Advice On Butterfly Goodeids?

[Platygirl11]

Hello!
So, I have been keeping guppies and a few platys (although the guppies have really taken over) for a while now. I really like livebearers, but I was thinking of switching fish breeds. I have a 38 gallon tank that is pretty sparsely decorated (moss, plastic plants, and one plastic ornament). Would this be OK for Butterfly Goodeids? I'm just speculating here; the other option is to change it entirely into a tank for land hermit crabs (because they seem to find me ). Does anyone have any general advice or suggestions for this tank?
Thanks!

 

[OldMan47]

I have a tank almost exactly that size that my Amecas breed in. Mine is a planted tank but I would not call it decorated really. With the Amecas,and most other goodeids, you will not need to worry about a heater for the tank.

 

[nmonks]

I keep a group of Ameca in a 180-litre tank alongside various other fish. They don't seem to care much about decorations, but they adore floating plants! Indeed, they feed almost constantly on Indian fern, so whatever else you do, be sure to add a clump of this stuff.

The males are very aggressive. If you have just two, then one will bully the other. So try to keep at least three males within the group. They're also terrible fin nippers, so they're in the tank with the puffers and fast fish that keep out of trouble.

You can keep them in unheated tanks, but this does assume the room they're in doesn't get too cold. Keeping them below 15 degrees C for too long would be unwise.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Platygirl11]

Thanks!
Also, would amecas be prone to overpopulating the tank like the common livebearers? And do I need to worry about them breeding with other breeds like guppies and endlers? How rare are the amecas?

 

[nmonks]

Ameca breed easily but relatively slowly, with smaller batches of larger offspring. But like any livebearer, you will need to rehome surplus fish if your tank isn't big enough for all of them.

They aren't rare in the hobby, but they are extinct in the wild, save for what may be one small relic population. They cannot cross-breed with guppies or mollies, but they're too aggressive to mix with such fish, so the situation shouldn't occur anyway.

Cheers, Neale

 

[fish48]

There as been a new location found a bout 3years ago

 

[nmonks]

Yes, that's the relic population I mentioned. So far as I know, it isn't clear whether these are an original population, a feral population established decades ago, or a relatively recently established relic population. Obviously I hope they really are wild, original Ameca splendens.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Platygirl11]

Well, thank you everyone for the great advice.
However, I'm probably going to turn it into a hermit crab tank. They're my favorites!