Mezquital

The rainbow characodon, Characodon lateralis, is a goodeid putatively restricted to springs below the El Saltito waterfall in Durango, Mexico. Populations above the waterfall in the upper Río Mezquital appear to be the congener C. audax, and the names 'rainbow goodeid' and 'red prince' have been applied to both. Endangered in the wild, each population differs in colour and shape and should be kept separately in aquaria, never mixed with the aquarium strain of unclear origin.