Xiphophorus, breeding   6/21/09
Dear Crew,
I have a pregnant red wag swordtail. What should I do to prepare for the birth??
<Ideally, fill the tank with floating plants.>
Should I take her out and put her in a different tank before she has birth?
<Transporting a fish from a healthy tank to a new one makes no sense unless the other tank is appropriate. For a single female Swordtail, that's have to be a tank at least 60 cm/2 feet in length. The filter would of course need to be fully matured, but you can do that by taking some of the media from a mature filter and putting it into a new filter in a new tank. Don't confine a pregnant Swordtail in a breeding trap; they're too big.>
She has only about a week?
<Not sure how you know this.>
until she has the fry.?
<From insemination to parturition is about 6 weeks, though this varies, particularly with temperature. Cheers, Neale.>

Please Help (Xiphophorus; repro.)   10/21/08
Hi there, I am VERY new at this and by new i mean this is my first fish tank ever. I set it all up about 3 weeks ago and got 4 sunfire platies 2 male 2 female and I love it. they are great. after reading some of the stuff on your page I kinda thought one of the platies was pregnant.
<Almost inevitable...>
I ignored it for about a week until I noticed the one i thought was pregnant was no longer "bloated" looking and sure enough i saw a little baby wedged into the pebble at the bottom of the tank.
<Cool. Do add floating plants to the tank: your "harvest" of babies will be dramatically improved.>
I figured it was dead since it had been there a day and not moving but today (a couple days later) I noticed it had moved position. So I "rescued it" from the pebble and sure enough its alive. I don't have an extra tank so I put it in a rather large Tupperware bowl with the original tank water as to not put it into shock so my question is what do I do?!?!?
<Easiest thing to do is get a breeding net and attach it to the inside of your aquarium. Assuming your tank is above the minimum size for Platies, i.e., 20 gallons or more, such a net should cause no problems for the existing fish. Feed it powdered flake food or liquid baby fish food if you really want. A bit of algae is helpful, too. After a month or so the baby will be big enough to be turned loose.>
its swimming a little in the bowl and seems to be doing just fine now that I realized its not dead. do I need to go out and buy a tank with a filter or is this going to make due for a while at least until I can afford an extra little tank or something besides a bowl. do I feed this baby fish if so what and how many babies do they usually have because I have looked and cant find anymore. but I plan on cleaning the tank tomorrow to make sure. I'm so lost and feel like I'm in over my head now. please help. thanks for your time
Windy
<Much written here about keeping, breeding livebearers; avail yourself of these resources! Cheers, Neale.>

Marigold swordtail and guppy fry  10/7/08
I have a 30 gallon tank which is currently holding about 15 mixed guppy's and marigold swordtail fry, then a 46 gallon tank in the basement with about 75 marigold swordtail fry. They are about 6 to 7 months old. Some of the guppies look pregnant already, and the original tank which held the parents seem to have yet another swordtail and guppy that are pregnant. I have them both in a breeding cup. I have been extremely successful with swordtail births in the breeding container before as well as the guppies. I originally started with about 6 fish. I need to know if it's possible for the fry to be pregnant already...how can I tell the swordtails apart male from female, and should the siblings be separated? I have well over 100 fry living from the original 6 fish...HELP
Donna
<Donna, the short answer is you can't magically make the males stay away from the females. As soon as they are sexually mature they will attempt to mate with any females they have access to. The normal way to breed livebearers is this: you remove the fertilised female to another tank where she can release her fry safely. After she gives birth you put her back in the community tank. In the meantime you watch the fry develop. After two months, and before three months, the males will be sexually mature, so that is your deadline for observing them and then removing them to a tank of just males. Eventually you will end up with all the males in one tank, and all the (virgin) females in the other. If you don't have two tanks for the juvenile fish, then use a tank divider to split the tank into two halves, one for the males, and one for the females. Within 3-4 months, the fish should be big enough to sell or give to other hobbyists. Simple as that. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: marigold swordtail and guppy fry – 10/07/08
I understand most of what you said but I am having trouble in the 46 gallon, telling the males apart from the females.
<Pretty easy... look at the anal fin; on male livebearers, the anal fin is tubular and bent over into a rod-like structure. Since the males start of with triangular anal fins like the females when young, you can tell they're sexually mature once their anal fins change shape.>
The original tank upstairs, has two males that have a long black straight sword tail.
<Irrelevant to sex determination. While it's nice that male swordtails have big tail fins, you absolutely cannot rely on this to sex them, because this structure won't be obvious (if present at all) on young males.>
They have created all this!!!? I can't see this black sword on any of the males in the basement. Not one of them show the black mark.
<Forget about it. Concentration on the anal fin.>
Could I have 70+ females?? They are over 6 months old, should I be able to tell the males from females at this point???
<Yes; the males will have obviously modified anal fins.>
The guppies are separated in the dining room and some of the fry are already pregnant but at least I can tell which ones are the males.
<Cheers, Neale.>

Xiphophorus; behaviour, repro    8/3/08
hello again, sorry to bother you Neale,
<Hello,>
I swear that sending emails to you will not become a common practice of mine- I can assure you this. And I hope you don't think I'm a nuisance already (for, this would be my third question to you).
<Fire away!>
My platys are not sick, their tank's ph, ammonia, chlorine, etc- they're all fine. Nothing is physically wrong with my fish. My problem is simply this: I bought some new fish (I've upgraded to a 20 gallon- so don't worry I have the room). One of my new fish is a white Mickey mouse platy and he seems fine and mild tempered; he displays no aggression towards any of my fish, except one. She is a female I've had for a long time and I've grown quite fond of her.
<The males will pester whatever female they deem to be "fittest" in terms of being the most attractive recipient of their genetic material. How they make those choices is complex. But in any event, what you're seeing simply means he likes this girl the most.>
I'd hate to have anything happen to her. It pains me to see the new fish chase only that one female fish around. Other female fish are fine and so is my one other male. My question to you is: why is the new white male singling out only one of my fish?
<Entire PhD theses are written on mate selection! Broadly speaking, male livebearers are shorter lived than the females. They are smaller, brighter colours, and often encumbered with things that make them worse swimmers (e.g., longer fins). So males have to breed quickly. Females are bigger, camouflaged, and stronger swimmers, so they can take their time and choose mates carefully. Producing sperm is cheap and easy, so males can afford to mate frequently. Females are stuck with the eggs their born with, and each pregnancy places a heavy energy demand on the female, so she wants to mate only when it is in her best interests to do so. This creates a tension between the males (who want to mate urgently) and females (who want to mate carefully). Bottom line: males will pester whichever females they want to mate with. This is why with livebearers I like to tell people to be generous about the size of the tank; to keep them in fairly big numbers to dilute aggression/harassment; to keep more females than males; and to provide lots of floating plants so that females have hiding places.>
I've never seen this before. Usually when I pick a mean fish, it will attack all the fish in the tank, or at least two or three. This one is dead set on following and sometimes nipping at just one fish in particular.
<Does happen.>
Will this behavior go away with time?
<No guarantees.>
Should I give this situation time?
<Up to a point, but if she's having trouble resting and feeding, then that's going to cause problems ere too long.>
Will the stress of constantly being chased back and forth kill one of my favorite fish?
<Conceivably.>
I am very worried. I would like to keep the new fish, as he is very pretty and I want to keep a good female to male ratio so that my one dominant female doesn't become too possessive of my one male. But I understand that if the new fish's behavior is not something that will go away, I will have to return him to the store.
<If you have space, I'd add some more females. I can't remember how big your tank is, so be sensible about this. But adding females usually benefits the livebearer aquarium. Adding decent sized floating plants (e.g. Indian Fern) would be another cheap-and-cheerful solution that might work.>
Thank you for taking the time to read my questions and I hope I'm not a nuisance. The questions on your site don't really seem to be geared toward platy behavior so much as platy illnesses. I figured a direct question to you would be a better avenue.
<Indeed.>
Thank you so much!
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Xiphophorus; behaviour, repro   8/4/08
Neale,
Thank you for responding to my questions. I had a feeling it was something to do with fish affection but I wasn't sure. Better to be safe than sorry, right?
<You mean fish aggression rather than affection, I suspect! And yes, better safe than sorry.>
I do have room for three more fish and this time I'll be more careful as to what sex of fish I choose. My tank probably does need more hideaways and I'll work on that as well. Again, thank you for all your help!
<Sounds like a good plan. Good luck! Neale.>

Weird Swordtail Pregnancy? 4/8/08
Hi,
I have a Swordtail that has been pregnant for about 2 months now, and I have a few questions. Well, first of all, isn't 2 months a little bit long for a Swordtail to be pregnant?
<Does vary, but more than likely has produced fry and since been eaten. Unless you have lots of floating plants, the chances of fry surviving more than a few minutes is next to nil.>
And I was able to see the little red heads of the fry in her, but now they turned BLACK? What's that supposed to mean? There is still a light gravid spot. Im just worried that something is wrong...
<Sometimes livebearers do fail to deliver the fry, or something goes wrong and the embryos become infected. The results are unpleasant, and I've seen a poor female Halfbeak die this way. There's no fix. In the meantime, let's hope that isn't the case. Do treat for constipation, in case that's a background issue or even the cause of the swelling. Live daphnia and brine shrimp will work as a laxative, and stop using any dried foods for a couple weeks. The "gravid spot" isn't really visible on Xiphophorus spp. Let's understand what this spot is. In small livebearers (particularly guppies and mosquitofish) as the embryos develop the uterus pushes against he muscle walls around the anal fin. The result is a certain degree of transparency, and this allows you to see the dark uterus inside the fish. In fancy livebearers there is extra pigment that reduces the transparency, and in Xiphophorus spp. the muscle wall is so much thicker that even less light can get through. The net result is that the gravid spot isn't something to worry about with most medium to large livebearers. Instead, concentrate on the overall chunkiness of the female.>
Thanks,
Bekah
<Cheers, Neale.>

