Should I buy it?
Celebes Rainbowfish
Marosatherina ladigesi
Typical trade / ID note: Marosatherina ladigesi
Also known as: celebes rainbow, sulawesi rainbow, Celebes rainbow, Sulawesi rainbow
Fishori provides conservative planning guidance, not guarantees.
Based on typical aquarium care sources; details may vary between setups. Use the numbers here as planning defaults — your room, water, and routine still shape real-world outcomes.
A nano rainbow with a hard-water requirement. Pair with rasboras and corys, not cardinals and discus. Stable parameters and a six-fish school for colour.
Best for
Hard-water planted community tanks 80L or more with a school of six alongside corydoras and rasboras.
Avoid if
You run very soft acidic water, keep discus or cardinals, or can only source fewer than five fish.
Top things that go wrong
- Group welfare — not a solo display fish. Plan at least **6** together for normal behaviour; smaller groups often mean stress, colour loss, or nipping depending on species.
- Shrimp & snails. Shrimp: compatible in most setups. Cherry shrimp and other dwarf species coexist with peaceful small fish, though baby shrimp are food for almost any fish that gets to them.
Common mistakeMixing with soft-water tetras. Celebes rainbowfish prefer hard alkaline water that stresses neons and cardinals within weeks.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Stocked into a soft-water Amazon community. The fish lives but never colours up and stops shoaling.
- 2.Trio purchase. Celebes need six or more for males to display; below that the colour stays muted.
- 3.A nano-friendly rainbowfish, but the water chemistry is the catch. Celebes want hard alkaline water (pH 7.0 to 8.5, hard), which rules out the soft-water community with cardinal tetras. They pair well with hard-water community fish (rasboras, corydoras, mollies).
About this species
Celebes rainbows are slender shoaling fish from Sulawesi streams. Males show extended dorsal and anal rays edged in yellow and black, with a translucent body that catches light. Unlike most rainbowfish, the species wants hard alkaline water rather than the softer water Australian rainbows tolerate.
- Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish100L min · same group, similar adult size
- Threadfin rainbowfish60L min · same fish family
- Boesemani Rainbowfish150L min · same fish family
- Turquoise / Lake Kutubu rainbowfish200L min · same fish family
- Adolfoi coryalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Bamboo Shrimpalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Black ruby barbalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Bolivian Ramalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Brown / hockey-stick pencilfishalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Cardinal Tetraalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
No reverse lookups on file yet.
Plan grid
Key limits are shown above; this section adds planning detail: pH band, swim level, bioload and activity, and the radar.
Swim zones
Planning trait chart
Six indices for comparing species on paper before you spend.
- Beginner ease38
- Peacefulness90
- Community fit83
- Small-tank fit100
- Hardiness54
- Energy54
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Common setup sketches
Conservative patterns from Fishori fields — still run the pair checker for every species you add; sketches are not a stocking guarantee.
Rough 90L+ layout: one calm centrepiece, 8–12 small tetras/rasboras, 6–8 corydoras-type bottom fish — verify every name in the pair checker before buying.
Safe directions on file include: Harlequin Rasbora, Corydoras Catfish, Otocinclus.
Prioritise 6+ of Celebes Rainbowfish in 80L+ with filtration sized for messy feeding — add only mates that already pass pair checks with this species.
Tank mate intelligence
Use the "Often compatible" lists as a shortlist, not a stocking plan. Always run the pair tool and check the footprint of your actual tank first. Verify behaviour for Celebes Rainbowfish against your own reading before you buy.
Pair-level compatibility with this fish as anchor.
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Celebes Rainbowfish + Harlequin Rasbora
Behaviour, temperament, and what to watch
Prose and lists come from the same record: read temperament first, then glass-level signals so you are not surprised after day three.
Celebes Rainbowfish is peaceful in mixed company.
Stress / aggression triggers on file
- Sudden crowding
- Poor water quality
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper, but individuals can still test fins under stress or in a crowded tank.
Predation: Not a predator toward similarly-sized community fish. The usual community caveats about mouth size still apply for very small fry or shrimp.
Territory: Not strongly territorial, but still claims a working area in the tank. Give it room to settle without overlapping the next species' patch.
Planted tanks: excellent — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Moderate pacing — not hyperactive, not motionless.
- Shoaling/schooling: most colour and confidence show when the group meets **6+**.
- Clamped fins, gasping at the surface, hiding non-stop, or refusing food after the first week.
- Rapid breathing when parameters swing — fix ammonia/nitrite first, then reassess mates.
- Low listed risk — still watch new introductions.
- Separate or rehome if injuries appear, one fish is pinned, or feeding becomes a daily chase.
- If water is stable but behaviour worsens, reduce stocking or remove the highest-impact species first.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Care parameters: water, food, inverts, grouping
Chemistry and group rules sit here so you are not re-reading the same line from tank mate or temperament blocks. Swim level is in the plan grid above.
Hardness
hard
Diet
omnivore
Mixed diet: a quality flake or pellet as the staple, with frozen or live foods two or three times a week.
Shrimp & snails
Shrimp: compatible in most setups. Cherry shrimp and other dwarf species coexist with peaceful small fish, though baby shrimp are food for almost any fish that gets to them.
Six or more, ideally with at least two males so the display behaviour fires. Solo males stay grey.
Egg scatterers and schoolers still spawn in stable tanks. Have a plan for the fry, or accept that the parents and tank mates will eat them in a community setup.
- Hard alkaline water (pH 7.0 to 8.5, hard hardness). Tap with low carbonate hardness needs remineralising.
- Mature tank with stable nitrate under 20 ppm.
- A group of six or more for proper display behaviour.
- Compatible community: rasboras, corys, mollies, livebearers. Not Amazon soft-water tetras.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 80L published minimum for adults.
- You can stock at least 6 individuals (group welfare).
- Heater can hold 22–28°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
Explore and stocking hubs
Same library as the rest of Fishori: tank-mate index for this species, category peers, guides, and litre-based stocking lists where min tank on file is within the hub volume.
Plan with tools
Pair-level rules and multi-fish stocking use the same conservative engine — add this fish in the tank builder only after mates pass pair checks.
Filtration & heating
A 80L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 320L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 22–28°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Celebes Rainbowfish does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 22–28°C and pH 7–8.5:
Profile status: partially verified · Evidence tier: medium · 2 linked source(s). Fishori does not fabricate citations.
Fishori uses conservative planning rules based on these sources.
Confidence is explained in the summary at the top of this page (same tier as here), not repeated below.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Marosatherina ladigesi
Primary: species page on Sulawesi limestone-stream origin (which explains the hard alkaline water requirement) and the extended-fin display in males.
- Practical Fishkeeping. Celebes Rainbowfish Profile
Secondary: editor coverage of stocking, water chemistry, and the colour development that needs months of stable water.
Evidence notes
- Celebes rainbows are sensitive to nitrate. A mature tank running clean (NO3 under 20 ppm) holds colour; the same fish in a 40 ppm tank fades within weeks.
- Wild Sulawesi habitat is limestone karst streams. The high pH and hardness are not an option, and tank-bred specimens still decline in soft acidic tanks within months.
- Fishori profiles work from typical aquarium trade sizes and hobby care norms. Specialist site checks and literature review for this species are not yet recorded here, so the ranges on this page are planning numbers rather than guarantees.