Breeder’s Award Program Article
Goodeids Revisited
by Mike and Robin Schadle
SouthWestern Michigan Aquarium Society. From SWAM, July/August 2003 Issue
Aquarticles
After not having really paid much attention to my various livebearers for a few years -
and suffering the consequences thereof - I started thinking about what I was doing
different of late that was resulting in my recent successes. In particular, there are some
things about keeping Goodeids that I guess I've known all along and had just stopped
practicing that I thought I'd share with you.
First, some basics. "Goodeids" are livebearing fishes of the family Goodeidae
which is found exclusively in the waters of the Central Plains of Mexico. They are
highland fish, and in most cases are comfortable in cooler waters - in other words, put
your heaters away and save the electricity. Room temperature, and sometimes cooler, is
fine. In fact, keep them too warm and you may find breeding activity will stop. They can
be found in a variety of water types, from stagnant pools to large, fast-flowing streams
and rivers. You can usually tell by looking at them what type of waters they come from -
the bigger, torpedo shaped fish are the riverine types, while the smaller, stubbier bodied
species are generally from quieter waters. The waters are generally alkaline, and vary
from somewhat to very hard. In your tanks, anything other than "soft and acid"
ought to work fine.
Although you can probably get by feeding a diet of straight dry foods, Goodeids as a
group really thrive on frequent feedings of live foods. Daphnia has always been a favorite
of mine, but I've also used white worms (easy to culture), black worms (easy to purchase -
but really need to be well-cleaned) and adult and baby brine shrimp. The baby brine and
daphnia are probably particularly important for getting fry off to a good start. I guess
if you do nothing else, at least feed a wide variety of foods to ensure the fish get the
nutritional elements they require.
Being stuck with the designation "livebearer," Goodeids typically are
relegated to much smaller tanks than they deserve by unknowing hobbyists. Not all
livebearers are suited for a ten-gallon tank! There are some Goodeids that can easily
exceed five inches and possibly approach eight inches in length - fish like Goodea
atripinnis (the Blackfin Goodeid) and Alloophorus robustus (the Bulldog
Goodeid). Give your fish some room! Go to any local club show with any wild-type
livebearer classes and I guarantee you will see several bowls of undersized Goodeids.
Never mind that many, if at full size, aren't really suited to being shown in a bowl. In
my opinion, lack of growing space at home is the general problem. Keep your Goodeids in a
small, still tank and your fish will just sit there. Put them in a large tank with lots of
swimming room, put a power filter on the end, and watch the activity and see how they
grow. Of course there are always exceptions - the Picoted Goodeid, Zoogoneticus
quitzeoensis, is a tiny little fellow that will do quite well in smaller
accommodations. But overall, whatever tank you think you'd like to use for your colony, go
at least one size larger!
Coupled with sufficiently sized tanks, you'll need to do sufficiently sized water
changes fairly frequently to keep your Goodeid colonies active and thriving. The Goodeids
as a group really need good water quality or they go downhill fast. I have a 55-gallon
single species tank of Ataeniobius toweri, the Blue Tailed Goodeid, that let's me
know pretty quickly if my weekly 50% water change is behind schedule - the beautiful
bright blue coloration in the males' caudals and tails disappears! Within minutes of
finishing the water change, that color returns, and stays there through the next water
change or until water conditions deteriorate somewhat. Sensitivity to nitrogenous wastes
in their water is a hallmark of this group of fish.
That sensitivity affects another aspect of Goodeid keeping - transporting them. Water
quality can turn quite quickly in a plastic bag full of fish, and Goodeids are like the
canary in the coal mine - they react much more quickly than other species. If a group are
together in such a situation, and one succumbs to conditions, the others will follow quite
rapidly. Aggression in such tight quarters can also be a problem - and again, if this
leads to the death of a single individual, the subsequent rapid deterioration of water
quality can put the others at risk. My recommendation for transporting anything other than
very small fry is to individually bag your Goodeids - and keep an eye on them, changing
water quickly at any signs of distress.
A tip for getting started with a species of Goodeid: start with as large a group as you
can. I have found that trying to establish a colony from a single pair, which
unfortunately, is the way you usually come across them at society auctions, can be
difficult. The male can often behave aggressively towards the female resulting in her
loss, pairs seem more cannibalistic than fish in a group setting, and sometimes I've just
had problems getting fry from a single pair. Once you have a colony of varying sizes
together you'll find you soon have more fish than you know what to do with - it's getting
to that point that is the challenge! By the way, I generally choose NOT to isolate gravid
females, allowing the fry to be born into the parent's tank setting. Given good water,
feeding, some plant cover and the presence of others of varying sizes, the newborns will
generally go unnoticed.
So, cool water of high quality, a varied diet, lots of room and a large group of
varying aged fish are all you need for successful Goodeid keeping. Sounds simple, but
obtaining and maintaining this particular set of conditions is the challenge that makes up
this aspect of the hobby. Oh – and I haven’t even touched on their fascinating
reproductive behavior, another whole topic in itself. And, the nearly forty different
species of Goodeids known (and most are available to hobbyists) all have their own
peculiarities and nuances you’ll want to learn about for abundant success, but the
information I’ve provided hopefully will start you in the right direction. Besides
– if I told you everything here, what would I have to write about next time!
One final point regarding Goodeids that bears making – many populations and some
species are on the verge of extinction primarily due to the activities of humans: polluted
waters, depleted water tables and introduced species have all taken their toll on the
Goodeid population in general. Some, such as the Golden Sawfin Goodeid, Skiffia
francesae, are thought to be gone completely. As a hobbyist, I think it is important
that you take special care of these animals when they come into your possession and do
what you can to increase their numbers and distribute them far and wide to help assure
their existence for years to come. It’s the least you can do for these animals that
can provide you with so many hours of enjoyment!
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