I have come late to livebearing fishes, having kept freshwater fishes of one sort or another for almost 40 years. As a boy I spent a good deal of time fetching fishes from my local creek. As I got older, I spent my time roaming aquarium stores looking for the perfect freshwater fish - something wonderful - with spots. A couple of years ago, however, being tired of the search, I gave away all my tanks - except for the one I kept in my garage for emergencies (of course). But even before I put away my buckets and nets, I already knew that I wanted to keep livebearing fishes.

Livebearing fishes include those from the families of Poeciliidae, Goodeidae, Hemirhamphidae and Anablepidae, and most are endemic to, with few exceptions, Mexico and surrounding areas, including the southern United States, the islands of Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and a few other locations in Central America. A few of these fishes are either extinct in the wild, or are endangered. Unfortunately many of the local habitats in Mexico and elsewhere are in danger of being developed or washed away, further endangering these fishes. There are many aquarists around the world who consider it a priviledge to take part in the conservation of these unique fishes. It is this endeavor that eventually brought me here as well.

Some of the advantages of keeping livebearing fishes is that many of them can tolerate hard water, high pH, and wide temperature fluctuations. This makes them ideal for keeping in many of the world's cities both indoors and out. Additionally they tend to be hardy, will eat anything, and are born ready to breed (aren't we all).

This website contains some photos of my livebearing fishes, notes on my pond construction and an occasional journal entry. An added side effect is that this website gives those individuals who are bored at work and surfing the internet, something to read about other than Paris Hilton (<- search engines look here!).