Taxonomy & naming
This is an undescribed form with no scientific name, authority or type locality. "Kali Tawa" is a locality-style trade label, and it is placed in Melanotaenia, the largest genus of the family Melanotaeniidae, on the strength of how it is sold. Its relationship to described species has not been established in the atlas's sources.
Morphology
Sellers describe males as having a bright cyan body, a red tail, white fins and a black vertical bar running down from about the middle of the lateral line. One seller notes that juveniles show no colour and that a group that small cannot be sexed. These descriptions come from retail listings, not from a published account of the form. Sellers give an adult size of around 2.5 to 3 inches, which is also a trade figure.
Habitat
The name refers to a collection locality, but the atlas's sources do not document where Kali Tawa is, and no drainage or coordinates are recorded. Wild habitat conditions are unknown.
Feeding
Diet in the wild is not recorded. Rainbowfishes in general are omnivores that take small invertebrates and plant material, and aquarium fish accept prepared foods.
Mating
Males of the family are known to display to females, and one seller describes males flashing a bright stripe in display. Behaviour of this form in the wild is not recorded.
Breeding
Breeding of this form is not described in the atlas's sources. One seller offers aquarium-bred fish, so it is being kept and bred in captivity.
In the aquarium
Sellers describe it as a peaceful, active fish that holds its own with larger rainbowfishes despite its small size, and as hardy and easy to keep, like rainbowfishes generally. These are retail claims. Water parameters are not recorded for this form.
Conservation
The form is not evaluated by the IUCN. The conservation status of the wild population and the locality are not documented in the atlas's sources. Keeping captive groups apart from other Melanotaenia avoids hybridising them.