Limia Islai
(Silva, R.R. & Weaver, P.F. 2020)
First Described:
the tiger limia has been formally described in the Journal of Fish Biology by Rodet Rodriguez-Silva and Pablo F. Weaver as Limia islai.
Silva, R.R. & Weaver, P.F. 2020. A new livebearing fish of the genus Limia (Cyprinodontiformes: Poeciliidae) from Lake Miragoane, Haiti. Journal of Fish Biology: 1-10.
Etymology:
Limia: Limia is derived from the Latin ‘limus’ meaning mud, this is referring to the feeding habits of the fish
Isla: Named in honour Dominic Isla who introduced this fish into the hobby
Common name:
Tiger Limia
Synonyms:
Limia Sp.Tiger
History:
Introduced into the hobby by Dominic Islai in 2002, much confusion surrounded this species on their introduction into the hobby.
The first specimens were originally thought to be Limia garnieri, following that the smaller individuals were thought to be L. nigrofasciata. Later investigations began to consider the fact that this was either a sub-species of L. nigrofasciata or a new species all together.
Group:
Limia
Distribution:
Lake Miragoane
A report from Dominic Islai would indicate that this species is only found in a clear spring feeding into the southwestern bight of lake Miragoane. It is not known if this species lives in the lake itself.
Habitat:
The species appears to prefer habitats with submerged vegetation and muddy bottoms.
Size:
Males 50mm Females 50mm
Description:
The body is compressed and slender in appearance with a light olive-green background that turns yellow in the snout and dorsal areas, both sexes have from 4 to 12 black bars on the flanks of body. The dorsal fin has small, blurred black spots are also present on the edge of the dorsal fin, especially in male specimens.
Limia islai has a similar body colour and black bar pattern to Limia nigrofasciata. (These bars are usually found to be wider and darker in Limia islai). The main differences between the two species are the black bars are usually found to be wider and darker in Limia islai and the body shape is more slender without the dorsal hump.
Behaviour:
This Tiger Limia is totally peaceful towards other fish, but males can be a bit rough on each other. Again good plant cover will do a lot of good to protect the weakest males.
Husbandry:
They are known to prefer medium hard water, but in my fish room they live and breed in soft slightly acid water and at room temperature (22 – 25 C in the aquarium). So obviously the aquarium strains are rather adaptable. They are said to be very sensitive to ammonia buildup in a tank, so an effective biological filtration, and regular water changes are important.
Breeding Notes:
The females will drop 5-20 young approximately every 30 days. They will try to eat their own fry, but if the adults are well fed and there are plenty of cover among the plants – most fry will survive.
