[9] On noting its impending extinction, scientists and officials removed specimens of the fish and transplanted them into three pools in different locations in Nevada.

[3] When the official recovery plan for the species was published by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1980, it aimed to manage and protect the three transplanted populations.

[6] The fish has not been returned to its native habitat at Manse Spring because the area is under development and the water supply is not reliable.

[3] Though the fish reproduced successfully and appeared to thrive in its new pools, it faced a number of challenges there.

Flooding destroyed one of the pools, vandalism killed specimens at another, and the unauthorized introduction of mosquitofish and crawfish further threatened the fish.

Some fish were transplanted into a reservoir to replace the flooded population, but the USFWS had to intervene when Nevada State Parks officials planned to dredge the pond.

In 2018, the Southern Nevada Water Authority is planning on establishing a refuge population into ponds at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve.

The USFWS still considers the species to be "in imminent danger of extinction" and is maintaining its endangered status.