Melanotaenia lacustris, Lake Kutubu rainbowfish : fisheries, gamefish, aquarium

Melanotaenia lacustris Munro, 1964

Lake Kutubu rainbowfish
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Image of Melanotaenia lacustris (Lake Kutubu rainbowfish)
Melanotaenia lacustris
Picture by Muséum-Aquarium de Nancy/D. Terver

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Atheriniformes (Silversides) > Melanotaeniidae (Rainbowfishes, blue eyes)
Etymology: Melanotaenia: Greek, melan, -anos = black + latin, taenia = stripe (Ref. 45335).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; benthopelagic; pH range: 7.0 - 8.0; dH range: 9 - 12. Tropical; 20°C - 24°C (Ref. 2059); 6°S - 7°S

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Oceania: known only from Lake Kutubu and its outlet, the Soro River, in the Kikori River drainage of the Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 10.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2847)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 5 - 7; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11 - 14; Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 17 - 21.
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits a highland lake and its outlet about 220 km upstream from the Gulf of Papua (Ref. 2847). An omnivore and egg laying species which is considered in the aquarium trade as a peaceful community fish. Prefers the following aquarium conditions: pH=7.3, H=12, 27°C water temperature, needs rocks, plants and driftwood cover (Ref. 6398).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Distinct pairing (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Allen, G.R., 1991. Field guide to the freshwater fishes of New Guinea. Publication, no. 9. 268 p. Christensen Research Institute, Madang, Papua New Guinea. (Ref. 2847)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)

  Endangered (EN) (B1ab(iii)); Date assessed: 04 December 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Territories
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genome
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Genetic Diversity
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures
References
References

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search |