Care Guide for Forktail Blue-Eye or Furcata Rainbowfish
People gravitate to guppies and platies sold at major pet stores chains, as they are small and energetic and very colorful. But if you’re looking for a slightly uncommon fish to liven up your aquarium, let us introduce you to the forktail or furcata rainbowfish.
What are Forktail Rainbowfish?
Pseudomugil furcatus hails from the rainforests of Papua New Guinea, where it is often found in clearwater streams that are teeming with plant life. The distinctive fork pattern found on the tail of this rainbowfish, which measures 2 inches (5 cm), is well-known. The yellow tips of their pectoral fins make it look almost like the fish are waving little pompoms as they move about. The females of rainbowfish are less colorful that the males. However, it is recommended to get 1-2 females per male. Males are more colorful in the presence of females and display a charming, circular dance.
Furcata rainbowfish are well-known for their yellow “pompoms”, which they wave frantically while swimming.
How to Set Up an Aquarium for Furcata Rainbows
This nano fish is quite the speedy swimmer, so set up a 20-gallon aquarium or bigger to give them plenty of room. They enjoy temperatures between 75-80degF (24-27degC), slightly alkaline pH above 7.0, and at least 5deg (90 ppm) GH. Rainbowfish tend to swim in the upper half of the aquarium, so an aquarium hood or lid is a must to prevent them from jumping out. Given their natural habitat, consider creating a forest of live aquarium plants for them to explore and swim between.
A schooling fish, rainbowfish enjoy being surrounded by their own species. To ensure rainbowfish don’t get over-purchased, fish shops often sell male-female rainbowfish pairs. Therefore, it is a good idea to have at least three pairs of rainbowfish (or two males plus four females) in your aquarium.
Can forktail rainbowfish live with other fish? These happy-go lucky fish can co-exist with most peaceful community fish, including corydoras and tetras. Slow-moving fish may be outcompeted by them at mealtimes. So make sure you keep an eye out for food to ensure everyone gets a piece. In our experience, they did not bother the adult dwarf shrimp, but they will happily eat any baby shrimp that happens to attract their notice. Also, we have successfully kept Pseudomugil rainbows in community tanks with a betta fish, but it all depends on the betta’s temperament so be prepared to remove him if necessary.
Furcata rainbows, which are peaceful community fish, do well in planted aquariums.
What Do Forktail Blue-Eyes Eat?
These fish are small and have very small mouths. Therefore, they should be fed a wide variety of foods that provide them with healthy nutrients. They don’t seem to be fussy and enjoy eating.
– Frozen baby brine shrimp, cyclops and daphnia Xtreme nano pellets Hikari micro pellets Krill flakes Freeze dried daphnia Easy Fry, Small Fish Food, and Frozen daphnia
How to Breed Furcata Rainbowfish
Pseudomugil rainbows are a more expensive option than most tropical fish. They also live a shorter life span, only two to three years. Forktail-blue-eyes are easy to breed, provided you have both the sexes and that the fish is not too old. Raise the temperature to around 80degF (27degC) and feed plenty of food to condition them for breeding. Also, you can add a DIY yarn breeding mop or large floating plant that has long roots (e.g., water Sprite) to make it easy to take down.
A male can mate multiple females every day. This makes it possible to have more females than males. Afterward, the females will deposit a few large eggs in the spawning mop or floating plant roots. Try checking the spawning media check every day and move the eggs to a separate fry container with an air stone for hatching. A few drops of methyleneblue can be added to the eggs to stop them from developing fungus. The egg’s hatching time will vary depending on the water temperature. Feed the fry a diet of infusoria, vinegar eels, and powdered fry foods. Once they are large enough, switch them to live baby brine shrimp for fast and healthy growth.
The two females (above) do not have as much yellow coloration on their fins compared to the male (middle).
Other Pseudomugil species, such as the red neon blue-eyed rainbowfish (Pseudomugil lumitus) or Gertrude’s spotted rainbowfish (Pseudomugil gertrudae), have similar care requirements. So make sure you choose the nano rainbowfish that interests you. While we do not ship live fish, you can check out our list of preferred online retailers to see what they have in stock.