dark ages weaponry… ( the swords )

[Magnum Man]

a while back, I got a small group of wild type swords ( Rio Atoyac )… I instantly fell in love… and my original group of 3 grows to 8 today…

also arriving today is another group of 5 wild type from another region, that are claimed to grow to 6 inches long, that will be going into a different tank… both are wild type Xiphophorus hellerii, but from different regions

I assume both are coming from AQUARIUM GLASER, as the wholesaler… more on the Rio Atoyac fish here…

Xiphophorus hellerii "Rio Atoyac" - Aquarium Glaser GmbH

In 1896 Jordan and Evermann described a spotted swordtail form from the Rio Chisoy in honour of Günther from the British Museum as a separate species, Xiphophorus guntheri (sic!); they knew that there occur also unspotted green swordtails of the species X. hellerii. Over 60 years later, in his...

www.aquariumglaser.de

this is my current male… note the body spots… both males and females are covered in dark spots…

 

[GaryE]

I have kept a few wild helleri. They mainly came from hobbyist collectors who had sold surplus fish to specialty stores. If you become really in love with these fish, consider joining the American Livebearer Association.
A lot of my stock came from Canadian hobbyists in the Windsor area, right across the river from an active club in Detroit. I also was able to drive across into Vermont where a friend graciously would receive boxes for me, from ALA members.

I've never lost interest in Central American livebearers. I've moved to a region with very soft tapwater, and while I could doctor that water up to their mineral needs, I decided to go with the flow here. Now, my killiekeeping will expand as the species I like like my water.

If I had harder water, I would keep a few helleri, and what I could find of nezahualcoyotl, montezumae, malinche, birchmanni, xiphidium, variatus, milleri, unhybridized maculatus...I've had them all before (except maculatus), but they're still wonderful fish to watch. I'm not one to do things halfway. Xiphophorus diversity is fascinating.

 

[Magnum Man]

more on the larger variety… assuming these are the other variety coming today, however the “model” picture from the seller looks slightly different than those from glaser, but there is quite a bit of variety within the pictures included in glaser’s pictures… looking forward to see them, when they get here…

sellers “model” picture… ( note the lack of dark spots ) these should basically be the same color, but larger, and few or no spots

Xiphophorus hellerii "Jalapa" - Aquarium Glaser GmbH

When you first see this slender, splendidly colored swordtail wild form, you involuntarily think: this is no X. hellerii! And yet, when X. hellerii was first described in 1848, exactly such animals became the type specimens. The traveler of the royal imperial horticultural society Karl Heller...

www.aquariumglaser.de

 

[Magnum Man]

… and on a completely different note ( none of these coming ) a relative of the blind cave tetra, the cave sword… 1st I’d heard about them…

Xiphophorus hellerii, cave swordtail - Aquarium Glaser GmbH

Central America is famous for its numerous karst caves. A particularly interesting fauna has often developed in them. Perhaps the best-known cave fish in Mexico is the blind cave tetra (Astyanax jordani or Anoptichthys jordani, see...

www.aquariumglaser.de

 

[Magnum Man]

this is one ( the biggest ) of the new males ( non Rio Atoyac ) a bit disappointed, as they were listed as large, but are the same size as the Rio Atoyac, which were listed as medium… this seller doesn’t mark the bags, so the only way I could tell, was the spots, as there was 5 in each bag…

 

[Magnum Man]

the largest pair of non Rio Atoyac swords, added to the tank 5 minutes ago…

the 2nd male… 2 males and 3 females in this group…

 

[Magnum Man]

and, I now have 2 of the Rio Atoyac males, and 6 females… the new male is larger… and not sure if it’s because it’s larger or not, the new male has a more yellow tail, and my previous is more orange…

note how cloudy this tank looks... that is my well water, as I performed a 1/3 water change a few hours before the new fish arrived, the minerals settle out after a day, and the water clears, but still remains in the tank… and I don’t like the idea of a build up…

if I add a fitting to my RO water manifold, I could hook my hose to that, and add “some” RO water during water changes, as there is obviously plenty of minerals in my well water…

 

[Magnum Man]

@GaryE … these are the only montezumae I’ve seen, and they are on a few watch lists, and have been for years, so I haven’t seen them for sale for several years…

https://dansfish.com/product.detail/6306/Montezuma-Swordtail-%28Xiphophorus-montezumae%29

 

[TwoTankAmin]

@Magnum Man

Look here https://aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwlivebearersw&1772665203

Distinct populations of Montys can be found if you know the prople who have them. many years ago I kept a few different populations. My final ones were from the Rio Rascon and in demand but rare. I manage to get a few but before they spawned I lost them. Eventually, lost interest in swords and moved on to other fish. I have always regretted this.

I see them occasionally offered at my club auction and I have to work really hard not to bid as I am moving in the other direction- fewer tanks not more.

I seem to recall that some of my earliest ones had originated with Gary Lange but I did not get mine from him but from breeders who did so. Have a look here

 

[emeraldking]

Even montezumae swords can have different phenotypes depending on their location.

 

[emeraldking]

and, I now have 2 of the Rio Atoyac males, and 6 females… the new male is larger… and not sure if it’s because it’s larger or not, the new male has a more yellow tail, and my previous is more orange…View attachment 378012

Top female sword... Who was the biter...?

 

[Magnum Man]

it’s one of the new fish, and arrived that way…

this seller uses strips of really thin black plastic in the shipping bags, when they ship bags of multiple fish, all the rest looked fine, so I’m not sure if it was shipped that way, or got chewed on in the shipping bag, that had 5 fish in it??? I’ve not witnessed any aggression in the tank, at least so far

 

[Magnum Man]

newest Rio Atoyac male is getting out just fine, the original male is getting used to him, and he’s coloring up, and paying attention to the females…

 

[Magnum Man]

one of the females about ready to have babies…

 

[Magnum Man]

new male continues to color up, getting a little color in it’s dorsal