HUBBS, 1932

Allodontichthys zonistius HUBBS, 1932
Alloophorus zonistius HUBBS & TURNER, 1937
Allodontichthys zonistius HUBBS & TURNER, 1939

English name:
Golden Darter Goodeid

Family:
Goodeidae JORDAN, 1923.

Subfamily:
Goodeinae JORDAN, 1923.

Original description:
HUBBS, C. L. (1932): Sudies of the Fishes of the Order Cyprinodontes. 11. Zoogoneticus zonistius, a New Species from Colima, Mexico,
Copeia 1932, (2): pp. 68-71.

Derivation of the species name:
named zonistius after the Old Greek word for striated

Type locality:
Colima, Mexico.

Meristic properties:
Dorsal fin = 13 rays;
Anal fin = 14 rays;
Ventral fin = 6 rays;
 

The keeping of Allodontichthys zonistius is not difficult, because the aggressiveness of the animals is not as prominent compared to Allodontichthys hubbsi, for instance. Nevertheless, tanks of an appropriate size (about 30 litres per animal) should be used.

Since the males mark off territories, there should always be appropriate hiding places in the form of plants, stones and roots. The temperature should be between 17 °C and 22 °C. The water should be hard with a pH value of at least 7.

Allodontichthys zonistius lives ground-oriented. The feeding of the species is without problems. Flakes, frozen and live-food are accepted, but the diet must be vegetable to some extent. So Allodontichthys zonistius should be fed with scalded spinach in addition to the other foods. Also, algae should not be removed from the tank since it is an additional food source for the fish.

The breeding of Allodontichthys zonistius is quite difficult, so only experts may succeed. One brood consists of only a few fry, which are chased by the parents, so that sufficient hiding places are indispensable. Because of their size of about 10 mm, the raising of the newborn fish should not be difficult.

Literature of:

Allodontichthys zonistius (Hubbs, 1932)

D. Biggs (2008): Fishing adventures in the Purificación river. Livebearer News (23): 24-47

O. Böhm (0): Quelques espèces intéressantes de la familie des Goodéidés. Aquarama (): 13-16

O. Böhm (1990): Selten gepflegt - Lebendgebärende der Gattung Allodontichthys. TI (99): 11-13

R.C. Griffiths (1997): Allodontichthys zonistius (Hubbs 1932). Livebearers (146): 7-7

C.L. Hubbs (1932): Studies on the fishes of the order Cypronidontes XI. Zoogoneticus zonistius, a new species from Colima, Mexico. Copeia (2): 68-71

H. Kleine (2009): Bemerkungen über Allodontichthys zonistius. Das Lebendgebärenden Magazin (2): 15-16
D. Kunath (1990): Der Vielschuppen - Hochlandkärpfling, Allodontichthys polylepis Rauchenberger, 1988 eine neue Art dieser Goodeiden-Gattung. ZAG Lebendgebärende Zahnkarpfen (4): 5-8

D. Lambert (0): Allodontichthys zonistius (Hubbs, 1932). Viviparous (14): 0-

D. Lambert (1994): Introducing goodeids. Livebearers (133): 13-21

D. Lambert (1996): The search for Skiffia francesae The Aquarian Expedition 1996. Tropical Fish Hobbyist (november): 118-133

J. Lyons (1997): Tolerances of Mexican livebearers to extremes of temperature and dissolved oxygen in the wild. Livebearers (148): 16-19

J. Lyons (1997): Fishes from the land of the trucha de tierra caliente. Freshwater & Marine Aquarium (7): 127-136

J. Lyons (1999): The darter Goodeids, Genus Allodontichthys. Livebearers (158/159): 14-18

J. Lyons (2002): De grondbaars Goodeiden, het geslacht Allodontichthys. Poecilia Nieuws (5): 91-95

J. Lyons & S. Navarro-Perez (1990): Fishes of the Sierra de Manantlan, West-Central Mexico. The Southwestern Naturalist (1): 32-46

A.C. Radda (1986): Cyprinodonte vissen in Mexico 3. Poecilia Nieuws (2): 40-43

M. Rauchenberger (1988): A new species of Allodontichthys with comparative morphometrics for the genus. Copeia (2): 433-441

C.L Turner (1946): A contribution to the taxonomy and zoogeography of the Goodeid fishes. Occasional papers of the museum of zoology University of Michigan (495): 1-13

S.A. Webb (2002): Molecular systematics of the genus Allodontichtys. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries (12): 193-205