Butterfly goodeid

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep a group of six or more in a tank of 90 liters or larger at 20 to 28 C, pH 7.0 to 8.0, in hard water. Feed a mostly vegetable diet of spirulina flake, blanched greens, and algae, with some frozen daphnia or brine shrimp. They are active and nip long fins, so avoid slow, long finned tankmates and use robust, fast companions or a species tank. Females reach about 12 cm and are bigger than males.

In the wild

Give a group a well planted tank of at least 90 cm length with open swimming space, hard alkaline water, and gentle current. They graze algae off rocks and plants, so a mature tank with some green film suits them well. A few flat stones and bright light bring out the blue green sheen and yellow edged tail of a dominant male. This species is nearly gone in the wild, so aquarium stocks matter.

Good to know

Ameca splendens is a goodeid, one of a family of Mexican livebearers whose females nourish developing young through a placenta like structure called a trophotaenia rather than a simple yolk sac. Broods are small, usually 10 to 30 large fry every couple of months. Males lack the rod like gonopodium of guppies and instead use a notched front section of the anal fin called an andropodium.

Did you know

The wild Rio Teuchitlan population collapsed, and for years the butterfly goodeid survived mainly in hobbyist tanks before conservation attention turned to saving it.

Related species

• 

  Goldbreast splitfin

  Ilyodon furcidens

  3.9 in (10 cm)24 gal (90 L)64–79°F (18–26°C)
• Blackfin goodea

  Goodea atripinnis

  7.1 in (18 cm)53 gal (200 L)61–79°F (16–26°C)

• 

  Redtail splitfin

  Xenotoca eiseni

  2.8 in (7 cm)20 gal (75 L)64–82°F (18–28°C)
• Bumblebee goodeid

  Allotoca dugesii

  2.8 in (7 cm)20 gal (75 L)64–79°F (18–26°C)
• Jeweled splitfin

  Xenotoca variata

  2.8 in (7 cm)20 gal (75 L)64–81°F (18–27°C)

• 

  Tequila splitfin

  Zoogoneticus tequila

  2.6 in (6.5 cm)20 gal (75 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)