Limia's Are They Safe With Cherrys

[pippoodle]

Hi there just wondering wether Limias would eat cherry shrimp , i know they are similar to guppies and guppies dont bother with the shrimp so just wondering wether anyone has any ideas as i want them to have a seperate tank away from the guppies so they dont hybridise and also would it be ok to keep 4-6 hunchback limias in a juwel Rekord 60

Cheers Sarah xxxx

 

[nmonks]

My Limia nigrofasciata live with cherry shrimps, and both species breed freely without incident.

Cheers, Neale

 

[dunchp]

My Limia nigrofasciata live with cherry shrimps, and both species breed freely without incident.

Cheers, Neale

A Jewel Record 60 is 60 litres right?

With humpbacks, you could probably keep this number in a tank this size, but you may consider reducing it to two pairs. I don't have any experience with cherry shrimp, but I would guess that they would act as a clean up crew for the humbacks which may increase the capacity you can keep.

The one thing you may have to watch is that you do not let the breeding get out of hand. The nigrofasciata will breed freely (as Neale says) and will quickly overun the tank (you will be looking at 50-100 fry every 6 weeks or so from 3 females (15-35 each)).

You will also have to keep up the maintenance and I would suggest small waterchanges (a bucket or so) every few days or at least twice per week.

If you are able to give them some more space, or only keep a single pair then you will be rewarded in the quality of the humpbacks which become an amazing size and shape when fully grown. You can only really appreciate this if not kept too crowded.

 

[nmonks]

I agree with this 100%, and like any livebearer they're best kept in reasonably spacious quarters.

But I'll make this comment: since moving my surplus stock into a (very heavily filtered) 180-litre community tank, watching the males display to the females and rival males has been fascinating. Like most other livebearers the females are gregarious but the males squabble over the best flat rocks in the middle of the tank, and seemingly flirt with females once in position. There's much chasing as each male tries to stake his claim. The males really colour up nicely when they have competition!

There's something like thirty or so Limia in this tank, the original male and three females I bought plus a single brood of offspring, now more or less adult. I'm long overdue rehoming them, but it's been such fun watch a big group interact. I'm planning on taking a batch into Wildwoods next week if anyone wants some!

Interestingly, while supposedly fish from swamps and still water habitats, they've adjusted just fine to the strong water current in the tank. They're also great algae eaters, and constantly nibble away at the leaves of plants and on the rocks.

Cheers, Neale

If you are able to give them some more space, or only keep a single pair then you will be rewarded in the quality of the humpbacks which become an amazing size and shape when fully grown. You can only really appreciate this if not kept too crowded.

 

[pippoodle]

Thanks for the great info
They should only be in the 60ltr for a few months as i am looking for a 120 on ebay at the moment - cant go much bigger as it wont fit in my front room with the 180l lol
So that should give them a lot more room

cheers Sarah xxx

 

[pippoodle]

I love watching my guppy males displaying and try ing to outdo the other males to get the females i must agree it is fascinating and i only have 11 females and 4 males at the moment - not getting anymore as they will fill the tank themselves

 

[nmonks]

I would agree with you here: keeping livebearers in nice big groups (with more girls than boys, of course!) is the way to go. Just watching their behaviour is very entertaining. We tend to think of livebearers as being a bit brain dead compared to cichlids, but they have a certain liveliness that comes out in big groups that I think makes them very rewarding.

It's a shame too many aquarists dismiss livebearers as being "for beginners only". They can be huge fun, and with the less commonly seen species especially, just as exciting as any oddball catfish or African cichlid.

Cheers, Neale

I love watching my guppy males displaying and try ing to outdo the other males to get the females i must agree it is fascinating and i only have 11 females and 4 males at the moment - not getting anymore as they will fill the tank themselves

 

[OldMan47]

I love working with these beginners only fish. I find that livebearers have everything for me. I can keep fish that are endangered or even extinct in the wild for species preservation, I can work with some of the less threatened fish to develop new colors and variations and I can relax at times and just enjoy my fish. Somehow I'm missing the beginners only aspect. These are some of my favorite and most fascinating fish. Even the lowly guppy can pose tremendous challenges to people willing to invest the time needed for selectively breeding them. Compared to throwing a couple of connies together (cichlids which are "harder") and patting yourself on the back when they breed like rabbits, a real hobby using livebearers can be a rewarding challenge.

 

[pippoodle]

They have now moved to my 130ltr aquaone 620t with some WCminnows and the cherrys and some amanos they all seem very happy in there