Mar 7, 2013

Extinct in the Wild Ameca splendens breeding in captivity

I've been a fan of livebearing fish all my life, so naturally, I've always wanted to breed enangered or extinct Goodeids. The problem is, they are hard to find. Thanks to Msjinkzd, I have a breeding colony of six Ameca splendens, my favorite extinct in the wild Goodeid. I took them to the Fish Factory in Bristol, PA where I work and put them in our 90 gallon corner display tank (you're all welcome to visit them any time!) They are finally old enough to breed, and sure enough, have been dropping fry.

my young pair of Ameca splendens

Ameca splendens Goodeid pair

young male Ameca splendens

Ameca splendens Goodeid male

Their parents at Msjinkzd

Ameca splendens extinct Goodeid

Ameca splendens extinct Goodeid

Some of the tankmates in the 90 gallon display:

a pair of rare Alfaro culturatus Knife Livebearers

Alfaro culturatus Knife Livebearer female

 More about Ameca splendens from Wikipedia:


"Ameca splendens, a bony fish from the monotypic genus Ameca[2] of the splitfin family (Goodeidae), is commonly known as the Butterfly Goodeid or Butterfly Splitfin. It was formerly found throughout the Ameca River drainage in Mexico; the type locality is Rio Teuchitlán in the vicinity of Teuchitlán, Jalisco. The species was only ever found in an area about 10 miles (15 km) in diameter.[3]
Today, the species is rated as extinct in the wild by the IUCN, though it is noted that this assessment is obsolete:[4] a remnant population has been found to persist in El Rincón waterpark near the town of Ameca. Possibly, it also exists in a feral state in the USA; individuals apparently derived from escaped or introduced captive stock were met with in southeastern Nevada.[5] For some time, it was a popular fish among aquarists, but hobbyist stocks have declined quite a lot more recently, placing its survival in jeopardy."

2 comments:

  1. wow amazing information you have shared on this blog.
    Fishing in Dubai

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  2. Not really that stunning looking of a fish but completely awesome that you are keeping extinct fish. http://www.saintlouisaquariums.com

    ReplyDelete