What Livebearer?

[Wills]

Hi getting increasingly tempted by a little group of rarer livebearers for my tank. They need to get to a decent size ie big enough not to be eaten by a Severum and also tough enough to survive a welcoming from my Nicaraguan - though its about 50/50 how she reacts to new fish.

Also I am keeping my tank an American Tank so thats the main consideration - if they are surface/upper dwellers it would be an advantage

Thanks Wills

 

[nmonks]

Swordtails are probably your best bet. They're certainly compatible with Hypsophrys nicaraguensis outside of spawning. Plus, swordtails come from the same cool, fast-water habitats as the H. nicaraguensis.

Severums are almost entirely herbivores, and assuming you're keeping them well fed on fresh greens, shouldn't show any interest in catching tankmates bigger than, say, guppies.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Carlovel1]

Celebes Halfbeaks get up to 4". Might be too small

 

[nmonks]

Big female Celebes halfbeaks should be okay, but they do require soft water, which the Hypsophrys don't want.

Some of the goodeids might be worth trying. Ameca splendens would be too nippy, but Ilyodon would be okay, and Xenotoca eiseni might be (it can be nippy, but for some reason isn't always). According to Tropical Fish Finder, there are a couple of stores with Ilyodon in stock: Wildwoods and Maidenhead Aquatics in the Dukeries, Nottinghamshire.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Wills]

Thanks guys To be honest Neale Im not in a position to do anything with my water to affect the ph, so my fish are kept in tap water. Where I live the water is about 7.6 and quite hard but the tank is set up as a South American tank with wood - but I dont think that there is enough wood to change the ph.

I had been thinking of Humpbacked Limas but not sure what their reputation is like? I have also seen some pike livebearers but I have heard they are not for communities.

Wills

 

[nmonks]

Limia are completely non-aggressive. But they're small fish, and come from swampy environments so won't be happy in the fast-water Hypsophrys require.

Pike livebearers can be kept in community settings with larger fish. But they are cannibalistic, and they aren't fast-water fish. Their natural habitats are ditches and canals, typically brackish water ones along the coast. I'd recommend Ctenolucius hujeta over pike livebearers any day of the week; Ctenolucius hujeta are very mellow, easy to feed, get along quite well in groups, and ignore anything too large to eat. They're excellent companions for non-aggressive cichlids.

Cheers, Neale

 

[OldMan47]

I love my goodeids in my own tap water. Mine runs about 7.8 pH and over 225 ppm of TDS. That means that almost any of the more common goodeids are good candidates for your tank. Limias are also not bad at using high pH high mineral content water. I have some thriving populations of both Limia melanogaster and Limia perugia. All it takes, aside from the natural conditions of my tap water, is a bit of food now and then.