Poecilia sulphurophilia
By Joseph Gardner
Issue 21
This is a pretty livebearing fish. There may be some questions regarding it’s name because when I was e-mailing some truly expert (at least he had access to a really big book), he couldn’t find the fish listed. I got them at one of the GVAC monthly auctions.
This fish has a typical livebearing shape with some nice additions. The body has a horizontal stripe running from just pat the gills and side fins and ending just before the tail fin. The top fin is yellowish-brown with a black dot at the base of the fin. Perhaps the neatest aspect is the number of neon blue scales along the flanks of the fish. These scales are very noticeable when a flashlight is shined on them or you see them in good light.
I found that Michigan water with a little kosher salt added (about 1 teaspoon/gallon) works fine for them. In the five-gallon tank, the water is unheated but averages about 68 – 70F. I also filled the tank with hornwort. Filtration is provided by a sponge filter. They ate a variety of food including flake, frozen brine shrimp, and blood worms. I found, however, that they seem to be somewhat picky eaters. Mine were not eager eaters lime my Gambusia affinis “Holbrooki Peace River”.
This fish seems fairly shy and retiring. They typically seem slow moving but are capable of quick darting movements when started. They also like hiding in the plants. I would not call them a schooling fish like cardinal tetras but they seem to enjoy being grouped together in groups of at least six fish.
Pregnant females seem almost like balloons before giving birth. They seem to have fairly large fry in groups of about 10-12 at a time. The parents do not seem to be very interested in eating the fry and tolerated the fry well, even during feeding times.
As this fish seems to be pretty rare, I plan on maintaining the species. If GVAC develops a Species Maintenance Program, I will be including this fish in that program. The end