Saltwater rainbow fish ?

[AlgaeLove]

I’ve heard of certain rainbow fish being able to acclimate to saltwater. Although I am not able to find a source to purchase them and don’t have the space to acclimate them fully from freshwater to salt… anyone know where I can find them?
Every time I Google search them I only find freshwater only.

 

[Ben.QLD2]

I've never heard of it. They are freshwater fish but sometimes known to live in partially brackish conditions, certainly not full saltwater though. Happy to be corrected, of course.

 

[Stomatopods17]

Melanotaenia?

Never heard of them in saltwater. Some fish can acclimate to it but they don't always survive long term or have a good reason to be in a saltwater tank. They're not as used to coral stings and the food. Can and will survive in saltwater are different.

Mollies ik are decent in saltwater cause they can eat some of the algae that grows in it without touching the coral, and breeds for free feeders, making their value to try higher. Rainbow fish if its the one I'm thinking of I'm not sure what they'd add besides needing a more passive environment and lower flow.

 

[Steve and his Animals]

There's a few "rainbowfish" in the genus Pseudomugil that live in brackish, typically P. signifer and P. cyanodorsalis. These are very small, short lived fish that live in large groups, very flashy males. I've never seen signifer in saltwater, but I've known a few people to acclimate cyanodorsalis to nano tanks. Unfortunately, cyanodorsalis is short lived, but easy to breed.

 

[AydenLincoln]

That’s such a good book! Brings back memories!

 

[AlgaeLove]

I’ve seen people keep neon blue eyed rainbows but I’m just not sure where to acquire them. Lol even acclimated to brackish I’m not sure. I’ve seen a few people keep them in salt water for sure.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

There's a few "rainbowfish" in the genus Pseudomugil that live in brackish, typically P. signifer and P. cyanodorsalis. These are very small, short lived fish that live in large groups, very flashy males. I've never seen signifer in saltwater, but I've known a few people to acclimate cyanodorsalis to nano tanks. Unfortunately, cyanodorsalis is short lived, but easy to breed.

P. signifer and P. cyanodorsalis both work for this adaptation to saltwater - as mentioned, this has been done multiple times with P. cyanodorsalis; I've only heard of this being done with P. signifer in a lab setting, but they handle marine conditions fine. The higher salinity does interfere with their shoaling behavior and "conspecific chemical cues" receptivity though - it seems the higher the salinity goes, the weaker their chemical sensory abilities become.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225250953_Sensory_ecology_in_a_changing_world_Salinity_alters_conspecific_recognition_in_an_amphidromous_fish_Pseudomugil_signifer

I don't know where to get P. cyanodorsalis at the moment (short of asking your LFS to order you some through Quality Marine), but P. signifer is available from quite a few places.