By BETH ANN BATES
Livebearers are the best little freshwater fish a hobbyist could want. They encompass a
range of species, including the ever-popular guppies, mollies, swordtails and my
personal favorites, platys. As the name implies, these fish give birth to live babies (called
fry), unlike most fish who lay eggs. Livebearers are extremely popular in the fish-keeping
hobby. Certainly for every known species, there is a hobbyist somewhere who loves it,
but few fish can match the adoration that livebearers have engendered in the aquarium
hobby, and for good reasons.
Livebearers tend to be strong and healthy, which makes them a good fish for beginners
to try. This is one of the biggest reasons for their popularity. All fish required care and
attention, but some need more than others. The more delicate the species, the more
demanding it is to maintain them in good health. Livebearers are relatively easy to keep.
“They are the perfect beginner fish,” says Bill Allen, who is the editor of Livebearers, the
journal of the American Livebearer Association.
Livebearers are small fish. Even full-grown, they are usually only two or three inches
long. Some hobbyists would look at this as a negative-they prize the big, aggressive
“tank-busters.” But not everyone has the time, energy or money to maintain the enormous
tanks that the big bullies require. Livebearers can thrive in small tanks like five or ten
gallons. Certainly you can keep larger groups in bigger tanks, but hobbyists short on
space and time can still enjoy a livebearer tank. This is another reason why they are so
popular among beginners, who rarely start out with large tanks.
New fish-keepers are also attracted by the price of these fish in the pet shops. Aquarium
fish can range in price from a dollar or two apiece, to $100 or more per fish. If you are
unsure of your ability to keep a fish alive and healthy, buying inexpensive fish makes
financial sense. Because they breed so easily and prolifically, pet shops charge low
prices for livebearers; they fit the tightest budget. “Livebearers offer a lot of bang for the
buck,” says Ted Coletti, livebearer expert and columnist for a national aquarium
magazine.
Most livebearers are bred in a wide range of beautiful colors. “I like livebearers because
of the amazing amount of diversity in a small group of fishes,” Bill Allen said. “A hobbyist
can be interested in exotic fish with unpronounceable scientific names known only to a
select group of other specialists, or he can selectively breed colors and forms of fish as
common as the guppy or swordtail into an amazing variety of colors and shapes.”
Like many fish and other animals, the males are often much more colorful than the
females. Among guppies for example, the males have very colorful finnage and with
females much less so. Of course, all breeders work to bring out the best coloration in the
fish. I particularly love platys because they are such a beautiful array of colors. Many are
cheerful oranges, reds and yellows. Even the blue-gray tones can be lovely.
Platys are also bred in a range of multi-color varieties. Sunset platys have the colors of a
glorious sunset gradually appearing along their bodies. Mickey Mouse platys have black
shapes on their tails that look like the head of the famous mouse. They are all beautiful
and interesting. Swordtails and Mollies are also bred in a range of attractive colors. There
are also varieties with long, lovely fins.
Livebearers are easy-going fish, comfortable is a wide range of water conditions. They
will usually swim openly in your tank and rarely hide, making it effortless to enjoy
watching them in your aquarium.
Many hobbyists like to keep what are called community tanks. That’s a tank with several
species of fish living together in a community, so to speak. Another plus to livebearers is
that they tend to be peaceful neighbors, and are not bothered by most tank-mates, except
those large and aggressive enough to see them as food. Livebearers are a good choice
for inclusion in most community tanks.
Of course, their most notable quality is how they give birth to live babies. Bill Allen says,
“…even after years of keeping these fish, it’s still amazing to look into a tank that last
night contained a single, heavy female, but this morning contains a thin momma fish with
dozens of tiny replicas.”
Richard “Rit” Forcier, chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Livebearer
Association, agrees. Rit said: “Lots of aquarists keep cichlids. I did at one time too. But I
cannot get thrilled about fish that spawn in caves or flowerpots.” I am always excited to
see brand-new fry in my tank, and they appear often, despite my limited skill as a breeder
of fish.
Ted Coletti says, “For the new hobbyist, the pet shop varieties provide the wonder of live
birth right in your home aquarium with little effort on your part.” What fun to watch the fry
grow! Any variety of these fish are a wonderful choice for a family aquarium, giving
children the experience of seeing nature in action. If you allow Darwinian theory to prevail,
you may not end up with many surviving offspring. Adults will eat the fry. This saves you
the trouble of trying to give them away or house more and more fish. On the other hand, if
you want to raise the off-spring, their parents’ cannibalism presents a challenge. One
solution is to add hiding places for the babies in the tank. I especially like floating plants,
since I keep live plants in my tanks. The floating plant like Hortswort allow the tiny fry to
escape detection until they are too big to be dinner. Some people also use a separate
breeding tank, or a small contraption that sits within a larger tank and keeps the fry safe.
