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Learning More About the Rio Otapa Swordtail

Since Rusty collected the fish, I emailed him for information concerning the Rio Otapa swordtail. Here is his response: "I caught the original group, and they were a mix of males and females all about 2 inches long (and at that time, I could not differentiate sexes). They were collected on a photo trip with Juan Miguel Artigas Azas.

The Rio Otapa is in the state of Veracruz just south of the city of Veracruz, and it is located in an isolated basin. Juan Miguel says the fish fauna is closely related to that of the nearby Rio Papaloapan. The Rio Otapa swordtail is the largest swordtail variant I have seen in nature (with the exception of the X. montezumae from the Panuco Basin). The Rio Otapa is a moderately fast-flowing river with rock, sand, and some muddy bottom areas with few or no plants. Other inhabitants include a beautiful variety of Poeciliopsis gracilis and Thorichthys maculipinnis (formerly known as T. ellioti).

The nicest thing about Rio Otapa swordtails is that they are one of the largest swordtails and have really nice color. Also, both males and females are variable; some will have the black spotted pigmentation (freckles) on the body and some will not. They also make great tank inhabitants, in that the males don't seem to fight and are much less aggressive than, say, Monty's swordtail (X. montezumae)."

Keeping Rio Otapa Swords

What I've found since I got the fish from Rusty is that they jump like nothing you've ever seen before, especially into flowing water. They are also voracious fry eaters, and they grow rapidly to very long lengths but thin girths.

As I keep reiterating, these fish can really jump. While I haven't tested it yet, I suspect they could easily clear a foot-high wall. They easily cleared 10 inches in our vats. A cover is imperative.

I've found that most wild livebearers, unlike their commercial descendents, are not bad fry eaters. We raise most of our wild livebearers in breeding colonies of 10 to 80 females with a half dozen males. A few sprigs of hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum), and more fry survive than you need. Our X. nezahualcoyotl and X. clemenciae have tons of fry in such setups.

Not true of the Rio Otapa swordtail. They ate all the fry. So, we've placed cages made of aquaculture netting in their breeding vats. The fry swim through and the adults go hungry.

We've also placed some of our "cichlid cages" in the aquaculture-netting cages for additional fry cover. Wild fry are smart. They dart into cover immediately upon delivery. After the adults get used to seeing fry, new fry aren't eaten. Familiarity breeds contempt?

The Rio Otapa swordtail grows rapidly, at least with the feeding regimen and diet we use. They are fed, on a typical day, 42-percent-protein floating pellets in the early morning, 50-percent-protein slowsinking crumbles in the late morning, flake foods in the early afternoon, and 50-percent-protein slow-sinking crumbles in the late afternoon. They are occasionally given a treat of mosquito larvae, Moina macrocopa (the world's best live food for fish under 3 inches), and Daphnia magna.

They reach sexual maturity in about three months and physical maturity in about five months. When Rio Otapa swordtails mature, they resemble very thin and long green swordtails except that the males sport a bright yellow dorsal.

The Rio Otapa swordtail is a show stopper, and I plan to take some to the American Livebearer Association's 2013 Convention in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where I'll be

speaking on the topic of livebearers. To find out more, you can check out Rio Otapa Swordtails.

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