Got Some Goodieds

[black molly3]

i went to my lfs to see what fish they had in and came accross goodieds. i fell in love with them. i asked the woman about them and was told they grow rather large and are easyish to care for as they are live beareres. i got a pair male and female for £4.95. is this a fair price. there was quite a few of them in the tanks. also will they breed easily. also any other info welcome. il just go and let them out now

thanks

 

[nmonks]

What goodeids were they? The ones you usually see in shops are either Ameca splendens or Xenotoca eiseni. Both nice fish, but both very nippy, and not really community fish. I have some Ameca splendens, and while harmless otherwise, they insisted on nipping at Corydoras fins. Xenotoca eiseni is said to be even worse, but I've not kept it, so can't really comment from personal experience. Anyway, their nippiness is the reason neither is traded much, and not any problems with maintenance or disease.

Other goodeids may be better, but they're as good as absent from the commercial fish trade. You are most likely to see them in shops if a local breeder has sold/given away a batch of fry.

Cheers, Neale

 

[black molly3]

ameca splendis they are. mine seem airly ok so dar they are just keeping quiet. have yours ever bred. that is one of the reasons i got them because they are unusual and would be such fun to raise the fry.
thanks

 

[nmonks]

Hmm... they won't stay "quiet" for long. Trust me. These fish are nervous for the first few days, but once settled in become remarkably outgoing, even tame. They're among the first fish to the front of the tank when they see me.

But the downside is they *are* nippy. So be careful what you combine them with. Fast-moving barbs and tetras would be fine, but angelfish or guppies would be a disaster.

I haven't bred these fish yet. Only had them a few weeks.

Cheers, Neale

 

[OldMan47]

I have a breeding colony of Ameca splendens, I find them delightful but do not have them with other fish. They do great without any heater in their tank and are reproducing at a good rate. They will keep their tank free of algae and are great algae eaters. They are worth keeping, if for no other reason than that they are extinct in the wild. The fish are prolific but have a very long gestation period compared to the typical livebearer. The females are pregnant for about 60 days, which is much longer than typical livebearers, but the fry are quite large at birth at almost 2 cm. I only wish that I had a few that I could cross into my line of Amecas.