Crimson-spotted Rainbowfish Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Deep, laterally flattened body with a steep forehead profile
• Iridescent blue-green to olive back fading to silvery flanks
• Rows of red-orange spots along the midbody in mature males
• Two separate dorsal fins, the second tall and often edged in red
• Reddish or orange-tinged margins on the dorsal, anal, and caudal fins
• Rounded caudal fin with a faint dark border
• Typically 8-11 cm long, rarely larger

Common look-alikes

• Eastern rainbowfish: more uniformly blue-green body, lacking the distinct rows of crimson spots seen on this species.
• Murray River rainbowfish: fewer, fainter body markings and a more slender profile, plus a non-overlapping river-basin range.
• Firetail gudgeon: an unrelated species sometimes confused at a glance, but it has a single dorsal fin and a rounder head rather than two dorsal fins.

Where you'll see one

Native to slow, vegetated streams, lagoons, and lake margins of coastal drainages in New South Wales and southern Queensland, Australia, where it often schools in loose groups in sheltered water near submerged plants, undercut banks, and overhanging riparian vegetation.