TankBud

Crescent gambusia

Gambusia hurtadoi

Also known as Hurtado's gambusia

FreshwaterFish

Crescent gambusia (Gambusia hurtadoi)
(c) Jacob Malcom, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Jacob Malcom · cc-by-sa

Care at a glance

Temperature
68–79°F
20–26°C
pH
7.0–8.2
Adult size
2 in
5 cm
Minimum tank
14 gal
54 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Middle
Diet
Omnivore
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
Livebearer · Easy
Rarity
Rare
Family
Poeciliidae
Origin
Ojo de la Hacienda Dolores springs, Chihuahua, Mexico

Overview

The crescent gambusia is a peaceful, spring-dwelling livebearer that does best as a small colony. It suits a quiet tank and a keeper with a little experience.

Did you know

The crescent gambusia's entire natural range is a small cluster of desert springs in one Mexican state, and it is listed as critically endangered. A home aquarium can easily hold more water than parts of its wild habitat.

Caring for the crescent gambusia

Keep crescent gambusias as a small colony in 14 gal (54 L) or larger, which is enough room for a group to settle. Give them fine gravel or sand, some rock and hardy plants around the edges. They are fairly active and swim mostly in the middle, so leave clear water between the plants.

Keep the water clean, well oxygenated and on the harder side, at 68 to 79°F (20 to 26°C) and a pH of 7.0 to 8.2. Offer a mixed diet of fine flake and small frozen foods such as daphnia and cyclops. Add a little vegetable matter or biofilm as well.

Crescent gambusias are peaceful. They suit a quiet species tank or a community of calm, hardy fish that like the same cool, hard water. Keep several females to each male, so the males' attention is shared around rather than fixed on one fish.

Females are the larger sex, and males stay smaller. Like all gambusias, they give birth to live, free-swimming young, and a settled group breeds readily.

Good to know

Gambusia hurtadoi is a livebearer in the family Poeciliidae, described by Carl Hubbs and Victor Springer in 1957. Its name honors Leopoldo Hurtado, who helped the describers during their 1951 collecting trip through Chihuahua. It is also called Hurtado's gambusia.

In the wild

The crescent gambusia comes from desert spring systems around the Ojo de la Hacienda Dolores in Chihuahua, northern Mexico. The water there is clear, mineral-rich and thermally steady.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The crescent gambusia is a peaceful, social species that keeps to the middle. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does a crescent gambusia need?

A crescent gambusia needs at least 14 gal (54 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a crescent gambusia need?

A crescent gambusia is comfortable at 68–79°F (20–26°C) with a pH of 7.0–8.2.

What does a crescent gambusia eat?

A crescent gambusia eats a mixed diet of fine flake and small frozen foods such as daphnia and cyclops. Give it a little vegetable matter or biofilm as well.

How big does a crescent gambusia get?

An adult crescent gambusia reaches about 2 in (5 cm).

How can you tell a male crescent gambusia from a female?

Males stay smaller than the females.

How does a crescent gambusia breed?

Crescent gambusias give birth to live, free-swimming young. A settled group breeds readily.

Related species