Breeding Xenotoca Variata "jeweled Goodeid"

[chrissfishes]

Hi Everyone,
I have some Xenotoca variata. 4 From Zacapu (2 males and 2 females)and 5 from Jesus maria (2 males and 3 females). I have read and heard that Xenotoca variata are predators on their own fry. I had a female drop some fry a few weeks back and I found a fry that was dead on a plant. The fry had been bitten into. I have both populations separated in their own tanks. In both tanks I have a bunch of plants in the gravel and on top of the water floating for top cover. I was just wondering what I should do to save the fry and keep them away from harm? Should I add more plants? Should I just remove the fry to another tank as soon as I see them? Or should I put the pregnant females in a breeder unit and let them drop in there? Also is there a way to tell if a female is pregnant before the obvious sign of them getting bigger? If so what should I look for? Thank you very much! Take care!
Chris

 

[fish48]

this is how i breed & keep them, they are best kept in a large tank of at least 3 foot. occasionally they will fight amongst each other and sometimes they have led to damaged thins, it is always best to keep a close eye on them as i have had a thew cases of white spot/fungus which i believe is due to damaged fins through fighting and stress.
temperature: i keep them about 68 to 72F this i find ideal for breeding them.
food: to get these into good breeding condition it is best to give them some live foods, such as: water fleas (daphnia), mosquito larvae, blood worm. if you can't feed live food frozen blood worm is the best for them! the young fry can be fed straight on newly hatched brine shrimp, micro worm and grindall worm.
adults will some times attack or kill the new born young.
it is best to remove the pregnant female about 2 weeks before she's about to have her babies and place her into a small but well planted tank, for babies to hide in.
Remove female back to main tank as soon as she is finished having babies.most goodeids normally have lees than 20 babies,
if you have any more questions about them please let me know
i hope this will help you in some way.
good luck with breeding them

they dont fill out much as you can see in photo they get a bit on the plump side
if you remove a graved female to give birth by hersalf try not to use any thang less then 8"h.x 8"w.x12"L.as it may stress the fish.

 

[OldMan47]

They sound a bit tougher than the Xenotoca eiseni Fish48. Is it necessary to actually heat their tanks like that or does it just optimize breeding numbers?

 

[fish48]

i find 68f to 72F is a good temp for breeding most of the goodeids however there are a good few that are best kept above 70f.
throughout the Summer months my fish shed temp- will very between 66f- 74f at the most. throughout winter i space heat
the shed bottom row of tanks fluctuates between 58f-62f. centre row 64f-66f. and top row 68f-72f i personally dont like to keep
any of the goodeids below 60f.i find most goodeids will slow Down or stop breeding below 64f.

 

[chrissfishes]

Thank you very much Fish48! I greatly appreciate it! Thank you very much for the offer to help me if I have any more questions! I will for sure ask you if anything comes up. I have several females that are what appears to be gravid after going by your picture. Beautiful female you have there! Hopefully I can get some fry going soon. I will for sure remove the females and feed them frozen bloodworms. Thanks again!

 

[fish48]

 

[chrissfishes]

Tomorrow I am going to try and post some pictures of my females so you can see if they are pregnant or not. By the way how do I post pictures on here? I use photobucket. I have a tank open and ready to put the females in when they are ready. Thank you very much! I greatly appreciate it!

 

[chrissfishes]

I didn't get pictures but I did get videos instead. I find videos easier then pictures....not really good at photography so I don't even try to take photos . Anyway here they are!

http/s100.photobucket.com/albums/m20/cichlid_lover128/?action=view&current=MOV02196.mp4
Xenotoca variata Zacapu females

http/s100.photobucket.com/albums/m20/cichlid_lover128/?action=view&current=MOV02197.mp4
Xenotoca variata J. Maria females

 

[OldMan47]

Your video links





Your females do not look very far along at all to me. Even this girl was about 2 to 3 weeks before her next drop and she is far heavier in the picture than the ones in your video. Sorry about the soft focus.

 

[fish48]

they all look graved its not easy to know how far gone they are as they dont get the body depth and show the fry like the eiseni. the sids will start to fill out and get more plumper. i also think at least 3 weeks be for fry are dropped keep them well feed and a close eye on them and you will know when they are ready to drop.

 

[chrissfishes]

Thank you guys very much! I have noticed they are harder to tell when pregnant then Ameca's or eiseni. To me I think the Zacapu females are more further along then the J. maria. I will for sure keep them well fed and a close eye on them. Should I move some females to my extra tank for dropping or should I wait a bit? If you think I should move them who should I move? The two big ones are Zacapu and the 3 small ones are J.maria. If I should wait how long should I wait? Thank you very much! Take care! Happy Holidays!

 

[fish48]

if you have a tank prepared for your largest Zacapu then you can move it at any time give it the largest tank as possible as long as there is plenty Swimming space she will be fine.
Happy christmas to you.

 

[chrissfishes]

Ok great. Thank you very much! I will do so. Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[chrissfishes]

I was just wondering about this and wanted to know what you guys do with your colonies of Goodeids. Eventually down the road should I get more of the same species that I currently have colonies of from other sources to add new blood to the colony? Or will my colonies be ok and I won't need to add new blood to the colony?

What does everyone else do?

Thank you very much!

 

[fish48]

Onece I have a colonie of Goodeids I do not add new blood I work with what I have I let all of my fish flok breed. If I get any deformd fry I get rid of it asap all my goodeids come from very Reliable people who I know I can trust. it is very important to keep all colection Data of the fish. and and all goodeids should be kept in there own species tank. not all people keep goodeids long term it is not always easy to get new stock or new blood when it comes to goodeids
I have been breeding goodeids for a very long time. and as I have said I work with the fish thet i have
I will not add new blood to any fish thet I have and know thet they are perfettly ok. When adding new blood you must be 100% sure that they are from same location .there are so many simaler collections that can easly get mixet.

well that’s my way of keeping them

i hope this helps you in some way