🐡 FOTM Abaddon - October 2025 Fish of the Month Winner(Livebearers)

[connorlindeman]

We have a winner in Fishforums.net
October 2025 Fish of the Month Contest
We had 8 awesome fish entered in this month's FOTM contest but only one could win...
And the winner is.......
​

@Abaddon​

Let's all congratulate her

Here's the winning fish and its description​

This is one of the lesser-known livebearers, the barred topminnow (Quintana atrizona). Unfortunately it's almost impossible to find on the market - I was very lucky to get mine (at a borderline unreasonable price) from a guy who was getting rid of his stock, and one other breeder (the only one in the country AFAIK). This species is classed as critically endangered according to the IUCN and hasn't been seen in the wild since 2009. It's native to only 2 small areas in Cuba and threatened by the usual suspects - pollution, invasive species, water management etc. I have lofty aspirations (lol) to breed and give away or exchange as many of them as possible so as to hopefully make them a bit more popular, and I'd be happy to donate to any conservationists that will take them. I realise I'm very lucky to have them & want to do everything I can to help raise awareness about this species. These guys may not be as flashy as some other livebearers, but they're adorable, easy to keep and beautiful in their own right. They have splashes of yellow, black & iridescent blue (not really visible here), and are otherwise totally transparent, except for the vertical black bars (usually around 5) on both sides of the body. The fish in the photo is a juvenile male, one of the original stock I got back in August.

When it comes to husbandry, they're some of the smallest species available (about the same size or slightly bigger than tiger teddies, which are another criminally underappreciated species imho) so they can do quite well in nano tanks. They are extremely shy and only suitable for single-species setups (they will get stressed even when paired with similarly-sized and docile species). I keep mine with dwarf & amano shrimp and they seem to get along fine, although the amanos are absolutely *enormous* compared to them, so I'm keeping an eye out for any signs of stress. They don't eat their young, but they also don't breed as prolifically as guppies. I just had my first fry recently (that I've noticed, there may be more hiding in the plants) & am very excited. I currently have just under ~30 individuals split up into 2 tanks. I feed them a mix of dry, liquid and frozen foods (cyclops, daphnia, insect meal, baby brine shrimp, regular flakes), plus microworms. It was a bit challenging to find foods small enough to fit in their tiny mouths, but I think I've figured out a pretty decent combo, at least for now. I've only had them for 2 months and I'm very much still in the process of figuring them out, but keeping my fingers crossed that they establish a happy & thriving population.

Interesting fact about them: The males shouldn't really be netted, as their gonopodium has a tiny hook at the end which can get caught & damaged in a mesh, rendering the fish infertile (at least temporarily). Moving mine was a bit of a pain because of that lol

 

[connorlindeman]

This was an incredibly close contest! Both entries were top notch but only one could win.

Congrats to @Abaddon for the win. Fascinating fish and great picture!
In second place is @emeraldking and with colorful platy. Nice job!

Right now we are accepting entries in our TOTM contest. We are featuring aquariums 31 gallons and larger. Please consider entering.
here

 

[Essjay]

Congratulations Abaddon

 

[connorlindeman]

@Abaddon has now won all three of our contests: September Tank of the Month, September Pet of the Month, and now October Fish of the Month.

 

[veraderock]

Congratulations @Abaddon

 

[BullTerrierChild]

Congrats, @Abaddon!! Awesome fish!

 

[emeraldking]

Congratulations, @Abaddon...

 

[Abaddon]

Thanks guys, I'm very happy to have won although I didn't think I had a chance when I saw some of the other entries Now I just hope I can keep these guys happy and breeding. Too bad I don't have room for another tank or I'd definitely be turning this into a bigger project XD

 

[Innesfan]

Well done, @Abaddon ! A gorgeous photo of a little known but fascinating species that's been around since the dawn of the hobby and should be more widely kept.

And as for the runner-up, as I said when you first posted the photo, that is hands-down the most beautiful wild variatus I've ever seen.

This edition of the contest was an embarrassment of riches.

 

[MattW]

Congrats!

 

[MuddyWaters]

We have a winner in Fishforums.net
October 2025 Fish of the Month Contest
We had 8 awesome fish entered in this month's FOTM contest but only one could win...
And the winner is.......
​

@Abaddon​

Let's all congratulate her

Here's the winning fish and its description​

This is one of the lesser-known livebearers, the barred topminnow (Quintana atrizona). Unfortunately it's almost impossible to find on the market - I was very lucky to get mine (at a borderline unreasonable price) from a guy who was getting rid of his stock, and one other breeder (the only one in the country AFAIK). This species is classed as critically endangered according to the IUCN and hasn't been seen in the wild since 2009. It's native to only 2 small areas in Cuba and threatened by the usual suspects - pollution, invasive species, water management etc. I have lofty aspirations (lol) to breed and give away or exchange as many of them as possible so as to hopefully make them a bit more popular, and I'd be happy to donate to any conservationists that will take them. I realise I'm very lucky to have them & want to do everything I can to help raise awareness about this species. These guys may not be as flashy as some other livebearers, but they're adorable, easy to keep and beautiful in their own right. They have splashes of yellow, black & iridescent blue (not really visible here), and are otherwise totally transparent, except for the vertical black bars (usually around 5) on both sides of the body. The fish in the photo is a juvenile male, one of the original stock I got back in August.

