breeding

Blue Iridescent Swordtail

Photo: An early male Blue Iridescent Swordtail used in the development of the strain. We raise a variety of commercial swordtails. While these fish closely resemble the shape of the wild swordtail Xiphophorus hellerii, they are hybrid strains with genes from other Xiphophorus species such as X. ... Read More

Sunset Variatus

Photo: Male Sunset Variatus I’ve recently begun blogging about the Variatus-type Platies we raise. For a discussion about the meaning of “Variatus-type,” check out an earlier blog I wrote about our Redtail Blue Variatus. This blog concerns our Sunset Variatus strain, which we developed ... Read More

Redtail Blue Variatus

Photo: A very nice male Redtail Blue Variatus either challenging another male or displaying for a female. We raise a variety of Variatus-type Platies. I say “Variatus-type” because while they look like Xiphophorus variatus (Variegated Platy), they are commercial strains and might have genes from ... Read More

Giant Redtail Blue Variatus

Photo: Pair of Giant Redtail Blue Variatus and male regular Redtail Blue Variatus Xiphophorus species, which include swordtails, maculatus platies, and variatus platies, hybridize readily. A while back I wrote, when I was writing for Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine, an article about some hybrids ... Read More

Non-Gold Dragon Blood Peacock

The photo is of two Non-Gold Dragon Blood Peacock Males. A couple of days ago, I released a blog on Dragon Blood Peacock cichlids (see: http://goliadfarms.com/dragon-blood-peacock-cichlid/), which I had written months ago and had failed to post. This blog is an update on the genetics of the ... Read More

Dragon Blood Peacock Cichlid

Photo is of a Dragon Blood Peacock Cichlid male, one of our breeders. A while back, we processed two breeding vats of dragon blood peacocks. This is a strain we got from www.livefishdirect.com in November 2012. The photo shows a typical male of this strain. We grew the fish to maturity and set ... Read More

Xenotoca eiseni, Rio Tamazula (the Redtail Goodeid)

Photo is of a pair of Xenotoca eiseni, Rio Tamazula (the Redtail Goodeid). This is a nice little fish we’ve had since 2004 when we bought them at an American Livebearers Association auction. They were originally collected from the Rio Tamazula in Mexico by Rusty Wessel prior to that time. This ... Read More

Midnight Blue Sailfin Molly

Photo shows a shoal of Midnight Blue Sailfin Mollies. This molly, the Midnight Blue Sailfin Molly, is a relatively new creation of ours, but it has a long pedigree. I’ll quote myself in an article published in Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine. “In October 2008 I set up a test cross of ... Read More