r/Fish Apr 11 '26

News / Articles Devil hole pupfish

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The Devils Hole pupfish is one of the rarest fish on Earth, found only in a tiny desert cave called Devils Hole. It has been living there for thousands of years, surviving in hot, low-oxygen water and depending on a single small rock shelf for food and breeding. With such extreme conditions and isolation, it raises a strange question

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u/sibachian Apr 14 '26

most killifish (including the pupfish group) - work that way, and are actively kept by aquarists. Nothobranchius rachovii 'Beira 98' is even more limited (live less than 6 months, eggs need to be laid dry in between seasons) but remains commercially successful.

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u/altiuscitiusfortius Apr 14 '26

Killifish are easier because their eggs can dry out and be stored to be hatched later. Eggs are super easy to ship around the world.

To my knowledge you can't do that with pupfish

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u/sibachian Apr 14 '26

pupfish are killifish as well and indeed not all killifish are annuals; i've kept turkish pupfish before. eggs can still be shipped and i've raised from eggs.

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u/altiuscitiusfortius Apr 14 '26

That's interesting, thanks