If you raise the fry to adulthood, be careful to avoid over-crowding your tank. A female can
store sperm in her body and give birth more than once after a single mating. You can
quickly fill your tank.
While livebearers are prized for their hardy constitution, over-crowding leads rapidly to
poor water quality and is a sure-fire way to cause problems. Diagnosing and treating fish
illness is difficult at best. Most sick fish will die before you can figure out what’s wrong
and treat them successfully. Don’t risk it. Those successful in breeding their fish have a
few choices. You can add to your collection of tanks, and/or give some fish away to
friends. I recommend that you join your local aquarium society.
This is the perfect place to swap or auction off fish, meet new friends and talk to experts
that you can learn from. (Check out the American Livebearers Association at http:
//livebearers.org).
While livebearers are the perfect choice for beginners, they also appeal to experienced
hobbyists. Every expert I contacted was still excited about these fish, even after many
years in the hobby. “Livebearers are fish for every level of aquarist because they are
hardy, colorful, interesting and challenging,” says long-time aquarist Chuck Davis.
Ted Coletti adds, “For the science buff, here’s a chance to work with nature’s most highly
evolved and efficient fishes. For the creative, a chance to create a new color or finnage
variety with comparative expediency. For those who enjoy competition, there is an entire
show circuit.”
James K. Langhammer said: “I’ve been keeping livebearing fishes since 1948 when as
a 12-year-old I received my first wild guppy stock from a neighbor lady. My enthusiasm for
livebearing fishes has never diminished through my years of exposure to many families
of fishes and other vertebrate animals during my tenure as a Zoological Curator working
with fishes, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals at the Detroit Zoological Park.”
But perhaps Bill Allen says it best when he says, “My first fish were livebearers, I imagine
that my last fish will be too.”
Why not try some of these wonderful fish in your aquarium?
First published April 2007 in The Animal Companion
Livebearers are the best little freshwater fish a hobbyist could want. They encompass a
range of species, including the ever-popular guppies, mollies, swordtails and my
personal favorites, platys. As the name implies, these fish give birth to live babies (called
fry), unlike most fish who lay eggs. Livebearers are extremely popular in the fish-keeping
hobby. Certainly for every known species, there is a hobbyist somewhere who loves it,
but few fish can match the adoration that livebearers have engendered in the aquarium
hobby, and for good reasons.
Livebearers tend to be strong and healthy, which makes them a good fish for beginners
to try. This is one of the biggest reasons for their popularity. All fish required care and
attention, but some need more than others. The more delicate the species, the more
demanding it is to maintain them in good health. Livebearers are relatively easy to keep.
“They are the perfect beginner fish,” says Bill Allen, who is the editor of Livebearers, the
journal of the American Livebearer Association.
Livebearers are small fish. Even full-grown, they are usually only two or three inches
long. Some hobbyists would look at this as a negative-they prize the big, aggressive
“tank-busters.” But not everyone has the time, energy or money to maintain the enormous
tanks that the big bullies require. Livebearers can thrive in small tanks like five or ten
gallons. Certainly you can keep larger groups in bigger tanks, but hobbyists short on
space and time can still enjoy a livebearer tank. This is another reason why they are so
popular among beginners, who rarely start out with large tanks.
New fish-keepers are also attracted by the price of these fish in the pet shops. Aquarium
fish can range in price from a dollar or two apiece, to $100 or more per fish. If you are
unsure of your ability to keep a fish alive and healthy, buying inexpensive fish makes
financial sense. Because they breed so easily and prolifically, pet shops charge low
prices for livebearers; they fit the tightest budget. “Livebearers offer a lot of bang for the
buck,” says Ted Coletti, livebearer expert and columnist for a national aquarium
magazine.
Most livebearers are bred in a wide range of beautiful colors. “I like livebearers because
of the amazing amount of diversity in a small group of fishes,” Bill Allen said. “A hobbyist
can be interested in exotic fish with unpronounceable scientific names known only to a
select group of other specialists, or he can selectively breed colors and forms of fish as
common as the guppy or swordtail into an amazing variety of colors and shapes.”