How Pregnant Is My Swordtail? – 03/10/08
Hi,
I purchased a Swordtail yesterday, and I found that she is pretty pregnant! (Woohoo!) But my question is, how far? I can see the eggs (they are red) and I can also see a few little black dots near the anal fin, and, I can see, little teeny fry in there I think. (The mother is an Assorted Swordtail, so she if VERY translucent.) So, to narrow it down, about how long do you think until she has her fry?
Thanks s-o much,
Bekah
<Short answer is absolutely no idea. Gestation period in Swordtails is typically between 4-8 weeks, depending on the environment. If you can see the fry already, she's presumably not far from delivery. Make sure the tank is FILLED with floating plants, otherwise they will get eaten. And NEVER, EVER put a female livebearer this size in a breeding trap or net. If she doesn't jump out, she will get stressed and miscarry. Every morning, check the floating plants for fry, and then remove them to another aquarium for rearing. Cheers, Neale.>

Breeding Swordtails? 03/04/2008
Hi,
I'm a first timer at breeding fish, and Swordtails are the ones that really caught my attention.
<Breeding fish is one of the best ways to expand your hobby, and is perhaps the ideal test of your fishkeeping skills. Do read this article for information on breeding fish generally. Most livebearers are much of a muchness in terms of breeding.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwbrdgmonks.htm
>
In my 30 gallon tank, I have two Silver Angelfish, four Peppered Corydoras Cats, one Dwarf Gourami, and one Oto. I have been scouring the internet for information about breeding Swordtails, and there are some questions I just can't find. The first question I have is, what should I put the fry in?
<The pregnant mothers should be kept in their own tank. Trying to breed fish in community tanks is really a hiding to nothing. The best you can do is try and save any fry you find, but in all honesty you'll be finding one or two rather than a whole brood. Angelfish especially are notoriously good at finding and eating baby fish: Angelfish evolved to search the surface of the water for insect larvae, and so are pre-programmed to "seek and destroy" baby livebearers!>
Some people say nets, but someone else will say that nets stress their fish out, and the mom will jump out a lot.
<Never, ever put anything as large as a Swordtail in breeding trap or net. Breeding traps should be used exclusively to protect the fry; none of the commercially available nets or traps are big enough for adult livebearers. Yes, they get stressed and miscarry, and yes, they jump out. Save your pennies.>
Some people say that those plastic breeder boxes work well, but some say that the boxes don't work out for them. Got any ideas on what I should use?
<Simple as this: get a 10 gallon tank. Put the pregnant female in there, together with lots and lots of floating plants (real or plastic, as you prefer). Keep the tank covered! Wait 4-6 weeks. Look for the babies, and when they appear, remove the female.>
My next question is, would it be OK to keep the fry in the breeder tank/net until they are big enough to go into the community tank? Or is it imperative that I get a 5 gallon?
<A 5-gallon tank is too small really for anything much, and I wouldn't waste your money. The price difference between that a 10-gallon tank is minimal. The smaller the tank, the less value for money. Your 10-gallon tank need be only very basic. Glass box, a glass or plastic cover to stop the fish jumping out (get a glass or hardware store to cut you a pane of glass to size if you want -- very cheap), air-powered sponge or box filter, heater, floating plants. That's it. And trust me, you'll see the value, because you'll have dozens of baby fish on the go, and every time you sell them to the pet shop you'll make some money! Baby fish need to be maintained for about 3 months before they are big enough to mix with community fish or sold to pet shops.>
What should my water quality be?
<Perfect; baby fish grow slowly or simply die if the water is poor.>
My water right now is:
Nitrite/Ammonia: Good
PH: 7
Water: Hard
<Try and raise the pH and hardness a bit, e.g., by adding some crushed coral to the filter. DO NOT mess about with "pH up" products!>
I went to a pet store to have my water tested, and this is all the info they gave me. I know that my PH is supposed to be 7 (thank goodness!) I heard, that if I want to raise baby fish, my water should be soft, is this true?
<No; swordtails want water that is hard and basic; ideally pH 7.5, 15+ degrees dH.>
Thanks so much!
-Bekah
<Cheers, Neale.>

Swordtails, repro. mostly  2/25/08
Hello WWM crew:
I really do appreciate your site; it has been invaluable on several occasions.
This time, however, I am truly puzzled. A couple of months ago, I bought four small neon swords (1 male, 3 females) and put them in my FW 20 gal tank. They all appear to be doing well and have grown appreciably. Since then, I have been watching for offspring but haven't seen any.
<Some livebearers are intentionally and not sterilized...>
This may be problematic. Although the tank contains several fair sized plants, a few rocks, and some large driftwood for hiding places, it is also inhabited by 5 green tiger barbs and a 4 inch (or so)
<Mmm, these could be eating the young... as could the Swords themselves>
Pleco. The swords seem to like the barbs; they all swim together in quite a congenial fashion. But you can see that fry may not survive all this activity for long.
Anyway, one of the female swords has had a gravid spot all along and still does. The other two, however, are now both growing gonopodia (or gonopodiums?) of their own - definitely no spot.
So what do I have? Do I have a sterile male? or 3 males, 1 female?
<Looks like at least the latter... Often Swords et al. fishes (e.g. barbs...) are "forced" to change sex phenotypically... usually the other way around (to look like males)... In your case, perhaps these latter day males are simply finally turning into such... Livebearers raised in large system circumstances can grow fast, be larger body-size wise, before developing sexually...>
Do I return this batch to the store - it doesn't seem to be their fault? I realize that they all came from the same batch and so mating them is not advisable but I can't see how this could be a factor in this situation.
<Mmm, could return... Might separate out the one female, raise some young elsewhere...>
Anyway, I hesitate to buy another male - would he be ostracized by the others?
<To some degree, likely so>
I don't particularly want a lot of rivalry in the tank with a lone male - either the current one or the new hanging in a corner somewhere being picked on. Would I be better to add more females and hope that someone can do the necessary as it were?
<Mmm, actually, a 20L is not very large for Xiphophorus...>
Or should I just wait and let these sort themselves out?
<Yes, this is what I'd do here... along with possibly separating the "pregnant" female>
Also would it be better to get a female other than neon - say a marigold? That is, would the offspring (if any ever materialize) be healthier in any way?
<Mmm, possibly... though all "sports" of popular swords are the same species, some heterosis/hybrid vigour, may be had by a bit of out-breeding>
Rosemarie Mart
<Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/swordreprofaqs.htm
for a bit more background. Bob Fenner>

Pregnant swordtail -11/18/07
Last night I noticed my swordtail had had babies. I only found two babies roaming my tank, but its obvious that she is still pregnant. I'm just wondering if they were premature births, and if there are more to come, or any other reason. Thanks
Jeff
<Jeff, this is a case of a little from column A and a little from column B. Livebearers will sometimes release fry a few at a time over several hours or even days. But they can miscarry under some circumstances, and premature fry will have a chance of survival depending on how premature they were. In addition, some of the newborn fish may have been eaten, in which case you won't have seen them. It is quite common for young livebearers to have small broods, the broods increasing in size as the female fish matures. So there's a bunch of things going on. In the meantime, doing all the usual things such as installing lots of floating plants will maximise your chances of rescuing fry. Cheers, Neale.>

Baby swordtails  10/26/07
hi I have two ten gallon tanks and I have had many babies. the fish that had the most babies are my sword tails. I got my two sword tails and the male has been ferry ferry (friendly) to the female. is it possible two have black swordtails that have babies that are a different color?
<Yes. If nothing else, there's no guarantee the black female was fertilised by the black male; she could quite easily have been fertilised by another Swordtail of another colour. On top of that, not all swordtails will "breed true", especially if you bought them from a "pick and mix" batch of Swordtails rather than pure-bred fancy Swordtails guaranteed to breed true.>
she had two batches of babies and is pregnant again. the first time she had I don't know how many babies but I caught six and three are still alive and healthy. those are two months old. they are all alive. now the swordtail had more and there are four. two are black like the others and two are plain and kind of yellowish with no marks.
<OK.>
can you tell me if my swordtail had a different color baby and if her next batch will be different too. Jon
<No idea what your baby Swordtails will turn out to be next time. In theory, livebearers can only store sperm for up to six batches of fry, so after about six to nine months after being purchased your female Swordtail will have used up any sperm acquired by any male other than the ones you have now. So from that point onwards you can expect her to only produce broods by the male in the tank that you have. But genetics being what it is, it is perfectly possible for fish of one colour to carry the genes for two different colours, so there's always a chance you'll get a mish-mash of colours in the offspring. This is why breeding livebearers to a high quality is difficult, and a lot depends on the quality of the fish you start off with. For the best quality stock, you really need to get in with your local aquarium club or national livebearing fish association. Auctions of "virgin" fish are routinely held, and from these fish you can start a proper breeding programme. Cheers, Neale>

