adult breeding pairs of rainbow shiners (notropis chrosomus )
Rainbow shiners are native to the rivers and streams of alabama ,tennessee and other parts of North america they are similar in apperence and life style to our native eurasian minnow ( phoxinus phoxinus) and require very similar care they will eat any live , frozen ,flake or pelleted food , they can be kept in cold water aquariums but can also be kept outdoors and can survive the uks climate provided they are relatively sheltered ,being a non native species if being kept outside ensure there's no way they could escape into the wild ie flooding , warming water in spring is the trigger for them to breed when they will gain there bright colouration from which they get there name ,reaching a max size of around 3 inches and living between 3 and 5 years depending on water temperature and food availability.
Breeding pair of rainbow shiners ( notropis Chrosomus)
Rainbow shiners start breeding from March to June where they may breed multiple times in a year. Males start to develope their breeding colouration of bright red and blue , they breed in shallow running water with a gravel or rocky bottom. To acheive breeding conditions in your aquarium simply put gravel and small rocks near the outflow of your filter to simulate the fast flowing oxygenated water the shiners naturally breed in.
