Xiphophorus hellerii, Green swordtail : aquarium

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Xiphophorus hellerii Heckel, 1848

Green swordtail
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Classification / Names Nomi Comuni | Sinonimi | Catalog of Fishes(Genere, Specie) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

> Cyprinodontiformes (Rivulines, killifishes and live bearers) > Poeciliidae (Poeciliids) > Poeciliinae
Etymology: Xiphophorus: Greek, xiphos = sword + Greek, pherein = to carry (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Heckel.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecologia

; acqua dolce; salmastro benthopelagico; pH range: 7.0 - 8.0; dH range: 9 - 19; non migratori. Tropical; 22°C - 28°C (Ref. 52054); 26°N - 12°N

Distribuzione Stati | Aree FAO | Ecosystems | Presenze | Point map | Introduzioni | Faunafri

North and Central America: Rio Nantla, Veracruz in Mexico to northwestern Honduras. Africa: Feral populations reported from Natal and eastern Transvaal as well as in Lake Otjikoto, Namibia (Ref. 7248). Several countries report adverse ecological impact after introduction.

Size / Peso / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 14.0 cm TL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 26130); 16.0 cm TL (female); common length : 2.8 cm TL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 12193)

Short description Morfologia | Morfometria

Spine dorsali (totale): 0; Raggi dorsali molli (totale): 11-14; Spine anali 0; Raggi anali molli: 8 - 10. This species is distinguished by having a medium to large swordtail with a long straight caudal appendage; midlateral stripe may be dusky or brownish (northern populations) or red; 2 additional reddish stripes may be present above midlateral line and one beneath; terminal segment of gonopodial ray 3 produced into a crescent-shaped hook and blade pointed distally; ray 4a curves strongly backward over the blade at an angle greater than 90°; distal serrae of ray 4p reduced in size and number and proximal serrae rather slender; terminal segment of ray 5a produced into a claw, several times larger than the distal serrae of ray 4p (Ref. 52914).

Biologia     Glossario (es. epibenthic)

Adults are found mainly in rapidly flowing streams and rivers, preferring heavily vegetated habitats (Ref. 26130). They occur in warm springs and their effluents, weedy canals and ponds (Ref. 5723). They feed on worms, crustaceans, insects and plant matter (Ref. 7020). Used for genetics research (Ref. 4537). Especially the red varieties are very popular aquarium fishes (Ref. 1672). Aquarium keeping: the males aggressive towards each other; minimum aquarium size 80 cm (Ref. 51539).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturità | Riproduzione | Deposizione | Uova | Fecundity | Larve

Female produces 20 to 200 young after a gestation period of 24 to 30 days. Attains sexual maturity after eight to twelve months (Ref. 26130). This species has a tendency to undergo sex reversal (from female to male) under certain environmental conditions (Ref. 6465).

Main reference Upload your references | Bibliografia | Coordinatore | Collaboratori

Wischnath, L., 1993. Atlas of livebearers of the world. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., United States of America. 336 p. (Ref. 26130)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 29 March 2018

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Potential pest





Human uses

Pesca: di nessun interesse; Acquario: elevato interesse commerciale
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

Informazioni ulteriori

Nomi Comuni
Sinonimi
Metabolismo
Predatori
Ecotossicologia
Riproduzione
Maturità
Deposizione
Spawning aggregation
Fecundity
Uova
Egg development
Age/Size
Accrescimento
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morfometria
Morfologia
Larve
Dinamica popolazioni larvali
Reclutamento
Abbondanza
BRUVS
Bibliografia
Acquacoltura
Profilo di acquacoltura
Varietà
Genetica
Electrophoreses
Ereditarietà
Malattie
Elaborazione
Nutrients
Mass conversion
Collaboratori
Immagini
Stamps, Coins Misc.
Suoni
Ciguatera
Velocità
Modalità di nuoto
Area branchiale
Otoliths
Cervelli
Vista

Strumenti

Special reports

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Fonti Internet

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: Genere, Specie | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Database Nazionali | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Acquari pubblici | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, ricerca | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00606 - 0.01650), b=3.05 (2.92 - 3.18), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.2   ±0.43 se; based on food items.
Resilienza (Ref. 120179):  Alto, tempo minimo di raddoppiamento della popolazione meno di 15 mesi (tm<1; Fec=20-200 * 12).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (10 of 100).