Genus · Rainbowfish

Cairnsichthys

Cairnsichthys is a genus with 2 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Rainbowfish section, recorded from Australia. Adult sizes run from 2.5 in to 3.5 in. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas
2
Adult sizes
2.5–3.5 in
IUCN assessed
2 of 2 · 2 threatened
Recorded from
Australia

About the genus

Cairnsichthys is a small genus of rainbowfish (family Melanotaeniidae) restricted to rainforest streams of far northeastern Queensland, Australia - one of the narrowest ranges of any rainbowfish genus. The atlas covers 2 species, 2.5–3.5 in, sharing the compact, laterally compressed body and two separate dorsal fins typical of the family. Both known species come from short, fast-flowing coastal drainages near Cairns and the Daintree, rather than the broader inland river systems most Australian rainbowfish occupy.

This is a genus of real conservation concern rather than a mainstream aquarium staple: the atlas records one species as Critically Endangered and the other as Endangered, and one carries a CARES conservation priority listing here. C. rhombosomoides, the Cairns rainbowfish, is the better-established species among specialist rainbowfish keepers, while C. bitaeniatus, the Daintree rainbowfish, is rarer in the hobby and known from an especially small stream range - the kind of narrow-endemic pressure typical of northeastern Queensland's rainforest fish fauna, where land clearing and stream modification threaten habitat that these fish cannot simply relocate from.

IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered · 1 Endangered · 1CARES 1 on the priority list

The 2 species

Every Cairnsichthys recorded in this atlas. Each card links to a full researched profile — distribution, water parameters, and aquarium care, cited to primary sources.

Allen, Hammer & Raadik, 2018

Daintree Rainbowfish

2.5 in SL · CR

(Nichols & Raven, 1928)

Cairns Rainbowfish, Northern Soft-spined Sunfish

3.5 in SL · EN CARES

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How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Cairnsichthys. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/cairnsichthys/

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