Platies and Swordtails changing sex  10/26/07
I love your website. I'm very sorry if this topic is already on your website, I've already looked as much as I possible could. I'm doing a mid-term project in science class. I am going to see if Platies can change gender. I have to look up info to support it. I know that only hermaphrodites can change gender. I also know that it can only happen to females, and that it takes longer for guppies to change sex than platies or swordtails. I'm actually going to do the experiment, how long does it take, approximately, for them to change? Also that there must be all females present, no males. I already own a lot of livebearers, adults and babies, I've had fish my whole life. Can you help me please? Thanks a lot.
<Greetings. Without wanting to do your homework for you, let me save you some effort on one aspect of your project: There is no evidence at all any Xiphophorus species change sex. As your literature review should reveal, while it has been mentioned in the aquarium literature many times, it has never been observed under laboratory conditions. It is widely believed to be a myth, with aquarists having misidentified a slow-developing male as a female. Sex changes in fish tend to confined to marine Perciform groups. The classic examples are among the Wrasses, which typically start off as females, but the largest ones become males. This is called Protogyny ("female first"). Protoandry, where all individuals start off as females, is not so common, but one well-known example is the Anemonefish, where the largest member of a colony becomes the female. Cheers, Neale>

Pregnant or not... Xiphophorus...  - 09/24/07
I have spent approximately 6 hours searching your website for an answer to my question/problem so as not to be redundant to what has already been stated/asked.
<Wow! Six hours...>
I feel confidant enough to now e-mail you with my question without being a bother. I have a new tank that I completed the nitrogen cycle and aged for 6 weeks per all gathered information before adding the "sacrifice" (my term) fish to help get all conditions ideal. They all have survived (3 mollies) and are still very happy.
<Hmm... how did you cycle the tank for the first 6 weeks? Did you add an inorganic source of ammonia? Simply waiting 6 weeks without adding either fish or ammonia won't cycle a tank.>
I waited another 2 weeks to add plants. Another 2 weeks to add my 4 red velvet swordtail (1M 3F). They have been settled in their new home now 5 to 6 weeks. I test 2 or more times a weeks currently but during the nitrogen cycling I tested daily. Rather than including all my numbers from the beginning I will just state all readings have been within the norm for my swords and tank conditions per all published data.
<Ah, the numbers *do* matter. You see, a lot of aquarists misunderstand what "the norm" means. The goal with swordtails and mollies are as follows: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, <50 mg/l nitrate, pH 7.5-8.0, hardness at least 10 degrees GH and ideally 15-20 degrees GH.>
My test kit is the largest one, testing the 8 mentioned (in all I have read about) conditions. My water stays at 72 degrees F with out a heater though I do have one.
<A bit too cold. The normal temperature for these fish is around 25C/77F. Lower temperatures increase the likelihood of health problems.>
One sword looked as though she would pop any day when I got her. Now 1 more female looks the same. The third one still slender. The male just this week started being amorous so I guess is now of age.
<All sounds normal. Gestation is temperature dependent, so if your fish are being kept at too-cold a temperature, they may take a long time to produce viable broods of fry.>
My swords are red velvet and very deep red in color. I really hunted until I found the "old timey" ones and not the faded out ones (orange) you mainly see today. I was told they were wild caught and not from breeder tanks where the genes they pick up from inbreeding reduce their pure color-how true this is I don't know, but I do know these 4 look like the red velvets I had years ago.
<Unlikely "wild caught" -- wild Swordtails are green with orange/yellow/blue longitudinal bands, nor bright red.>
Neither of the "pregnant" females have the "gravid" spot.
<Not visible on Swordtails, especially not brightly coloured ones. The gravid spot really only applies to small livebearers -- guppies, Gambusia, etc.>
Since the first one looked ready to deliver upon arrival and the second one now looks like the first one when she first came home, are my girls just extremely fat or could some conditions just be extending the pregnancy (don't know if that is possible, but knowing they can change sex and choose when to be pregnant with one sperm donation I question gestation length).
<Sex change in Swordtails has not been proven scientifically (if I recall correctly). If it happens at all, it is incredibly rare.>
Could their deep color be 'hiding' the normally obvious gravid spot (more familiar with what guppies look like).
<Yes, plus thicker muscles around the abdomen.>
When they are in the light just right you can slightly see through them enough to distinguish what I assume in the solid internal organ area, but just barely. Is there always an obvious gravid spot in swords, or could their deep color mask the obvious? I am a bit OCD which probably is obvious and I am ready for babies-why are the two "pregnant" ones not delivering, or at least showing the gravid spot.
<When they're ready, the babies will come. In the meantime, make sure you've thickly planted with floating plants such as hornwort. Otherwise the babies will be eaten minutes after they're delivered. Under no circumstances place a female in a "breeding trap".>
(PS my tank is a 35gal standard hex moderately to heavy planted-subjective-they diet on bloodworms, algae tabs, Tetra color flakes, High vitamin flakes, Tubifex worms, fresh orange, and peas.
<All sounds fine. Do consider switching out some of the "designer flake food" for algae-based flake. That's what livebearers really want. Keeps them very healthy.>
I rotate the flakes every other day on one feeding and then rotate the other foods on the second feeding. All food is gone with-in 90 seconds except the algae tab which takes up to 30 min. and the same goes for the Tubifex cube.) Long letter to just ask a few questions, but did not wish to forget giving any information that could help coming to the proper answers. Thank you so very much for your time. Victoria
<Hope this helps. Good luck, Neale>

Swordtail repro.   9/23/07
Hello Crew,
I've looked through the website, and I don't think you have anything that pertains directly to my question, so here goes.
I have six 6-week old swordtail fry. All of them seem to be doing well in that they are eating and swimming around and enthusiastically responsive to the lid coming open for feeding time. They are kept in a 10 gallon tank, temp around 78 (the thermometer is sadly not adjustable). I feed them three times a day with fry food and keep an eye on them to be sure everyone is getting their share.
I interchange Wardley Essentials Small Fry Liquid Food and Hikari Tropics First Bites, to try to be sure nutritional bases are covered. The Wardley food is min. 6% crude protein, min. fat 3.5%, fiber max 0.4%. The First Bites is min protein 48%, min. fat 3.0%, max fiber 2.0%. I only just noticed the difference in protein levels. Is one or the other preferable?
Among the six, only one fry seems to be having trouble. It and another fry were the two smallest, approximately the same size, but whereas the other fry has doubled in size recently, the smallest fry has not. I removed all six from the tank today to scrub out some algae that was getting a little out of control, and to exchange their small shelter plant for a bigger one to better accommodate them. (I realize removing them from the tank might cause undue stress, but I've learned I'm guaranteed a freak out if I try to stick my big hand into their quiet little paradise and it didn't seem fair with all that I was planning to do.) This is the first chance I've gotten to look at all of them in a small, confined space. The smallest fish has a strange crook. At first I though it was a lump, but the axis of the fish seems to literally bulge to one side before continuing in the usual linear pattern. Other than this deformity and the small size, this fry seems to be doing well: swimming motions aren't affected and it continues to dart in for food among it's siblings (now 2-3x as big).
Is there anything I can do? Potentially a nutritional deficiency? Or a congenital problem?
Any help would be greatly appreciated! :)
Lauren
<Hello Lauren. Rearing livebearer fry is generally problem-free, provided you "go by the numbers". The main things are these: Firstly, they need 4-6 meals per day for optimal growth. Flake food is fine, but I recommend algae-based ones as far as possible. Hikari First Bites is an excellent food to begin with, but after a week or so you should move onto crushed Spirulina flake or similar. After about a month or so you can scale this back to 3-4 meals per day, and then down to just two once they reach 15 mm or so in length. "Meals" can include live algae, so dumping a green algae-covered stone from a clean pond might well last them all day. In other words, "scrubbing out the algae" is insane -- your livebearers need this stuff for good health, so leave it in the tank! Blue-green algae they won't eat of course, but the other kinds are valuable sources of nutrients. Secondly, water changes need to be frequent, because the build-up of dissolved metabolites reduces growth rate and promotes poor health. At least for the first four critical weeks, 10-25% water changes daily are a good idea. I find placing an old ice cream carton by the rearing tank works well. Every time I'm in the kitchen (where the tank is kept) I slurp out one litre of old water and pour in one litre of new water. Zero effort, and it helps to keep things sweet in the tank. Thirdly, livebearer fry need shade. Floating plants are idea, but even a bit of polystyrene cup will work fine. The shade gives them somewhere to hide and rest from the heat produced by the lights. In open tanks, the instinct of livebearer fry to swim to the top of the tank causes them to bake under strong lights. So shade helps. Finally, water chemistry is important. Livebearers almost all do best in hard, alkaline water. You're looking for 10+ degrees KH, 15+ degrees GH, and pH 7.5-8.0 for best results. Malformed fry can happen (do happen) in fish broods quite commonly, but background problems, like water chemistry make them more common. Under normal circumstances, they shouldn't account for more than 1 in 20 or 1 in 30 fry. Hope this helps, Neale>

