Care
Blue Bellied Limia are a pretty little livebearing species, suitable for hardwater community aquaria. Ideally, they will be kept in groups of 6 or more of their own kind, with 2 females to every male. This is in order to prevent any single female from bearing the full brunt of the males' continual amorous intentions. Unfortunately, this is a species that never usually looks at its best in a stark shop tank environment, but once settled into the home aquarium, they should colour up very nicely, with the males in particular displaying a beautiful steely blue sheen. These fish are fairly lively and the aquarium itself should be at least 30" long because of their active nature. It is very important that there is a good deal of planting (both rooted and floating species) in the aquarium, with a decent, but not too powerful, degree of water circulation. Preferably, the aquarium will have been set up for some time and will contain a good amount of algal growth, which this species will enjoy browsing on. The aquarium should receive regular partial water changes and also be well-covered to prevent the fish from jumping out during periods of heightened activity, such as when the males are zealously pursuing the females for breeding. Tankmates should be of a similar size and peaceful disposition, and it is not advisable to mix with very similar species due to the possibility of hybridisation.
Feeding
Flake, green flake, small frozen foods such as daphnia, mosquito larvae, brineshrimp, cyclops. Will nibble on algae and fine-leaved plants. It is important to include a good proportion of vegetable matter in the diet.
Breeding
Easy. Blue Bellied Limias are livebearers, which means that the females give birth to live young. After fertilisation occurs, the female gestates for 25-35 days (at the same time developing a visible dark spot on the belly), after which time she will give birth to between 15 and 30 free-swimming fry. Although the adults are not predatory towards the young, any other fish species in the same aquarium could predate on the fry if not separated. However, a few will normally manage to survive onto adulthood when kept in a well planted aquarium with lots of natural hiding places. In a single-species tank, the population can actually, very easily, get quite out of hand!
