Do any live bearers exist in cold water?

[JWERNER]

I was wondering if anyone knows of any live bearers that may exist in the not so tropical regions of the Untied States.

I came across some today and I came across a lot. I dont know what they are but I can tell they are some sort of live bearer that resembles a cross between a not so colorful Endlers and a not so colorful Moly.

It was in a shrinking pool in a new upper scale housing development and I couldnt even think of a way the fish would have made it to the pool naturally and it being so smal it was a warmer temperature.

Links with reference would be great if they do exist in the cooler regions of the US.

Thanks.

 

[Azhael]

They are likely to be Gambusia sp.
They adapt very well to cold weather, are terribly invasive and make a great choice for culturing them at home as occasional feeders (dead) for some of our caudates xD

 

[JWERNER]

Wow thanks!

Thats exactly what they are. I think Im gunna try to get a colony going for the kids Dino Eel

Im trying to figure out how they got in that pool. It was actually pretty warm, like bath water warm and I netted some pregnant females. There was a lot and I mean a lot!

 

[Azhael]

People spread them around to combat mosquitoes. It´s a very destructive practice...
They can tolerate very extreme conditions, it´s sometimes outstanding just how inhospitable some habitats are, and they still thrive like mad.

Here in Spain, specially in my area they are a biiiiiig problem. They are the first, and likely the only fish you can easily see in the river that runs through the city where i study, and they are extremely abundant.
They have been widely introduced to natural and artifitial ponds all over the territory which are the sole habitat for most native caudates and anurans, causing serious damage to their populations.

It may seem a bit extreme, but i would actually urge you to remove the population that you found (if it´s not native to your state, obviously). They look innocent and harmless, but they are agressive little buggers that cause A LOT of damage.

 

[Greatwtehunter]

I keep Gambusia affinis in quite a few of my tanks. I don't run into any temperature issues with them until it gets to about 40'F, then I start having some die-offs. Obviously this isn't much of an issue for the average keeper.

 

[blackdog]

$10,000 fine for keeping them here in Australia, well, in Victoria (my state) at least.

Yet another stupid introduced species idea in Australia. "They eat lots of mosquito lava" - except here where apparently mosquito lava is not as attractive to you when there is lots of other stuff to eat (like the stuff our natives eat) - apparently they leave the mossies alone out here - go figure

You take an Island paradise, with totally unique fauna, and introduce whatever you feel like - Cane toads, rabbits, foxes, Gambusia - yada yada yada - you'd think we'd learn

Bren

 

[JWERNER]

These are pretty scary fish.

They are indestructible. I left them in a bucket outside ( about 100 of them ) and they survived with as far as I can tell no deaths at all and the outside temps ran up to about 95-103F that week. I still cant get any to reproduce though and I tried a couple different ideas. Are they actually live bearers? They have the same anal fins or what have you as any live bearers. A spike for a male ( I assume ) and a pyramid for the female.

Anyway, I got lots of them and they been sticking around. I also started keeping some in large sterilite containers and been feeding them some New Life Spectrum Cichlid pellets. Finally about 2 weeks ago I started feeding them off in a fair amount to the kids Bicher and he became so much more active.

 

[jclee]

They're definitely live-bearers. I wonder if, given their wide temp range, the heat is slowing (rather than speeding up) their reproduction. Perhaps they breed more prolifically in spring-time temps, and slow down a bit in the summer heat? (Just a guess...)

 

[Greatwtehunter]

They won't breed in hot water. I would assume this is due to the low oxygen content of the water. Mine usually start giving birth when the water temps drop back down to around 74F.

 

[fishkeeper]

They are voracious fry-eaters. I'd put the pregnant females in tanks with lots of plants to ensure at least a few young survive.

They will also nip the fins of other fish and are all around vicious little creatures.