Swordtail Fry with Ich. HELP!!!  9/3/07
Hi,
recently I purchased a trio of Swordtails from Petco (bad idea I know... but they were on sale for a buck each, I couldn't resist!) anyway I put them into a 10 gallon QT, after the second day the females started showing signs of Ich, I dosed the QT with an herbal anti-ich medication
<These don't work...>
I have had success with in the past, and performed 50% water changes every other day for 4 days. after the 5th day of treatment I noticed a few little orange specs hiding around the heater, it seems one of the females had given me about a half dozen babies. I immediately added some java moss from the display tank to the QT for the babies to hide in, and after two more days the parents were showing no more signs of ich, so I moved them to the display tank, I didn't want the babies to become snacks after all... anyway the fry seemed to get all the food they needed out of the java moss for the first few days, after which they started taking Hikari micro pellets, they have been eating well and growing fast for about 10 days now, but two days ago I noticed some signs of Ich of three of them, two had just one spot each, but one (the smallest, and the one with the least color) has at least 6 spots, I stopped adding the ich medication in with the water changes after I removed the parents. I have been slowly bumping the temperature up for the last 3 days, it is at 84 now,
<Good technique>
and the fry all seem to be hanging out within a few inches of the heater, although the increased heat doesn't seem to have done anything except stop the ich from spreading further. are the fry too young to put in water dosed with ich medication?
<Mmm, depends on the make-up of such... I would use only half doses of anything with metal or Malachite Green content... and raise the temp. up to 86 F>
what can I do to make sure I don't lose my babies???
Thanks.
~Bryan
<And you have read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwich.htm
and the linked files above? And the FAQs on Swordtail Disease?
Bob Fenner>

Re: swordtail fish... Fry   7/27/07
Hi Neale: Good morning. sorry to bother you, I would like to now if I can put the fries that are about 2 weeks old in the 10g tank with 1 Gourami, 1 Plecostomus (don't' know his name in English) 2 angels 3 guppies. The fries are in a small 1.5g bowl with some live plants in and there's about 15 of them. also my husband turn off the air pump at night and I don't know if the Plecos can live with the air from the plants. have a nice day. Mely
<Hello again Melida. No, your plan will not work. Angelfish in particular eat livebearer fry. Angelfish can eat any fish the size of a Neon Tetra or smaller -- so only add the baby swordtails once they are that size. This will likely be a couple of months, at least. Plecostomus catfish are usually fine with livebearer fry though, and guppies should ignore fry more than a few weeks old. You can switch an air pump off safely PROVIDED it is not powering the filter. Aquarium filters must run 24 hours a day. If all the air pump does is make bubbles in the water, then this is not so critical. What matters is that the water is [a] filtered and [b] circulating properly so oxygen is distributed around the tank. Hope this helps, Neale.>
 

Sexing swordtails 6/6/07
I have about 30 or so swordtails that are about 5 months old. None of them have showed signs of male/female.
<You don't sex swordtails by their tails. Look at the anal fins: the females will have triangular anal fins (like those of other fish) but the males will have crooked anal fins. As a general rule, male fish tend to grow more quickly than female fish, so often the bigger ones will be the males, but this is a rough thing and not very accurate. At 5 months old they will be approaching sexual maturity, so unless you want inbreeding (and you don't) you should separate the sexes soon/now.>
How long will it be until I can tell the difference/see the sword?
<Right away. Do what I told you.>
THX.
<Sigh... another person using "Text-speak". Is real English too much to hope for any more? Cheers, Neale> <<Heeeee... yet another lesson in "tolerance". RMF>>

Swordtail/Xiphophorus repro. – 04/22/07
hi there, thanks for taking the time to read this I have got a swordtail female. She is a lot larger than the other two I have, what is the best way to tell if  she is pregnant? if you could help me that would be great
<Short answer: has she ever been with a male swordtail? If the answer is yes, chances are she is already pregnant. Something called the "gravid spot" is often mentioned by livebearer breeders. This is the darkly pigmented peritoneum around the developing fry being pushed against the body wall. It is visible around the back half of the abdomen. In swordtails though, this isn't easy to see compared with, say, guppies, because swordtails are larger, more muscled, and have stronger colours.>
cheers. john
<Cheers, Neale>

Swordtail pregnancy, no useful data  4/17/04
In late February I bought 2 pineapple swordtails, one make and one female. I have them in a 10 gallon tank along with 5 other smaller fish. When I first bought the fish the female was the same size as the male, but in the beginning of march she started getting really fat and I assume she is pregnant.
<Likely so>
Last night I opened the top of the tank to feed the fish and my female kept swimming to the corners of the tank and trying to jump out. I put her in the breeding net for a couple hours but she seemed to be stressed so I let her out. I cant see any eyes or anything, but that may be because she moves too much for me to get a good look. How can I tell if she is going to give birth soon? Her eating habits are still normal from what I can see.
<Mmm... what is your water quality like? Tests for? Particularly nitrogenous compounds? What re foods, feeding, maintenance? Have you read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/swordreprofaqs.htm
and the linked files above? Bob Fenner>

Swordtail repro., systems   1/11/07
I have a question about my 55 gallon FW with Live plants tank.  The tank has been cycled over 3 months using BIO-Spira, and currently have 2 Swordtail females, 2 Female Platies/1 male, 5 Corys and a Pleco.  Water is Ammonia-0, Nitrite-0, Nitrate 25-30ppm,
<Mmm... do look into keeping NO3 under 20ppm... Read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwnitrates.htm
and the linked files above>
PH 8.0.
<A bit high... could be dangerous in the event of a nitrogenous anomaly>
Anyway to make a long story short, I bought the 2 swordtail females with one being very pregnant, and the other not so.  The very pregnant one still looks the same after a little over 3 months,
<Mmm, not pregnancy... "just" fat>
however, the other is about the same size pregnant now and I found one baby about a week ago, but shouldn't there be more?
<Mmm, yes... Xiphophorus give birth over day's time usually, but it may be that either the other young were consumed... or are hiding effectively from you>
I'm just wondering if she has some kind of problem with the babies in her, or maybe they aren't developing correctly?
<Yes, this is a possibility as well>
Anyway I haven't had any losses just wondering if I should try something, as I have a 10g Nursery.  Also two of the Corys are looking pale, and wondering if they like a different PH than 8.0+.   Thanks
<Not good to move livebearers when they're close to parturition... and the pH... might be adjusted... via water used/stored for changes... Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwph,alk.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Swordtail Mating Conditions  12/13/06
Dear Crew,
<Koda>
I was wondering the ideal conditions for swordtail breeding, I had a male and 2 females, but the male died of starvation/stress (he never ate, always chasing the females).  Ever since, my larger female grew a sword and today, she has started to try to mate with my smaller female,
<Mmm... Xiphophorus can indeed change sex... phenotypically as well as functionally>
who refuses to mate, constantly swimming rapidly in circles around the two fake plants, and I need to know how to get the two to breed, or how else to have fry in my tank. In case this helps, it is a 10 gallon with 1 blue Gourami, 2 dwarf gourami's and 1 sucker fish( I think it's called a Poeciliid).
<Mmm, not this last... is a family of Live-bearing toothed carps... Part of your trouble here is the size of the system... Swordtails can get quite large, need room... It may well be that there is also some negative interaction going on with the Blue Gourami... If you wish to breed Swordtails, I'd get/use a twenty or more gallon system, use multiple males, with a greater number of females, assure that your water is moderately hard, alkaline and not too warm, do regular, weekly water changes, provide sufficient fresh meaty food content in their diet... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/swordreprofaqs.htm
and the files linked at top.>
Thank you for your time.
D. Throne
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Pregnant swordtail - where to give birth, raise fry, etc.   11/30/06
Okay thx. I have a 5 1/2 gallon I'm keeping my babies in right now...if I put the red platy in there to have the babies is that good? And if it is, where should I put the rest of my other babies that are in there now? Because she would just eat them when she's just pregnant and not having them yet. Just get a smaller tank for the rest of the fry that I already have? Would a
divider work? Or do they not make any for 5 1/2 gallons? And I'm only 13 years old, so sorry if I'm asking too many questions.
<Hello Sean, you've got Jorie this time. I've read this thread from the beginning, so I think I'm up to speed. In any case, I've been keeping livebearers for several years now, and have never seen the mom eat her own fry (or any livebearers eat their own kind, for that matter). I do know that it can happen, but in my personal experience, it isn't that common.  I use a 5 gal. tank to allow the mom to give birth, then grow out my fry for a couple of months; then, they usually get moved to a 10 for several more months.  All of this is assuming I plan to keep the fry in question - you'll soon find out that livebearers are almost *always* having babies (gestation period between 4-6 weeks), and you'll quickly run out of room for the newbies!  Otherwise, I simply allow the births to happen in the community tanks I've got - sometimes, provided with adequate cover (plants, decor, etc.) a couple will make it past the boesemanni rainbows in my FW tank, and the knight goby in my 29 gal. BW.
I'm not a fan of breeding/birthing boxes, as Bob mentioned below, these can tend to stress the fish, and that's the last thing you want to do to a pregnant mom.  Best to leave well enough alone and allow nature to take its course.  Have plenty of cover (decorations, plants, etc.) for the fry to hide in, and you'll see "survival of the fittest" in action.  Believe it or not, I have one 2-3 molly juvie who was born in a 10 gal. QT with a knight goby (huge mouth!) along with his brothers and sisters; the goby ate all except this one.
In any case, unless you want to set up an elaborate breeding setup (birthing tank, grow out tank, main tank(s) for when the time comes), I'd suggest allowing the pregnant platy to have her fry in the 5.5 gal.  Of course, I make no promises, but as I said, I've never seen a female livebearer eat fry of her own kind.
Best of luck, Jorie
P.S. When you send us e-mails, could you please use proper capitalization and punctuation - I know it's the "trend" to use e-speak, but since we post our replies for all to see, someone on this end has to re-type, correct the original e-mails when they arrive in that form. Thanks!>

