Gertrude Rainbow

Gertrude Rainbow: Gertrude’s Spotted Blue Eye Rainbowfish (Pseudomugil gertrudae) is a less common Blue Eye Rainbowfish that is native to Indonesia, New Guinea, and Australia. 

Gertrude Rainbow lives in huge schools in densely forested places, making it a great candidate for the planted aquarium, and it especially appreciates the cover of floating plants.

Males have iridescent yellow and blue coloring on their bodies and fins, which is especially noticeable when battling with other males. Males’ second dorsal and anal fins get exceedingly long and fan-like as they mature. Females are often smaller and have an appealing orange-yellow coloration.

The Gertrude’s Spotted Blue Eye Rainbowfish gets along well with other little fish and can even be housed with adult dwarf shrimp. When housed in schools of 6 or more, including numerous males, in a thickly vegetated, roomy aquarium, the most intense color will be displayed to ensure that subdominant males are not unnecessarily bothered by dominant males. Darker substrate, like with many rainbowfish, typically results in better color.

While this fish will readily accept high-quality flake foods, it should also be fed a variety of small frozen or live meaty items to maintain its health and color. Because Gertrude’s Spotted Blue Eye Rainbowfish is a timid fish, it can easily be outcompeted for food by more aggressive eaters, so it must be protected.

II. You would love the fish because…

Gertrude fish is also known as spotted “blue-eye” fish. When you see the fish, you’ll understand why it’s named a speckled blue-eye. This is because, despite its small size, it has bright fluorescent blue eyes that are highly noticeable and easy to spot.

Males have an overall yellow-green color, while females have an overall orange blush that is darker at the tail. Males have vivid yellow wings that look like pectoral fins. The dorsal and pectoral fins are feathery, while the female fins are shorter. Spots adorn both the male and female Gertrude fish. Males are typically more colorful than females.

When spawning, the Gertrude fish is a very simple and intriguing species. They reproduce indefinitely. They spawn late in the morning and early in the afternoon. The male locates the spawning spot and attracts the female by swimming quickly back and forth in front of the spawning location.

III. Is this fish species peaceful or hostile?

Gertrude’s Spotted Blue Eye Rainbowfish is peaceful.

IV. Species compatibility

Small schooling fish, livebearers, small rainbowfish like M. praecox or Blue-Eyes, small catfish, Gudgeons, Garra.

V. How to feed this species?

In the wild, rainbowfish are omnivorous, eating both animals and plant material. Use a high-quality flake meal for herbivores or omnivores as a base and supplement with meaty foods like mosquito larvae, brine shrimp, daphnia, cut-up fish fillets, and earthworms.