Breeding Chapalichthys pardalis
Some fish are a pure pleasure to keep and breed. You provide a well-filtered aquarium, a few hiding places (among the plants), a balanced diet, and they do the rest. The beautiful livebearing Chapalichthys pardalis is one of these. They originate from Mexico and the genus name, Chapalichthys, is derived from Chapal Lagoon (Mexico’s largest natural lake). Ichthys simply means fish. The species name, pardalis, is Greek for panther or leopard spots. Their bodies are covered with circular spots. They are part of a family of livebearers called Goodeidae, a trade name could be leopard Goodeidae, if that’s too difficult for you, you can always call them leopard goodies.
We have wanted this fish ever since we first saw a beautiful male specimen at a show in Brantford several years ago. Unfortunately, not many hobbyists keep Goodeidae. I suspect they ended up in a bag with Xenotoca eiseni, sometimes called Mexican livebearers or red-tailed goodeidae. One experience with this incredibly hot-headed, aggressive, tough, and endlessly fertile fish can provoke negative reactions in the future when Goodeidae are mentioned. The red-tailed Mexican, like the cichlid Tilapia, should not be sold without a warning on the bag. With the leopard Goodeidae and most of the family, one gets a completely different experience.
Fortunately, we found a bag of young pardalis at the Hamilton auction last fall. One of the males (recognizable by the notch on the anal fin) had a curved spine and was therefore rejected, but we still had two males and a smaller female. Males eventually grow to around 6 cm with slightly larger females, and ours was only about 4 cm, but she quickly proved that she was mature enough to give birth to young. Within a month, she had produced four large (1.2 cm) young. With a competition-oriented result in mind (in many countries, competitions are held for breeding fish), we disregarded this because she was clearly already pregnant when we bought her. We have not yet made careful notes, but the pregnancy seemed to last almost two months.
Like other Goodeidae, pardalis do not have large nests because they are truly viviparous. For most Poeciliidae (guppies, swordtails, etc.), on the other hand, viviparity simply means that the eggs are fertilized internally and hatch before they are born. Their babies are very small but numerous. Goodeidae eggs are nourished by a placenta-like structure called trophotaenia. They spend a longer period in the mother, grow much larger and are fewer in number (twenty would be a large nest in most cases).
The other difference is that the male Goodeidae does not produce sperm packets. In Poeciliidae, these packets can be stored by the female, allowing for a succession of pregnancies, even without a male being present after the first. Goodeidae must be fertilized each time.
The mating dance of the pardalis is very complicated. Unlike the gonopodium of the guppy and others, the anal fin of this Goodeidae does not seem to play an important role. Scientists studying these phenomena have effectively removed it, and fertilization still took place.
Very similar to the males, except for the notch in the anal fin and the bright yellow band near the end of the tail fin, our female has produced a second brood. She had 11 large young this time and, typical for this species, they had no difficulties with the adults. (I told you they were easy.)
The inevitable question is, “Can you keep them in a community tank?” We haven’t tried it, but everything we’ve read suggests that it’s possible. Plain water that isn’t too warm is fine for them. They appreciate regular water changes and different types of food, just like many other fish. They don’t bother their own young, so it seems likely that they won’t attack smaller fish either. We would recommend being cautious and observing them closely when introducing other species. In any case, they are fun to watch.
The recommended caution stems from our experience many years ago with a similar species, Ameca splendens. It is also a beautiful and naturally peaceful species of Goodeidae. However, for reasons known only to the fish, they will occasionally attack Corydoras species (especially the albino aeneus), biting off pieces of their dorsal and caudal fins. We only discovered this unfortunate trait when we sold a few specimens to a local pet store and they were placed in a tank with Corydoras. Oops!
Source: Aquarticles.com (original website no longer online
First publication: The Scat” – St. Catherine’s Aquarium Society, Canada. February 1999
