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| Melanotaenia irianjaya - photo© Gerald Allen |
Allen, 1985
Irian Jaya Rainbowfish
Description
Mature fish are overall mauve with silvery reflections. There is a broad, bluish midlateral band, which is most prominent on the rear half of the body. The dorsal and anal fins are reddish with narrow white margins. The caudal fin is reddish and has distinctive black upper and lower margins. This species is unusual in having the middle rays of the dorsal and anal fins longer than the other rays; a feature generally associated with the genus Glossolepis.
Distribution
Collected by Gerald Allen and Heiko Bleher in 1982. Found primarily in river systems that drain into Bintuni Bay, West Papua. It is also found on the Bomberai Peninsula, immediately south of the Vogelkop and across Bintuni Bay.
Habitat & Ecology
Habitats consist of rainforest streams ranging from slightly turbid and slow flowing over flat terrain to clear, moderately fast flowing through hills. Temperature and pH values range from 27-28° Celsius and 7.3-7.8 respectively. The fish are found in areas with relatively few aquatic plants, over gravel or sand bottoms, often in the vicinity of submerged logs.
Melanotaenia irianjaya may reach a maximum size of 12 cm, but usually less than 10 cm. Unlike most rainbowfishes, males of this species lack the pronounced elongation of the posterior dorsal and anal fin rays. Males are more brightly coloured, larger, and deeper bodied than females. Spawning females produce between 50 and 150 eggs, spawning a number of times daily for several days. Eggs adhere to fine-leaved plants or among the roots of floating vegetation which hatch around 6-7 days.
Remarks
Live specimens collected by Heiko Bleher in 1982 and distribution to the aquarium trade in 1983.
© Copyright Adrian R. Tappin
Updated January, 2007.
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