Ameca Splendens Breeding

[diburning]

I think that at least one of my female Ameca Splendens is pregnant (really pregnant... As pregnant as a goodeid! Poecillids shouldn't be called "pregnant because they don't have a placenta like goodeids)

Anyway, this is my first time actually seeing a rarer livebearer breed (my halfbeaks never bred). I already know that they have around 20 or less fry at a time and the fry are born at 2 cm each (ouch!)

I was wondering if the belly had to swell really really big like a poecillid to know when they will give birth (at least goodeids don't eat their fry!) One of my females looks like she has a medium sized belly (maybe about a month to go??)(gestation is 2 months)

Anyway, does anyone know how big the belly has to be before you know when she can give birth?

 

[diademhill]

A splendens get oblong just before they drop fry. They develop a noticable 90 degree angle at the vent - you'll know when you see it None of mine have ever had more than 10 in a batch (3.5" SL females) and the fry are only about 1.5cm SL at birth. Still big enough to make you wince on the mother's behalf

Sue

 

[guppymonkey]

I haven't kept Ameca splendens but I have C. pardalis and Xenotoca eiseni and with both of those species you can see the babies through the belly of the mother right before she gives birth. I wish I could take a picture of it, you can see the eye of the fry and realize how large the fry are. I have heard that A. splendens are large even for goodeids when they are born. The fry from C. pardalis and Xenotoca eiseni are almost half an inch long at birth, very skinny though.

I think that at least one of my female Ameca Splendens is pregnant (really pregnant... As pregnant as a goodeid! Poecillids shouldn't be called "pregnant because they don't have a placenta like goodeids)

I think I read this wrong. You're not trying to say that Amecia splendens is a poecillid are you?

I would still consider guppies and other poecillids to be pregnant even without the placenta-like structure. They still have the stress of giving birth, even if its not quite as hard for them as a goodeid. Its still stressful and difficult and they have to carry the young for a month even if they aren't feeding them.

 

[nmonks]

Just to be clear, poecilids do get pregnant, just not in the same way as goodeids. Most poecilids (e.g. guppies) have a limited connection between the mother and embryo via the pericardial sac, and the embryo absorbs some food through this from the mother. Mostly though, they use up the yolk. But some, like Heterandria, have only a tiny yolk, and mostly depend on the mother for food.

Goodeids have a placenta and umbilical cord of sorts, and the embryos are 100% dependent on the mother for food. Anableps are like goodeids.

Halfbeaks have a mix, with Nomorhamphus having a "placenta", but Dermogenys embryos mostly relying on their yolk sac.

If you can track down "The Fishkeeper's Guide to Livebearing Fishes", by Peter Scott, there's an excellent and wll-illustrated section on the different modes of reproduction in livebearers. It's fascinating stuff.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[guppymonkey]

Talking about books, nmonks when your book comes out any way to get a signed copy? I have gotten a lot of amazing advice about halfbeaks from you and am waiting with baited breath for your books to come out. I would love to be able to say that I kind of know an author! LOL

Are goodeids the only freshwater livebearers that have that umbilical cord? I know that the Heterandria formosa have a small yolksac and the mother provides some nourishment. Thats a reason for the staggered birth that the Least Killiefish have (just a few a day usually for several days).

 

[diburning]

Talking about books, nmonks when your book comes out any way to get a signed copy? I have gotten a lot of amazing advice about halfbeaks from you and am waiting with baited breath for your books to come out. I would love to be able to say that I kind of know an author! LOL

Are goodeids the only freshwater livebearers that have that umbilical cord? I know that the Heterandria formosa have a small yolksac and the mother provides some nourishment. Thats a reason for the staggered birth that the Least Killiefish have (just a few a day usually for several days).

Neale wrote an article in TFH October.

A splendens get oblong just before they drop fry. They develop a noticable 90 degree angle at the vent - you'll know when you see it None of mine have ever had more than 10 in a batch (3.5" SL females) and the fry are only about 1.5cm SL at birth. Still big enough to make you wince on the mother's behalf

Sue

Well, I have 2 females, and 1 already gave birth 2 weeks ago. The fry are pretty big now at 1 inch. they are happy eating flake food.

The other female's vent is sort of a 130 degree angle although I can see a cylindrical bulge near the vent (soon!)

Either the fry have yet to come out or she needs a C-section

 

[diburning]

W00T SHE GAVE BIRTH OVERNIGHT!! She gave birth to 6 fry! I have 10 now!! She looks like she still has some inside her so I might have more later!

 

[diburning]

wow... this is a very slow forum...

anyway, I did a water change and accidently forgot to add the ph buffer and the decholorinator.

Now I have 5 fry left.

 

[nmonks]

There just aren't that many people keeping rare livebearers, so we don't get a high volume of traffic here.

As for the book, it should be out in October. There were some delays because they guy handling the book left TFH, so the original publication date of May slipped.

http/www.tfhpublications.com/aquarium-fr...ater-fishes.htm

Not sure about how to do signed copies, since I'm in the UK and you're not!

Cheers,

Neale

wow... this is a very slow forum...

 

[diburning]

There just aren't that many people keeping rare livebearers, so we don't get a high volume of traffic here.

As for the book, it should be out in October. There were some delays because they guy handling the book left TFH, so the original publication date of May slipped.

http/www.tfhpublications.com/aquarium-fr...ater-fishes.htm

Not sure about how to do signed copies, since I'm in the UK and you're not!

Cheers,

Neale

wow... this is a very slow forum...

send me one!!!! lol

 

[~T~]

Wow I didnt realise these were rare, there must be a surplus about here cos all the shops have them and for dirt cheap too.I think iys ameca, they have lots of black spots?Although my males didnt have the yellow dorsal, it was larger though.I ended up taking all mine back to the lfs though they were really aggressive.

 

[diburning]

you sure they are goodeids?? lol

They aren't supposed to be dirt cheap. they are an endangered species...

For grimmer news, the lake that endlers are found in is now a landfill