Wrestling Half-Beaks

**squirt_12** · 12-03-2007, 05:47 PM

has anyone had any before and what kind of luck did you have with them?? i just find them very appealing.(sp?)
also what min. size of tank do they need??

thanks.

**squirt_12** · 12-03-2007, 09:42 PM

has nobody ever had them before???

**squirt_12** · 12-12-2007, 01:23 AM

So no one at all has had these or heard of them?????????????

**country_boy454** · 12-12-2007, 07:05 PM

Here is a decent website I found on them. This is another great website I read through and am now interested in trying them out.

Looks as if they get about 3 inches long. Minimum Tank Size: Length at least 60 cm(~24 inches), depth relatively unimportant as they are top dwellers.

Pregnancy length very variable, from three to eight weeks depending on the species of halfbeak. Broods typically around a dozen fry, which are able to eat small live foods and frozen lobster eggs immediately after birth.

**Dave66** · 12-12-2007, 07:18 PM

I have. The species commonly available is Dermogenys pusillus. I kept them in slightly brackish water, around pH 7.5 and moderatly hard. You need to feed them live foods, like moquito or gnat larvae and insects, if you want live fry. I was able to get the adults to take frozen black mosquito larvae, but I had to mix them with live for some time before they'd take them on their own.
Neat little fish, and a live bearer to boot. Keep one male with any number of females; at least two. Don't keep two males in any but the largest tanks, or they'll fight, and a broken beak means a dead fish.
Another odd live bearer you could try when you get a large tank is Anableps anableps; the four-eyed fish.
If you could successfully breed (and raise fry to adulthood) those two species, you'll be in select company. Not many people who specialize in live bearers have been able to do those two species.

Dave

**country_boy454** · 12-12-2007, 07:57 PM

Originally Posted by Dave66

Another odd live bearer you could try when you get a large tank is Anableps anableps; the four-eyed fish.

Dave

You struck my curiosity on the anableps anableps so I googles them and WOW. That is so cool. They see above the water line and below the water line. I would like to see this in person. That is facinating(sp)! I would love to try my hand at keeping both of these fish. Although I shall wait till my newborn is older as most of my attention is on her now!

**Dave66** · 12-12-2007, 08:22 PM

Originally Posted by country_boy454

You struck my curiosity on the anableps anableps so I googles them and WOW. That is so cool. They see above the water line and below the water line. I would like to see this in person. That is facinating(sp)! I would love to try my hand at keeping both of these fish. Although I shall wait till my newborn is older as most of my attention is on her now!

I sure bet your eye is upon your little girl!
The American Livebearer Association has a breeder award system. Anableps and those Halfbeaks are on the list, and that's a tough pair of livebearers to get live fry from.
Anableps reaches a foot long, which keeps those with small tanks out of the mix.

Dave

**country_boy454** · 12-12-2007, 08:37 PM

Wow they get that big!

**squirt_12** · 12-12-2007, 09:47 PM

alrighty....thanks....after a while i am interested in keeping some of the half beaks because they look really cool. But i have never seen them around before so i would have to ask and see if my LFS can order them in. lol.

WOW.....the Anableps are AWESOME. That would be sooo cool to beable to have one. What would be the minimum tank size for one??

**Dave66** · 12-12-2007, 09:53 PM

Originally Posted by squirt_12

alrighty....thanks....after a while i am interested in keeping some of the half beaks because they look really cool. But i have never seen them around before so i would have to ask and see if my LFS can order them in. lol.

WOW.....the Anableps are AWESOME. That would be sooo cool to beable to have one. What would be the minimum tank size for one??

Something in the neighborhood of 200 gallons, squirt. They are big fish, and need lots of room to thrive.
Another challenging livebearer: Belonesox belizanus. And while I think of it, another would be Xenentodon cancila.

Dave