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I didn't think that rainbows are terratorial, but now I'm starting to wonder.

I recently bought 4 splendidas and after watching them, it seems that one will hover around in a particular spot while the others hide in the plant cover, and should they come out they're chased back into it.

Is this normal?

Whats' going on?

Rainbowfish aren't territorial. If the spot happens to be a bushy type plant and the fish is angled down with its head pointing to the plants then it is a male trying to convince a female that its a good place to spawn. If the others are also males, he may chase them away so they won't cut into the action. It sounds like normal breeding activity. Once the male looses the notion to breed he will swim off and no longer worry about the spot until he gets that feeling again. Check to see if the fish "protecting" the spot is also displaying his breeding strip (bright line of color from the snout to the dorsal fin.) If he is flashing the stripe then he's just trying to score.

HAHAHA!

Dodgy!!!

Yeah I think I have a pair of males and a pair of females.

and bushy spots are all the rage in that tank, it's filled with lots of hidey holes and the like.

Wouldn't suprise me.

I was thinking that maybe the tank temp is too high, and that's causing them to get frisky... what do you think?

Rainbows are just frisky by nature, especially in the early morning hours. I don't know if higher temps make them even more ready to go or not. I did a little research and none of my books mention temperature as a big factor in breeding them. They are continuous spawners and each female can lay eggs almost every day.

The fry are hard to feed by all accounts. They have very small throats, even as adults. You need to culture some green water or Infusoria to keep them alive initially.

Good luck