Like many fish and other animals, the males are often much more colorful than the
females. Among guppies for example, the males have very colorful finnage and with
females much less so. Of course, all breeders work to bring out the best coloration in the
fish. I particularly love platys because they are such a beautiful array of colors. Many are
cheerful oranges, reds and yellows. Even the blue-gray tones can be lovely.
Platys are also bred in a range of multi-color varieties. Sunset platys have the colors of a
glorious sunset gradually appearing along their bodies. Mickey Mouse platys have black
shapes on their tails that look like the head of the famous mouse. They are all beautiful
and interesting. Swordtails and Mollies are also bred in a range of attractive colors. There
are also varieties with long, lovely fins.
Livebearers are easy-going fish, comfortable is a wide range of water conditions. They
will usually swim openly in your tank and rarely hide, making it effortless to enjoy
watching them in your aquarium.
Many hobbyists like to keep what are called community tanks. That’s a tank with several
species of fish living together in a community, so to speak. Another plus to livebearers is
that they tend to be peaceful neighbors, and are not bothered by most tank-mates, except
those large and aggressive enough to see them as food. Livebearers are a good choice
for inclusion in most community tanks.
Of course, their most notable quality is how they give birth to live babies. Bill Allen says,
“…even after years of keeping these fish, it’s still amazing to look into a tank that last
night contained a single, heavy female, but this morning contains a thin momma fish with
dozens of tiny replicas.”
Richard “Rit” Forcier, chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Livebearer
Association, agrees. Rit said: “Lots of aquarists keep cichlids. I did at one time too. But I
cannot get thrilled about fish that spawn in caves or flowerpots.” I am always excited to
see brand-new fry in my tank, and they appear often, despite my limited skill as a breeder
of fish.
Ted Coletti says, “For the new hobbyist, the pet shop varieties provide the wonder of live
birth right in your home aquarium with little effort on your part.” What fun to watch the fry
grow! Any variety of these fish are a wonderful choice for a family aquarium, giving
children the experience of seeing nature in action. If you allow Darwinian theory to prevail,
you may not end up with many surviving offspring. Adults will eat the fry. This saves you
the trouble of trying to give them away or house more and more fish. On the other hand, if
you want to raise the off-spring, their parents’ cannibalism presents a challenge. One
solution is to add hiding places for the babies in the tank. I especially like floating plants,
since I keep live plants in my tanks. The floating plant like Hortswort allow the tiny fry to
escape detection until they are too big to be dinner. Some people also use a separate
breeding tank, or a small contraption that sits within a larger tank and keeps the fry safe.
If you raise the fry to adulthood, be careful to avoid over-crowding your tank. A female can
store sperm in her body and give birth more than once after a single mating. You can
quickly fill your tank.
While livebearers are prized for their hardy constitution, over-crowding leads rapidly to
poor water quality and is a sure-fire way to cause problems. Diagnosing and treating fish
illness is difficult at best. Most sick fish will die before you can figure out what’s wrong
and treat them successfully. Don’t risk it. Those successful in breeding their fish have a
few choices. You can add to your collection of tanks, and/or give some fish away to
friends. I recommend that you join your local aquarium society.
This is the perfect place to swap or auction off fish, meet new friends and talk to experts
that you can learn from. (Check out the American Livebearers Association at http:
//livebearers.org).
While livebearers are the perfect choice for beginners, they also appeal to experienced
hobbyists. Every expert I contacted was still excited about these fish, even after many
years in the hobby. “Livebearers are fish for every level of aquarist because they are
hardy, colorful, interesting and challenging,” says long-time aquarist Chuck Davis.
Ted Coletti adds, “For the science buff, here’s a chance to work with nature’s most highly
evolved and efficient fishes. For the creative, a chance to create a new color or finnage
variety with comparative expediency. For those who enjoy competition, there is an entire
show circuit.”
James K. Langhammer said: “I’ve been keeping livebearing fishes since 1948 when as
a 12-year-old I received my first wild guppy stock from a neighbor lady. My enthusiasm for
livebearing fishes has never diminished through my years of exposure to many families
of fishes and other vertebrate animals during my tenure as a Zoological Curator working
with fishes, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals at the Detroit Zoological Park.”
But perhaps Bill Allen says it best when he says, “My first fish were livebearers, I imagine
that my last fish will be too.”
Why not try some of these wonderful fish in your aquarium?
First published April 2007 in The Animal Companion
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