Gertrude’s Spotted Blue Eye Rainbowfish (Pseudomugil gertrudae), Tank-Bred

This blue eye dwarf rainbowfish species is a beautiful, outgoing, hardy, and all-around superb addition to the nano or planted aquarium!

The Gertrude’s Spotted Blue Eye Rainbowfish, (Pseudomugil gertrudae) is one of the lesser widespread variants of the Blue Eye Rainbowfish and is native to Indonesia, New Guiniea, and Australia.  It lives in very large schools in areas with dense vegetation, so it is an ideal candidate for the planted aquarium and especially enjoys the cover of floating plants.  Males display iridescent yellow and blue coloration on their bodies and fins, particularly while competing with other males. The second dorsal and anal fins of males  become very extended and fan-like with maturity.  Females are typically smaller and often possess an attractive orange-yellow hue. 

The Gertrude’s Spotted Blue Eye Rainbowfish is peaceful with other fish species of similar size and can even be kept with adult dwarf shrimp.  The most intense color will be displayed when this fish is kept in schools of 6 or more, including multiple males, in a heavily planted, spacious aquarium to ensure that subdominant males are not overly harassed by dominant males.  As with many rainbowfish, darker substrate will also often result in better coloration. 

While this fish will easily accept high quality flake foods, it should also be fed plenty of small frozen or live meaty foods for optimal health and coloration.  The Gertrude’s Spotted Blue Eye Rainbowfish is a timid fish, so it can easily be out-competed for food by more aggressive eaters, so care must be taken to ensure that it gets its share of food.

The entire family of rainbowfish is popular in freshwater aquaria due to the generally peaceful disposition, hardiness, and beautiful coloration of its members.  While many popular rainbowfish species eventually become too large to be kept with dwarf shrimp and some other nano species, the Gertrude’s Spotted Blue Eye Rainbowfish is one of a few exceptions.  Fully grown rainbowfish of this species are typically safe to keep even with adult dwarf shrimp and virtually all non-aggressive invertebrates that we offer.