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iphophorus fishes live in a variety of freshwater habitats in Mexico, Guatemela, Belize and Honduras. They can inhabit lakes, ponds, up-land or low-land rivers, ditches etc. Since they occupy such differing habitats and geographic regions, Xiphophorus can be found living in environments generally ranging from 60°F, to 80°F, with most habitats being between 70°F, and 80°F. Xiphophorus fish (albeit hybrids that have been introduced to non-native localities) have also been reported to inhabit hotsprings, such as a location in Nevada (Courtenay and Deacon 1982; Deacon and Williams 1984). Our experience with these fish has shown that they have a relatively wide tolerance for temperature extremes. Xiphophorus fish have lived through 95°F and also 51.8°F (accidental exposures, 1-2 days in duration). A very important fact to consider is temperature equilibration. Fish do NOT have a great tolerance for rapid temperature change. This fact has to be considered when moving fish from tank to tank. Fish need to be equilibrated gradually to their new environments, taking into account pH, temperature and other features of their surroundings. REFERENCES: Courtenay, W. R. Jr. and J.E. Deacon. 1982. Fish introductions in the American Southwest: A case history of Rogers Spring, Nevada. Southwest. Natur. 28:221-224. Deacon, J. E. and W.G. Bradley. 1972. Ecological distribution of fishes of Moapa (Muddy) river in Clark County, Nevada. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 101:408-419. Contributed by Steven Kazianis. Download printable PDF (Acrobat 4.0) version of this page. |
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