Ataeniobius toweri.
Family:- Goodeidae Jordan, 1923
Synonyms:- Goodea toweri Meek 1904
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Their dorsal ray count is 8 to 9 and males grow to about 3-75 cm while the Females grow to around 5.5cm. The male in the picture is fairly good example of a mature specimen. They have an iridescent blue/green over sheen mainly on the upper body and in sunlight this can really sparkle. The females however are much duller in color, and when she has just recently dropped all her young, body wise, she would look about the same as this male. But at other times they would be much plumper, and she would also normally have a number of darker lateral lines on her flanks.
This is a very peaceful species, and can be a bit fragile if placed in an aquarium with more boisterous fish. For this reason I recommend it be kept in a species tank then it will easily settle in and breed. I have had a colony of this fish going since 1978 when it was collected from the Rio Verde and it is still flourishing today. Mine are set up in an 80-liter aquarium with many small flowerpots covered in Java Moss. And over the years I have encouraged a good layer of algae to form in the aquaria, as I am sure that it is what makes up a reasonable amount of this species natural diet. I suspected that this was what I had witnessed the species feeding on in the wild, so I have done some experiments at home and have found this to be the case. They will also need some trace elements which can be provided by a good brand of flake food plus a regular supply of a live food like Blood worm. While a regular feed of this live food is essential to keep a balanced diet and healthy fish it should not be overdone as it can lead to stress in the pregnant females. As the young then overdevelop while inside the female and this can then give rise to problems to both themselves and the mother when being born. It is also good to give your fish a rest from breeding from time to time.You can do this by at least two means. ! / Just simply turn down the heat on your tank to say 20C or less. As they will breed much less, if at all, at this lower temperature or 2/ By removeing the males to another tank.
Habitat:-On a good day it is still possible to find a few of this species in the Rio Verde it's self and the canal systems around the area. However these days the only real concentration of this species would seem to be in the Natural springs at the Media Luna, but even here there are signs of decline in the population.
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Left: - Drainage
channel at Media Luna. One of the drainage channels at Media Luna where this species still hangs on it can be found living and breeding in the same water with a number of other species, i.e.:- Cichlids, Kilies, Poeciliidae and others in some of the hardest water we ever found in Mexico with Gh & Dh readings off the top of the scale of normal aquarist kits. |
| (Right) It was in this areas that we found the young fish in shallow water. There were more young fish of all species here than anywhere, with a dominace of young from the smaller species particularly killi fish. (Cualac tesselatus ) It would seem that they prefered to breed in this marsh like area amongst the various grasses . The water temperature here was over 36c compared to 25/27c in the main lake |
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( Left ) Here we have the main lake, and all around these shores you can watch the day to day life of the Cichlid's, Nandopsis bartoni, and another species that we were not sure of. It is a perfect place to observer them. The water being so clear here that they show up quite well against the lighter color of the rocky bottom with very little plant. |
( Above Main Lake )
Breeding Unlike other livebearers Goodieds can not carry or hold sperm. And so must be fertilized for each brood of young separately. Where as a guppy for instance can be fertilized just after birth, and from this one fertilization can go on having many broods month after month for quite some time.
With A toweri should you decide to remove a female to a confinement tank for her to give birth this should be done as soon as she starts to look like she is pregnant or she is quite likely to abort her young if the moving is left to late. None the less I would recommend having the young born and raised for at least 12 weeks away from the colony so as to give the young a good start in life when they do not have to compete with the parents for their food. The gestation period of this species can be from 5 to 12 weeks according to the water temp. Also at this time, before you return the young to the flock do as nature would do in the wild and cull out any weak or deformed fish.
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Mail to:- ivandibble@blueyonder.co.uk
