I am interested in keeping and breeding Goodeids, but have read that most of them prefer cool water. I live in Florida and during the summer my aquariums run from 78-82 degrees. My well water is hard and basic with a 7.4 pH. Is there a Goodeid that will prosper under these conditions?

Goodeids are beautiful and fun fish. For the most part yes, they do like cool waters. Is there anyway you can lower the temperature? The ph will be fine. For the longest while I was keeping my Amecas around 80 and they do great but I lowered the temperature to 76 when I learned they prefer lower temps. I would probably suggest Ameca splendens or Xenotoca eiseni both are great hardy fish. I have plenty of Ameca's if you are interested.

I would suggest Ataeniobus toweri. They are one of the few warmer water Goodeids.

Thanks for the advice guys.All three species would be good choices for the SMP and I see that Ataeniobus toweri are on the cover of the April issue of Livebearers. Also, they are available from the SMP chairman. Tough to decide.Thanks again, Mark

P.S. Anyone else have any input?

My Ameca Splendens are reproducing at about 78 to 80 degrees and tap water. Not sure about PH but there is alot of driftwood so should be on acidic side. Just had a spawn of 8 or more couple days ago.

I would aggree that Ataeniobius toweri should do well in warmer water. I kept mine in the upper 70's and they were very happy for almost 2 years.

I always thought that I kept my Ilyodon xantusi too cold. Any of the Ilyodon species might be interesting to try at warmer temperatures. They tend to be very hardy fish. Mine stop breeding under 70 degrees and to me that is an indicator they like warmer water.

Anyway that is my input. I hope this helps.

I would love to get some Ataeniobius toweri. I think they are very beautiful fish.

Another fish that tolerates warmer temperatures better than most goodeids is the Xenotoca eiseni. They are often my outdoor tub choice here where summer air temperatures are often in the high 80s. The tub temperatures stay below 80 most of the time and the fish flourish in my tub. This is a picture of one of my males.

A simple follow up.
I got 3 pairs of the A toweri at the ALA convention. Now I have a 29 gallon tank full of fry because at least one of my females has dropped fry. Now when I go to feed their tank, I am feeding about 25 to 30 fish. The fry are hard to count but I feed my fish a largely vegetarian diet and so far the A toweri are cooperating and increasing their numbers. I have yet to go through a winter with them where my goodeids go through a cool water environment. Time will tell how well that part of the year goes.