The Celebes Rainbow, Marosatherina ladigesi, is perhaps still remembered by some readers as Telmatherina ladigesi. The species lives endemically (i.e. – seen worldwide – exclusively there) in cool karst streams in the area around Bantimurung, Maros karst, Sulawesi Selatan; Sulawesi belongs politically to Indonesia, but zoogeographically to the Australian region. In former times the big island was known as Celebes.
Marosatherina ladigesi grows about 5-6 (rarely to 8) cm long around is a peaceful, lively schooling fish, which should be kept in harder, well buffered water. A strong current is ideal. The males develop long extended fin rays in dorsal and anal fins. Each animal – male as well as female – has an individually differently coloured first dorsal fin with a different amount of black. During courtship the males become smoky black. They spawn in fine-grained plants, brood care is not practised by these fish.
A shoal of 10-20 specimens is a wonderful sight that you will not forget so quickly. The animals are a little bit sensitive to moving, but otherwise easy to care. They accept any usual fish food, but prefer to eat from the surface. Plants are not damaged.
For our customers: the animals have code 461204 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
