Not furry, but we like them anyway.
Banded Rainbowfish
Melanotaenia trifasciata (Rendahl, 1922)
Also called Jewel rainbowfish, Goyder River rainbowfish, Regal rainbowfish, Three-striped sunfish
From Northern Australia: Northern Territory (Arnhem Land) and northern Queensland (Cape York Peninsula), in streams, waterholes, lagoons and rivers.123
At a glance the quick version
Standard length: FishBase 13 cm, Seriously Fish 15 cm, Wikipedia 12-15 cm; typical size around 8 cm
Looks how to spot one
Scaled, deep-bodied rainbowfish
A deep-bodied rainbowfish, often more than a third as deep as it is long, with a dark band running along the middle of the side and red or yellow fins. Males are bigger, deeper and brighter, with longer dorsal and anal fins. Colour differs a lot depending on which river the fish came from.32
Personality what they are like
A calm, very peaceful shoaling fish. Males display to each other by swimming side by side with fins spread, which is a normal part of their social life.23
Daily activity how busy a day looks
Lively and fast; it uses the full length of the tank and appreciates open swimming space.2
Grooming and care the hands-on bits
Keep a tight lid because it can jump. Keep each locality form separately, since different forms crossbreed easily. Adult colour takes 12 months or more to develop.32
Home where they are happiest
Minimum tank about 120 x 30 x 30 cm (around 108 litres). Temperature about 24-30 °C, pH 6.5-8.0, hardness 8-20 dGH. Dense planting, submerged wood and open swimming room work well.21
Food basics what goes in the bowl
Omnivore. In nature it eats aquatic insects, small crustaceans, algae and insects that fall into the water. In the aquarium it takes dried, frozen and live foods; live food brings out the best colour.32
Company who they like around
Keep at least 6-8, ideally more; a bigger group gives better colour and display behaviour.2
The story where it all began
Hialmar Rendahl described it in 1922. Its name means 'three-banded', but that pattern came from how the original preserved specimen changed colour, not from how the living fish looks.3
Fun facts for the dinner table
- 1
The 'three bands' in its scientific name were an artefact of a preserved museum specimen; living fish show a single dark side band.3
- 2
Aquarists often name the colour forms after the river where they were collected, such as the Goyder River form.2
- 3
A female can lay 200-500 sticky eggs, which hatch after about a week.3
- 4
It can cope with partly stagnant pools and leaf-litter bottoms during the dry season.1
Recognised by the official bits
- IUCN Red List
- Least Concern (assessed February 2019)1
- Taxonomy
- Family Melanotaeniidae; described by Rendahl in 19221
The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you
A typical home-care rhythm for a Banded Rainbowfish. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.
- FeedingSmall amounts once or twice a dayevery day
- Temperature checkevery day
- Water changeAbout 25% of the waterevery week
- Water testevery week
- Glass cleanevery week
- Filter rinseRinse in old tank water, never tap waterevery month
You might also like
Turquoise Rainbowfish
Boeseman's Rainbowfish
Murray River RainbowfishLike what we are building? Buy us a coffee.
The breed atlas is free for everyone, with a source on every fact, and it will never show ads. If it helped you, a small tip keeps the research going. Any amount is lovely, and no is a perfectly fine answer too.
Where this comes from
Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
- FishBase: Melanotaenia trifasciata, Banded rainbowfish fishbase.seused for author and year, distribution, max length, water ranges, IUCN status, habitat
- Seriously Fish: Melanotaenia trifasciata (Banded Rainbowfish) seriouslyfish.comused for size, tank size, water parameters, diet, behaviour, group size, dimorphism, locality forms
- Wikipedia: Banded rainbowfish en.wikipedia.orgused for other names, history and name origin, description, diet, breeding facts
Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.