Swordtail pregnancy PART 2  06/14/2006
Hi Jorie
<Well hello again!>
I have a 30 gallon tank, It's a community tank with 2 Colombian sharks, 6 Danios, 2 swordtails, 1 red tail shark, 1rainbowshark, 1algea eater.
<Well, the Columbian sharks can reach an adult length of up to two feet, so I hope you've got a large aquarium to move them to! Also, it is my understanding these fish are freshwater when juvies, but are truly brackish when mature.  With regards to the other "sharks", it is my understanding that the common names "redtail" and "rainbow" both refer to the same fish, Epalzeorhynchos frenatum.  I would recommend that you don't keep two in the same tank, as they can show aggression towards conspecifics.  Depending upon what type of danios you have, I'd say find a more suitable home for the Columbian sharks, ditch one of the redtail/rainbows, and add some more swordtails, to increase the amount of females to male.  If you've just got the one boy and one girl, she's apt to be picked on a fair amount.  Usually with livebearers, space permitting, you want to keep a 1:4 male:female ratio or so.>  
I vacuumed my tank every 2 weeks and add water and aquarium salt - my water is always crystal clear.
<What about water changes? You should be doing a weekly 50% change or so, as you are pretty fully stocked...>
My female sword tail is in a 2 gallon tank recuperating from the pregnancy.
<Got it.  She should be just fine swimming around the 2 gal. for a while.  Give her a week or so to rest up and recuperate.>
After I put the female back in the main tank can the fry go in the 2 gallon tank or how long can they be kept in the breeder.
<You can release the fry into the 2 gal. as soon as you like - in fact, I have never personally witnessed a livebearer eat her own fry, though I've read it can happen.  Seems as though you are planning on keeping the little ones...how many do you have?  Once you are able to sex them, you can use the bigger ones to add more females to your main tank, as mentioned above!  With livebearers, you won't believe how often they reproduce - at some point, you'll be swimming in swordtails (pun intended!)  Once that becomes the case, you can always just allow the females to give birth in the main tank, and I'm sure your larger fish would be very grateful for the live food source...>
If you would like to see a picture of my tank just ask and I'll send you one.
<I always like seeing others' tanks - send away!>
P.S    Do you have a personal e-mail <address> so when I send something it reaches you?
<I do have a personal e-mail, but you'll forgive me if I don't want it to become inundated with fish queries.  You can always reach me here, and if you want to make it extra-easy for folks I share this in-box with to identify, you can just put "Attn: Jorie" in the subject line, or something similar.  Take care, Jorie>

Swordtail Delivery Duration  - 06/07/06
Hi All!
What a great site with helpful and insightful information!
<Thanks>
I have searched your site (and a whole lot of others!) and can not find an answer to the following question.
How long is the duration of fry delivery for swordtails? Or asked another way; what is the expected time between the births of the first fry until I should expect the last?
<A few hours to a day or so>
I have a female swordtail in a separate 5 gallon tank (bought specifically for this purpose) that has given birth, however, I can only find 2 fry in the plants and her gravid spot is still clearly dark.
<Mmm, might be a "small batch"... or could be hiding still... or eaten>
I noticed the first fry last night and decided to wait until this morning to move her back to my main tank. However, when I checked this morning, nothing had changed. There were still only 2 (findable) fry, and her gravid spot still appears dark.
<Sometimes the vent area does continue to look thus for a while>
As a side note, I have a guppy that gave birth to 13 fry about three weeks ago in a breeder box in my main tank (29 gallon). All 13 are healthy and growing rapidly. I am hoping to move the female swordtail from the 5 gallon back to my main tank, and then move the 13 guppy fry into the 5 gallon with the new swordtail fry. They are all small enough that they can't eat each other, and this would be a safe place for them until they get big enough for some to be introduced back to the main tank and the remainder sold to my LFS
( I checked this with my LFS first!).
<All good>
Figuring between 21 and 28 days gestation, the guppy is due again between June 8th and 15th and I need the breeder box! :)
Tank Stats for both tanks are: Nitrite = 0, Ammonia = 0, Nitrate = 5-10 ppm, PH = 7.2, and Temp = 78 deg. f
Thanks for any help you can provide, and thank you for such an informative site.
Dan
St. Charles, Illinois
<Feed frequently, small amounts, be diligent re regular water changes (even daily) and your young livebearers should grow quickly. Bob Fenner>

Swordless Swordtail  - 5/7/2006
Hello, well I got 2 swordtails 2 days ago and 1 is fat and 1 is thin. I think I have 1 male and 1 female, but the male doesn't have a sword yet. Is it a male? If so when will he get his sword? Many Thanks Stu
< In a dealers tank only one male swordtail will have a really long sword. They may be very short or entirely missing on the rest. When the dominant  male swordtail is taken out another one becomes dominant and his tail begins to grow large. Look at the anal fin to be sure. The male's anal fin has been modified into a tube to penetrate the female.-Chuck>

Swordtail labor  - 04/19/06
I have a female swordtail, whitish in color, I believe it is a neon swordtail.  This morning I noticed a baby in the tank, we put her and the  baby in the
"V" shaped breeding trap.  I was wondering how long will she be  in labor,
<Likely less than a day total>
I don't know if she has already had all the babies and this is the  only one that survived, or if she is still going to have more.  She does  still appear to
be breathing rapidly.  How quickly do they eat the  fry, how many at a time will they eat, etc.?
<Can eat all in a short while, or none at all... or in-between>
We are new to fish parents  having only had our tank about a month.  Thanks for the help!   
Dana
<Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/swordreprofaqs.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Pregnant swordtail not eating   2/22/06
Hello,
<Hi there>  
  Could you tell me if it is normal for a pregnant marigold swordtail to not be eating?
<Often do stop feeding...>
She was eating voraciously and then 2 days ago she started hiding from the other fish. Today she is hovering near the top 1/4 of the 55 gallon and has not eaten today or yesterday. It appears her pregnancy is in the final stages, so I expect them to drop within the day. Is this behavior or normal in her current state?
  Thank you!
<Is not atypical. Not to worry. Bob Fenner>
Judy Stout

Swordtails Without the Sword  2/18/06
I have 3 female high fin Swordtails, recently purchased. One of them seems to be a bit more aggressive, and it looks like she has some extra
equipment on the under side (similar to my male Molly but not that developed), but she doesn't have the long sword tail that I associate
with this breed. I've read arguments either way saying the Swordtails will change gender in the absence of a male, but I wasn't sure if this
was what was happening. Please don't post my email address on the website. Also, if possible could you respond via email? I don't always have access to the external
internet to view the site but my email should work. Zach
< Not all male swordtails develop long tails. Sometimes it is in the genes or may have been bitten and fungused off.-Chuck>

Dying Sword Fry
(Sorry if I just sent you the beginning of an email. I had an 18 month old helping...lol.) OK, lets try this again. I have 1 male and 1 female red velvet swordtails. (along with mollies, platies, barbs, killies, danios and 1 albino rainbow shark) I've had the tank (33g) up and running for about 3 months. The female swordtail had babies about 3 weeks after we got the pair. I separated the mom after seeing her give birth to a few fry. She had 6 more in the v-breeder (one of which she ate before it dropped to safety). That left us with 5 adorable little ones. Anyway, They were all fine for a few weeks in the v-breeder. Mom had been moved back to the community and the (v) had been removed from the breeder. I didn't feel there was enough water flow in the breeder so I purchased a net breeder and placed the fry in that. After about 2/3 weeks 2 fry died within a couple days of each other. They were approx. 5-6 weeks old at the time and seemed happy and healthy. Then everything seemed fine
for a couple of weeks. As of last week, at approx 8/9 weeks of age, I've lost 2 more a day apart from each other. I'm left with one lonely little baby. What could be going on?
<Perhaps "just" weak young... the first few batches often have trouble>
I'm feeding finely ground flakes. I don't want my last one to die but I don't know what happened to the others. I also have found stray fry swimming around my tank and have put them in other breeders and don't want them to meet the same fate. They aren't swordtails though. They seem to be 4 platies and 1 Dalmatian molly. Can you help save my babies? Thanks so much! Kristy
<Be careful re moving too-pregnant females... do make just small (ten percent or so) water changes in the fry tank... and keep otherwise doing what you are and you'll be fine. Bob Fenner>

