6 replies to this topic

[phreeflow]

I’ve been looking for rainbow shiners for 11 years! Saw them once at a local pet shop and fell in love, ordered them once online, and haven’t seen them ever since. Sadly, the ones I ordered mostly jumped out of my open top tank. I now have a much larger tank with a tight cover and would like to get a large group of them but they’re so elusive.

I keep reading how easy these fish breed so I’m wondering what you all are doing with the fry? Does anyone have any rainbow shiners they’d like to rehome? Please let me know

[minorhero]

If you Google them you will see 3 different websites selling them. Probably more but I stopped at the first page.

[phreeflow]

Thanks for that...I found 2 sites that have them in stock and 1 that’s out. However, they’re like $9-$10 each! Was hoping to grab a large group but at those price, it’s hard to justify. Aren’t there any hobbyists breeding these that want to sell off some extras?

[Dustin]

Where are you located?  You may be able to just go out and catch some.  Rainbows are very widely distributed.  Otherwise, $8-10 per fish is a typical price.  Jonahsaquarium.com has a good selection of quality fish and usually have rainbows in stock.

[littlen]

I'll second Dustin's comments.  Even at 8-10 bucks a fish, getting a group of 6-8 would very likely get you males and females.  Then you can make as many 'hundreds' as you want which will then have alleviated the initial cost.  Despite their appeal, they just aren't as prevalent in the aquarium hobby as tetras and such.  As you read, they are easy to maintain and spawn.  Worth the investment IMO.  Good luck.

[Michael Wolfe]

Where are you located?  You may be able to just go out and catch some.  Rainbows are very widely distributed. 

 

I know some places in N.Georgia... sounds to me like you need a vacation... or if you are really far away sounds like you should make a detour when you drive to South Carolina in the spring for the NANFA 2020 Convention.

 

Heck in March they are bright pink fish in a stream, you dont have problems seeing them or finding them.

[phreeflow]

I’m out on the West Coast where you can’t catch anything. Wish I could head out that way and seine some minnows or to the convention but don’t see that in the near future. I was really hoping to fill my large display tank with like 50 of those rainbow shiners but I guess I’ll have to settle for a small group and try to breed them. Problem is...I never bred minnows before except guppies so it’s a tall order. I said others said it was easy.....not for me haha.

One last call...does anyone breed rainbow shiners and if so, can you sell me a large group?

Thanks all