When it comes to husbandry, they're some of the smallest species available (about the same size or slightly bigger than tiger teddies, which are another criminally underappreciated species imho) so they can do quite well in nano tanks. They are extremely shy and only suitable for single-species setups (they will get stressed even when paired with similarly-sized and docile species). I keep mine with dwarf & amano shrimp and they seem to get along fine, although the amanos are absolutely *enormous* compared to them, so I'm keeping an eye out for any signs of stress. They don't eat their young, but they also don't breed as prolifically as guppies. I just had my first fry recently (that I've noticed, there may be more hiding in the plants) & am very excited. I currently have just under ~30 individuals split up into 2 tanks. I feed them a mix of dry, liquid and frozen foods (cyclops, daphnia, insect meal, baby brine shrimp, regular flakes), plus microworms. It was a bit challenging to find foods small enough to fit in their tiny mouths, but I think I've figured out a pretty decent combo, at least for now. I've only had them for 2 months and I'm very much still in the process of figuring them out, but keeping my fingers crossed that they establish a happy & thriving population.

Interesting fact about them: The males shouldn't really be netted, as their gonopodium has a tiny hook at the end which can get caught & damaged in a mesh, rendering the fish infertile (at least temporarily). Moving mine was a bit of a pain because of that lol

Oh, wow this fish is so gorgeous!

So these are smaller than Chili Rasboras? I have 10 of those in a 3 gallon tank with some crystal red caridina shrimp. They have plenty of room in that space- those guys don't move much anyway- although they will come running when they see me- "food!"

I could probably convince my wife to let me run another 3 gallon tank if you're open to selling a few? I would take what I breed to my local club (Atlanta) - they would LOVE IT.

I keep butterfly goodeids- also critically endangered, and also not the prettiest fish you've ever seen, but they are super active and have gold flecks on their bodies and sometimes their tail looks like it was dipped in gold. Mostly they just look like....fish...though, so folks ignore them. It's fun to feel like I'm helping a species keep going.

Anyway, I'd be interested in buying a few if you're willing.

 

[Abaddon]

Oh, wow this fish is so gorgeous!

So these are smaller than Chili Rasboras? I have 10 of those in a 3 gallon tank with some crystal red caridina shrimp. They have plenty of room in that space- those guys don't move much anyway- although they will come running when they see me- "food!"

I could probably convince my wife to let me run another 3 gallon tank if you're open to selling a few? I would take what I breed to my local club (Atlanta) - they would LOVE IT.

I keep butterfly goodeids- also critically endangered, and also not the prettiest fish you've ever seen, but they are super active and have gold flecks on their bodies and sometimes their tail looks like it was dipped in gold. Mostly they just look like....fish...though, so folks ignore them. It's fun to feel like I'm helping a species keep going.

Anyway, I'd be interested in buying a few if you're willing.

The males are about the size of chili rasboras, the females can get a bit larger. I'd be happy to sell but I'm in the EU so I don't think it's feasible, what with the transport & weather etc. Judging by how stressed they were when I got them (and that was just a 2-day trip in warm weather) they would have a very hard time surviving such a massive move.

 

[GaryE]

The males are about the size of chili rasboras, the females can get a bit larger. I'd be happy to sell but I'm in the EU so I don't think it's feasible, what with the transport & weather etc. Judging by how stressed they were when I got them (and that was just a 2-day trip in warm weather) they would have a very hard time surviving such a massive move.

Shipping into the US is really difficult, with the permits and payoffs needed. I don't know if the tariffs would affect this, but the permits would. They are quite expensive.
I often get asked if I can ship my uncommon Cichlids to US clubs or individuals, but always have to say no as much as I would like to be able to do so. I would love to get these fish into the US hobby, but it's been a long time since it was free to do so.

I notice that a lot of killifish egg sellers won't sell into the US, because eggs are classed the same as fish, and having no permits can bring confiscation and fines to the receiving American. It'll also get the seller tagged for a bad time any time they wish to visit the US. This was all buried in omnibus legislation back in the post WTC attack, so it goes back a long way.