Swordtails - 11/04/2005
First of all I would like to thank you for all the information that you have provided.
<And thank you for the thanks!>
My first question is, how can you tell what kind of swordtail? 
<Umm, as in, what species? Or what "color"? There are a number of different species.... Xiphophorus helleri is the one most common in the hobby, and is available in many different colors.>
And does it matter for mating purposes? 
<Mm, most/all the species can hybridize (though I don't recommend it), but of X. helleri, breeding different color fish is no problem at all.>
I have a male that has a green line on his side that extends into the sword on his tail. He has been in my tank for 3 weeks now. The 2 females I purchased at the same time have both died. One died within a week (about 3 days), which the store replaced free of charge, a week later the replacement died. 2 weeks after the original purchase the second original female died. I have a 10 gallon tank, which I cycled using ammonia, my ammonia and nitrite levels are 0. I have to purchase a nitrate test kit, but am assuming that the levels cannot be too high, as my male and about 15 babies (which I presume are from the longer lived original female) and my flying fox are all fine. Two days ago I purchased 2 new females (my male was looking very glum and not eating, he had been alone for 4 days). One of those died overnight, and I have my free replacement. I have a completely orange female and a white female with black fins (this is the replacement and she is missing a huge piece of her tail fin, like something took a bite from her).
<Again, color is irrelevant; they will likely breed. I would be concerned about the damage on the tail of the new female, however.>
My second question is: Is it normal to lose so many fish? 
<Normal? No. I would urge you to have caution in selecting new or replacement fish; please read here for more about health in fish: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwdis3setsfactors.htm. Selecting healthy fish to begin with is of great importance.>
I always hear people say they know nothing about fish, and their tank has been going for 4 years! I just seem to kill them off. 
<There are always reasons.... the initial health of the fish you select, the "health" of your system (water quality, etc.).... Fish, like other organisms, don't "just die".... It's all a matter of isolating the cause and fixing it. In your case, as I said, I suspect the initial health of these fish was questionable to begin with. You might want to consider getting/using a quarantine system for new livestock.>
I live in the country, about half an hour from the pet store, and wonder if it is too much stress for them. 
<Mm, no.... Fish can and do go several hours bagged at times.... keeping the amount of time from the store to home at a minimum is a good idea, though, and never leave them in a car where they might heat or chill.... basically, do your errands first, go to the fish store as the last stop on the way home - you should be fine.>
My third question is: When I got the replacement for the first female that died, the male showed absolutely no interest in her, even though the other female was obviously pregnant (she had the black spot, which disappeared after the babies appeared). Could the male have exhausted that second female, because he sensed that the replacement female was not well? She never did much and her dorsal fin was always clamped close to her back.
<Again.... I really suspect poor health in these fish to begin with.>
My fourth question: When should I give up,
<?? Only you can decide this.>
what if my females die again? 
<Find out why. Select only the most active, healthy fish you can find. Never purchase fish from a tank with others that are obviously ill.>
How long do I persevere? 
<Uhh, again, the ball's in your court on this.>
I reason that if the babies are surviving and growing that my water must be OK, so the problem is the fish.
<I agree, to an extent.>
One final note, the lady at Wal-mart...
<Oh. Uh. Not to be disparaging of any store or enterprise, but I, personally, would not purchase fish from a department store.... find a fish store that is dedicated mostly or only to fish; you wouldn't buy bread from an oil refinery, would you?>
...recommended that I use QuICK cure to treat all the fish when I added these new females, just in case the other females were sick. 
<I would not. Medicating without knowing specifically what, if anything, you're treating is one of the many routes to disaster....>
I have done that 1 day now. The instructions do not say how long to use it, what do you recommend?
<I would stop using this now, unless you really have reason to believe these fish have a communicable parasite.>
Sorry this is so long. 
<No worries.>
I am grateful for any help, this is my second attempt at a fish tank. The initial attempt was with goldfish, I managed to kill 8 goldfish and 1 pleco that time! 
<Goldfish are much more demanding of space than most folks realize.... Much is archived on our site, in articles and FAQs, about proper care of goldfish - do please take a look if you're interested.>
I was completely unaware of test kits and cycling, etc. So I was somewhat shocked when I started killing fish again after all my attempts to do things properly this time! 
<Begin reading, learning about fish health. You'll do fine, no worries.>
Thank you, -Olivia
<Wishing you well, -Sabrina>

Question on Swordtails... breeding mostly  1/4/06
Hi, I have had my tank set up for about 6  months now, In the beginning we
had 3 swordtails, 2 females, (we thought),
<Mmm, these can "change" sex>
and 1  male... the male died about a week after we got him, and then a month or so later  the smaller of the two
females developed the swordtail of a male and the  modified anal fin.... my female
swordtail is a lot bigger then my male, but in all  the months they have been in the tank, they have not bred ever...
<Where are the spaces between your sentences?>
as I watch  the male chases the female, but she always gets away from him...could this be a  false male??
<Yes, possibly>
or is it part of the mating ritual??...and what can I do to help  them breed...
<Mmm, get another "certain" male... with a gonopodium>
Also I have a Balloon Molly who had babies recently, we noticed the  yellow/ black
spotted babies swimming around on Christmas eve... how long before  we start seeing
more baby mollies swimming around??
<A couple of months>
also, there are 12 baby  mollies along with 3 adult fish in a twenty gallon tank, i know this is going to  be over
crowded really soon, what size tank should i get to raise the fry  in??...thank you, Stacy
<The bigger the better... maybe keep an eye out for "used tanks" in the papers, ads... as you will need/want a few tanks if you intend to raise, possibly sell the young. Please use your grammar, spellcheckers before sending out email... Ignorance is not bliss, and neither of us wants to look ignorant. Bob Fenner>

Swordtail Repro. mostly  1/10/06
Question 1:  My daughter has 1 male swordtail and three females ( just got them) in a 10g tank.
    Today she thinks the females belly is slightly swollen ( not sure) .  How long is the cycle before they have babies..
<Most... every six to eight weeks>
appx. 24 hrs. having fish in tank my daughter put the suspected female in a breeder pin. Please give  your opinion on this?
   <Is a good idea>
  Question  2:  Can you tell us for a ten gallon tank what water test we should do and levels...
<... is posted on WWM... can be a rather large topic. Once the system is biologically cycled, testing pH, nitrate occasionally... along with regular/frequent partial water changes is about all that is suggested>
my  wife said the pet store did about 5 and  she didn't ask them what they where but they said the levels where good.
<They likely included ammonia, nitrite and alkalinity>
    We are using tap water that is going through a water softener and a tap water purifier.   Also we use a tank conditioner solution and a Bacteria solution to stabilize the water..  and adjusted the temp around 76-78 degrees.   Also by the stores recommendation we increase the 10g tank water fall pump too 20g pump and also complemented it with an undergravel filter system    Thanks ..
<Please see WWM re these general issues... and please use your spelling and grammar checkers... Bob Fenner>

Swordtail and her babies
<Ananda here answering the freshwater fish questions today...>
Hello I have a green sword tail who just delivered babies I am not sure if she is done but babies and mother are doing well I have them in a separate small tank. My question is how long should I keep the mother in the tank with them. I do have breeding grass in the tank and she doesn't seem to be going after them. But I would like to put her back with the other fish. Any help would be appreciated.
Thank You, Marlin
<I like to keep the new mothers away from the rest of the fish for a little while. You've done that, so she could go back in the main tank any time. --Ananda>

Pregnant Swordfish
I have 2 female and 1 male swordfishes. Both of my females are pregnant. One of my female swordtails are almost due to have her babies (maybe in a couple of days). I was just wondering, is there anyway I can make her deliver the fry any earlier without a problem.
<Not really, you should let nature take its course here.>
My water temperature is about 80 F and 27 C. My PH level is about 7.6.And one more question: all of them has Ich (I've been treating it for two days now) will that stop my pregnant female from having her babies sooner?                                   
<The Ich is my main concern here, if cured the platies will spawn again in the future, if not cured they will die.  Ich is usually brought on by environmental stressors, temperature changes, poor water quality, poor diet, etc.  I would focus on getting rid of the Ich, and trying to identify anything that may have caused the outbreak.  Please read the article at the link below.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/AqBizSubWebIndex/fishdisho.htm
Thanks. Please reply soon as possible because I am going out of town.
<Best of luck, and have a safe trip. -Gage>

My female swordtail, Baby Story?
I had a question about my female swordtail. The guy at the store said she was def. pregnant well I put her in a separate tank, from the others now all she does is lie on the bottom like she is dead. I have tried poking her to make her move but she just lays there she is very fat and has the black spot like she is pregnant can you help me out or not? Thank you, Kerri
<Well, Kerri- It is normal for a fish in late pregnancy to have some difficulty in moving. However, if she is not moving at all, it can be a bad sign. Ask yourself a few questions. First, is she breathing rapidly? Does she have any outward signs of disease? Scales standing out, obvious marks on her body, etc? How are the water conditions in the 'maternity ward?" If they are dramatically different than your main tank, this could be a form of shock. How long has she been immobile? 
Don't panic, but ask yourself these questions, and be prepared to take action if needed, such as water changes. Keep an eye on her. Hopefully, by the time you get this, she'll be a new mom! Let us know if you have any more problems. Hang in there! Scott F.>

