite consistently throughout the whole year, at least this is my experience breeding them....

 

Khai Wan - congratulations on breeding rainbow shiners and thank you for the information.  How did you have your 40 gallon long tank aquascaped?  What was the filtration and flow in the tank?  Are there any other parameters (e.g., temperature, water conditions, or lighting) that you would be willing to share?  Thanks.

[Khai Wan]

I have bare bone 40 gallon tank and two sponge filters. My pH tap water is 7.6. As for the light, I turned it on for 8-10 hours per day using shop light (learned this trick from Gerald; thanks Gerald). For them to lay eggs, I use regular glass plate (any plate will do), put a pile of medium size gravels for the eggs to drop through otherwise they will eat all the eggs. One thing for sure, I noticed they go spawning frenzy for two days, very regularly as I observed. I think the reason why they have so much energy was because during their frenzy breeding, I fed them with a lot of frozen bloodworms, very generously. Also after they finished spawning on day 2, the water will be cloudy and kind of rotten-egg smell. I then do water changes. I changed 20% of the water weekly. Rainbow shiners are truly one of our beauties of the south, if not rank among the top most beautiful freshwater fish of the world.