Common Name- The Butterfly Goodeid
    Water Conditions- Not Critical. Temp 70- 78 Degrees, Plants, Vegetable in Diet
    Behavior-  Generally well behaved, can sometimes be aggressive with other, smaller fish.
    Breeding- 5-15 Young every 60 Days. Females do not do well when moved to spawn. Not Fry Eaters.
    Size- 3.0 inches

   

    Once sold in pet stores, this is one of the hardiest and easy to keep goodeids. Recently thought to be possibly
    extinct in the wild, they are kept today by a few specialty hobbyists, who understand that as well as being easy
    to keep, they is also one of the most attractive. “Butterfly Goodeid” does fit this beautiful fish, both sexes of
    this line are distinctive for their high contrast, complex markings, with males possessing an especially bright
    yellow stripe down the tail.

    When provided with conditions they like, and that suits the survival of fry, they can be quite prolific and live
    comfortably within a colony that will get along. Occasionally a particularly large older male or female will bully
    others, but it never results in deaths or fin nipping between one another.

    They are kept in bare-bottom 30 gallon tanks with potted anubias, Java fern and bolbitis fern (see Video).
    Two large box filters provide filtration and aeration. Moderate light complements places to hide, but without
    mulm buildup on bottom.

    Their only real issue is that the females do not do well when moved to another aquarium to have their young.
    When caught in a net, jostled etc. then put into another tank the female will often either drop her fry within 24 hours,
    dead, or simply die herself. If the female is small enough, you can put her in a net breeder in her home tank,
    particularly if you are swift with a net and provide a minimum of disturbance. Fortunately, they are not big fry
    eaters, and the young will do OK if they can get to food, and aren’t eaten by another species in the tank.

    When left to community breed in a 30 gallon tank with moderate planting the population will tend to increase
    fairly rapidly. This goodied is second only to the Chapalichthys pardalis for being prolific.

    They do well on a quality dry food, but require a vegetable component in their diet, and benefit greatly from
    occasional live food, particularly baby brine shrimp. They also seem to eat the small algae eating neocaridina
    shrimp , which most fish do not do. Though more tolerant of warmer temperatures than some goodeids, they will
    begin to die off and could become sterile when exposed to temperatures above 77-78 degrees. Here they are kept
    at 70 - 74 , where they have done very well.

 

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