Pineapple swordtail
I just bought a pineapple swordtail fish and her belly is large and we can see what we think is eyes or little black dots.  We have her in a breeding tank right now and we are wondering how long it usually takes for them to have their babies.  We also have another female that we believe is pregnant and we don't really know if she is or not her belly is large but it is black.  If you can answer these two questions ASAP that would be great thanks.
<Both of them are probably pregnant. The gestation period should be about 30 days. You're welcome! Ronni>

To Breed or Not to Breed
Hello there.
<Hey>
I have 2 female and 1 male swords. My question is do I need the male?
<Not really.>
Both females have already had fry and I'm not in any hurry to have anymore. I only have a 20 gallon and 40 babies. Way too many  for me to take proper care of. I'm a beginner. Thank you.
<Your local fish store will probably take the extra babies off your hands.  If you do not want more babies I would separate the males and the females, babies too, they will not take long to grow up.  -Gage>

Swordtail Breeding
>Hi, if I put a pregnant swordtail in a ten gallon breeding tank just like normal with only rocks in the bottom and the filter and heater, could you walk me through her having the babies what kind of plants I will need or peat moss like we talked earlier about and if I need a breeding net or a tank divider and everything else I should know? thank you sooooo much!
>>Sure, Loyd, I'll do my best, although you'll soon discover that these things are far too much like rabbits and lemmings in their breeding propensities!  Set up the little tank, you can use the plastic grass as I've mentioned to let the babies hide, or you can get a special container with a v-shaped bottom that lets the babies drop to the bottom and out of mother's reach.  Filtration is best kept at its simplest, I like a basic old-fashioned air-driven sponge filter.  Set it up in the main tank first so it becomes inhabited with nitrifying bacteria, and once it's really going it can also provide food to the babies.  They can also be fed a special "fish baby food" that you can find at most shops quite easily, or you can finely grind regular flake food.  Be careful to cull, or you'll end up with FAR more than you'll know what to do with!  Have fun!  Marina

Deformed Swordtail Fry (12/21/2003)
Dear crew,
My female swordtail gave birth in a breeding trap but some of them got out and eaten. Now I have 7 left. 3 of them are swimming normally but the other 4 have crooked backs (crooked in the shapes of 'L', 'S' and 'Z') but are still alive. They swim on their heads spirally. I've waited for them to hopefully change since 10.30am until now (5.30pm) but they're still crooked. Is it a deformity?
<Sure sounds like a birth defect to me. My LFS recently told me that the quality of FW livebearers seems to be going down due to diminished genetic diversity. More defects. I've heard/read the same about angels. Some livebearers are even intentionally bred for abnormal shapes (bulging bellies & bent spines. I've seen these at Petco. IMO it's wrong to deliberately breed fish to have these abnormal, often disabling shapes.>
Will they live? <Hard to say. Their deformities are obviously making it hard for them to get around. Yet if they can manage to eat, they may live/thrive. Let us know how it goes.>
Please e-mail me an answer at XXXX@XXXXXXXX Thank you so much.
<Hope this helps, Steve Allen>

Swordtail Abortion
A Big hello from Australia to everyone...
And thank you for taking the time to read this.
I have been reading your site and searching for a reason as to why my
pregnant Lyretail Swordtail aborted her pregnancy 2 days after being put in
the breeding trap.  We have a breeding trap designed to hold 2 females about
6" long and into this 2 days ago we put the two pregnant Swordtails, 1
pineapple and one Lyretail.  We come home today to find the female Lyretail a
lot thinner and about 50 eggs on the bottom of the breeding trap with 1 live
healthy baby and 1 not so healthy looking baby, which still has the yolk of
it's egg attached.  I have head of Platy's aborting their pregnancy, but not
Swords...  As I'm really eager to breed the pair of lyre tails, could you
please shed some light on this?
Thanking you in Advance. Justin
>>Dear Justin; My guess would be stress. Many animals will prematurely abort when highly stressed. I recommend testing your water (which is always the first thing to do) for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates. Your ammonia and nitrite should be 0, nitrate should be kept low, around 30-60ppm is a good level. If the tank is a relatively new set-up, or if you have over-cleaned your filtration, you may be experiencing an ammonia/nitrite spike. How often do you do partial water changes? Also, next time you could try using one trap per female.. -Gwen<<

Swords without Tails
My pregnant swordtail has been in the floating breeding trap for a week (she had been pregnant for 4-5 weeks prior to this). <A little long> She seemed quite happy in there and not unduly distressed. However tonight I noticed about 50 dead fry on the bottom of the tank. Most you cannot see a tail on them so I can only presume are malformed. Water quality is ok on testing, what have I done wrong we have no live fry !!
Please help
Gill Smith
<First, please post the numbers from any testing. All I have to go on is waters ok, 50 dead fry, and no tails on most, but I assume not all. Could be caused by stress, water quality (ph, hardness, salt level etc.) or be genetic in nature. If we eliminate the environmental factors of stress and water, as you seem to do, we're left with genetic. If that's the problem, mating her to a different male may help. Two problems with that. Females can use the sperm from one mating for a few batches of fry. Plus, any young from her would carry the defective gene as a recessive trait. It may pop back up in any future generations. A good breeder would not continue this bloodline. But again, there are many other reasons that may have caused her to abort. Infection is also a possible cause. Don>

Pregger Sword
My swordtail is pregnant for the second time. The first time 2 fry survived and were growing happily hiding in the bushes until one day they got too brave and ventured out and presumably got eaten, as they disappeared !However she is huge again and definitely pregnant so 3 days ago we put her into a floating breeding trap where she is "sitting " quite happily but no fry yet ! How long should we hold her in there if she has not produced . Also there is nothing in the breeding trap other than water ! How long should the fry remain in there after they are born and should I be putting anything in the bottom of the trap ??
< Sometimes breeders put some plastic foliage in the bottom of the trap to attract the fry. If she looks very pregnant then I would leave her in there until she gave birth. After the fry are born they should be moved to a small aquarium of their own. Grow them up until they are too big to be eaten by the parents.-Chuck>
                                Thank you in anticipation
                                     Gill

My pregnant swordtail
Hi bob <Don here today> could you tell me how long it takes a female to give birth once she  
becomes pregnant? thanks
Most live bearers will drop fry every three to six weeks.

Swordtail pregnancy
Hello I'm emailing because I have a female swordtail that is pregnant, I learned this from reading others peoples questions to you and the answers you gave,
I was wondering if you could email me at this address _XXXX@aol.com_
(@aol.com)  telling me how  long it takes for a female to
give birth as my female has now been clearly  pregnant for at least a month
could you tell me how long it usually takes for a female swordtail to give
birth from conception to delivery. <Take a look here http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/livebearers.htm, Personally I have found that their belly starts to square off as they are about to deliver and looses that more round appearance. MacL > Thank you very much. <Good luck>

Swordtail babies
hi, my name is matt, <Hi Matt, MacL here with you tonight>  I'm new to aquariums, and I have some questions about my pregnant swordtail... I know nothing about breeding, my g/f just thought it would be cool to have little fish babies.  I have gotten some facts from a fish expert at Wal-mart and she said that I should look for the black sac holding the babies(livebearing) to come to a point at the top. <Its more like the body squares off and they have the babies.> I thought I noticed it coming to a point, and so I put it into a breeders net and have been watching it, it looks like the sac is starting to shrink?? but I haven't seen any babies running around? <Sad to say sometimes the parents will eat the babies.> what do I look for? and how should I handle this.... I just found your website today, so do you send these answers to our e-mails?? <We send answers back to the email address and then post them later.> because I wouldn't know how to check what you wrote back??
Thanks Matt

Popping Swords
how can I tell when my female swordtail fish are about to give birth
< They are usually swollen in the belly region with a dark blotch towards the back half of the belly.>
I only had one of them 1 day and I saw lots of little fish in the tank took me 11/2 hours to catch them  so you have probably guessed I didn't see how was the 1 but the look like them and now both females are large and have dark coloured bellies it has been 3 1/2 weeks now I have put both fish in plastic breeder how long can I leave them in there for hope you can help many thanks Kristy
< There is no exact science on when a female is ready to give birth. If the back half of the belly develops that dark area by the back of the belly it is usually the eyes developing from the fry so this is a sign that the birth will come soon. Put them in a breeder net and raise the temp to 80 F and you should have some results in about a week.-Chuck>

Livebearer sex change
I placed five grown females into a community tank,
> and a month later have four females and a male?  Do
> they morph if no males are available?
> <Hee hee... females, males of what?   swordtails
<Actually, yes.... this and other livebearing toothed carps (poeciliids) can/do change their sex in events of disproportionality, need. Bob Fenner>

(Not) Pregnant Swordtail
Sorry if this has already been answered, but I have a swordtail who appears to be pregnant, and the scales are all standing out. Happened overnight - is this normal?  Thanks so much, appreciate your help as always! Pat
<Not normal, not pregnant... Your Sword has a condition termed "dropsy". Please put this term in the search tool on www.WetWebMedia.com and read the links. Bob Fenner>

My Swordtails
        About a week a go I bought 2 pregnant females and one male swordtail.
<Best not to move such late pregnancy livebearers...>
Right now I have the female that is closest to their do date in a 2 1/2 gallon tank. After the female gives birth, I am going to put her in a 2 gallon tank
for a day, and then put her in with the other swordtails. How long do I keep the fry in the 2 1/2 gallon tank?
<Mmm, until they are too large for the fishes in my main tank to eat them... with regular feeding, water changes... likely a month or two>
When could I put them in with the adult fish even though there is enough cover... plants, weeds, etc.? Can you also send me an
e-mail saying how to hatch Baby Brine Shrimp (the easiest way and the less messiest way). Send a couple because I have read about 20 different things on it
and so I would like to pick it my self
<What we have re Artemia is stored here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/artemiafaqs.htm>
Thanks Steve Young
P.S.- write me back ASAP because the fish is going to have birth one day in
between 1-6-05 and 1-15-05
<Ah, a new aquaculturist is born! Bob Fenner>

Feeding Swordtail Fry
I have a pineapple swordtail that just gave birth. I'm pretty sure that the babies will survive for a time on their egg sacs, but what should I feed them or how soon. I only have flake food available right now, but maybe you could suggest something I can get for them that would be better...
Please reply soon...
Barb.
<Powdered flake is a fine food for swordtail fry. You could also hatch some baby brine shrimp. Feed tiny amounts a few time a day for fry. The leftovers will be lost in the gravel and decay. You should be testing your water for spikes in ammonia. Use a gravel vac when doing water changes to keep thing clean. Young Swords will start to eat within a day or two of birth. Most of their yolk is used before birth. Congrats and good luck. Don>   
 

Is my pineapple swordtail wag pregnant?
Hey! My pineapple swordtail wag female is in a tank with one other male and a frog. They've lived together for about a month, and lately she's become extremely fat. I was reading through the other questions, and people were talking about the disease "dropsy" and they say the scales pop out, but hers don't, and she's the only one that is fat. I looked for a black spot on her belly, but she doesn't seem to have one, is she just fat or is she pregnant?
<Good observations and reporting... hard to say... are you feeding something/s other than dried food? Do you have some "greenery" in the tank your fishes can chew on? It may be that your Sword is pregnant... but it might just be fat as you speculate... Best to keep an eye on her vent area... As you remark, this area will become clearer, more transparent in appearance if she is getting close to birthing... and you should be able to make out the young's eyes getting close to parturition... Bob Fenner>

Swordtail Sex Change Question
I have a breeding pair (unintentionally) of Swordtails in my 55 gal tank. She is a Pineapple Sword and he is a Green Sword.
<Same species...>
She has had several broods where 3-4 babies would survive in the tank. So far, they all seemed to have been females.
<Ahhh, this happens... by also Xiphophorus does "change" its (phenotypic/apparent) sex in time>
The oldest 4 are several months old now, and I am fairly sure they all HAD babies... now TWO of these seem to be turning into males.
<Oh, yes... I haven't woken up yet>
The once flat anal fin is turning long & narrow and they are growing "swords" on their tails.  I have read that this can happen, but does anyone know WHY?
<Perhaps this allows for some of both sexes...>
Did they actually have babies then change sexes?
<Possibly>
Could it be because there are so many females in the tank and only one (original) male? Will they be able to breed?
<Yes... these are likely functional males>
They are both very large, like their mother, not small and long like "dad". Thank you for any help... (My husband thinks I am crazy!)
Bev C
<I think you are a good observer, have a curious and good mind. Bob Fenner> 

Shy Swordtail
Hello! I'm new to the fish game, learning all the time - thanks in large part to your site! My question is about a female swordtail I bought a couple weeks ago. I think she's pregnant, buy my question is about how she's acting - she hides all the time! I have a large piece of coral in my tank - she spends about 80% of her time squeezed into the nooks and crannies. The few times that I've coaxed her out (at one point, I thought she might have died in the coral), she
leaves the coral and goes straight into another decor item I have, and hides there! I have one other female swordtail, a male, plus several goldfish and 6 neon tetras. All the fish get along really well, except for this one shy one. Is this behavior an indication that she's pregnant? Or, is this just the way she is? Any suggestions for helping her "come out of her shell? Thanks for your help!
Tom
<Many females will go off by themselves when ready to drop. Both she and the fry would make an easy target for a hungry cichlid if not. Could just be a shy fish also. The more places a shy fish as to hide, the more it will come out. It will feel safer. The big problem I see is mixing tropicals and goldfish. Not good. The Neons and swords want a temp in the high 70s to low 80s. The goldfish at least ten degrees cooler. They also do better on different diets. For the long term health of these fish I suggest you return the goldfish. To keep several goldfish for life requires a tank of over 150 gallons. Don> 

Fry Among the Sharks
I have just got my neon swordtails 1 day ago and the female looks to be pregnant she has green looking eyes in her belly. How long is a swordtail pregnant? How many babies will she have? And how long should they be in a different tank, oh and one last thing I have a 55 gallon tank with 3 Bala sharks, 1 silvertip shark, 3 tiger barbs, 2 pink kissing Gouramis, 2 African Auratus, 1 peacock eel, 3 rainbow sharks and 2 neon swordtails, will my swordtails breed again in my large community tank? Thank you so much, I'm new to this I need help. Please write me back very soon, sorry if I have asked to many questions. Alicia.
<A healthy well kept swordtail can give birth every four to six weeks. She can have just a few, or a large brood of 25 or more. They will have to be kept away from the 55 until almost full grown. The adults will breed again, but little chance of the fry making it unless removed. You have a pretty aggressive tank there. Or it will be soon. Too many big fish for a 55. Don> 

Surface-dwelling Swordtails and Sexing Tetras 
Hello. I first want to thank you for the previous information. It was very helpful. I still have the swordtail that looks pregnant. Lately (like the last 24-36 hours) she has been staying near the surface. Does this mean something?
<Livebearers have been known to hang out near the surface when they are about to drop young. Keep an eye out.>
She eats and has regular bowel movements, but if she is starting to develop a disease or something, I want to catch it soon. What do you suggest I do?
<Well, if she looks and acts healthy in all respects other than this abnormal behavior, I really cannot pinpoint what (if anything) is wrong with her, as hanging near the surface is a symptom for many things. I assume it may be due to her pregnancy that you mentioned, but it could be a host of other causes. Low oxygen, being bullied, disease, stress, just to name a few. I would recommend your watching her closely, and taking action if you notice anything else out of the ordinary.>
All the other fish in the tank swim around. The water is fine.
<When you say that the water is "fine," it is about as useless to me for determining if your water is of concern. The readings you get from your test kits are magical in that respect. Something could be wrong and you may not even know about it, and it could be hidden within the readings. Don't be afraid to send them along if you think something is wrong.>
Oh, and another thing, I have a couple of tetras. How can you tell what sex they are and when they are pregnant?
<Depends on the tetra :-) >
I know they cannot be as easy to sex as swordtails; is there something that an amateur, like me, can see that will
let me know if the fish is male or female? Thank you so very much!
<Again, depends on the species. Some species are sex-able, but most are not. Check the following page for tetra species identification.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/CharaciformFishes.htm 
Hope this helps, Mike G> 

Swordtail fry
Hi. I just got into this fish thing and I am finding it quite enjoyable. I have had my fish for about 2 weeks now. I bought two female swordtails that were pregnant. One of them had five babies (I know she had more, but I think she ate them all.) anyways, the second one popped about 3-5 days later. She had quite a few, about 20 babies or so. She still looks pregnant, but I put her back in the main tank because I cannot handle any more. If the babes live in the main tank, fine, but if they do not that is fine, too. 
Anyways, my question is this. I took them out of the breeder net because there was just too many. I put them in a 1-gallon tank, no heater, but with an air stone. They are doing great. I have not lost any, well except for the one that stuck to the net and went down the drain, but oh well. I wish I would not have lost him, but I could not catch him. I thought he got in the big tank. Sorry I am blabbering here. Anyways, back to my question, how long does it take them to mature?
<A few months... sooner with more frequent feeding, water changes...>
I do not mean an exact down to the minute answer or anything. On average, how long does it take before they are at
least ½ an inch or so?
<A month or so>
They are right now, about 1 week old and are about 3-5 centimeters, depending on which ones came first. They are eating well and defecating on a regular basis. Oh yeah, the other question I had is why does my second mother still look pregnant?
<May be still>
She had them about a week ago or so. Maybe not that long. Maybe only 3-5 days, but the first mother does not have the dark “eyes spot” that she did when she was pregnant. I am worried about her. I do not want to lose her. Out of the two mommies, she was the best. I do not think she eat any of them. I am sorry about going on like this. Feel free to edit what you need if you choose to post this. I cannot find anything on any of the websites stating how long they will be babies. I know not to expect them to be adults over night or anything, but I want to know how long I have to keep them isolated. Thank you so much.
<We've got to produce some cohesive livebearer articles. Bob Fenner> 

Swordtails
Hi, I have a 10 gallon tank with a female and male Swordtail. I would like to know how I could tell if they are pregnant? I am only 15 and don't know much about fish. I have 8 other fish in my tank Pleco, 1 Chinese algae eater, 2 female fancy guppies, 2 male fancy guppies, and 2 zebras. And I would like to know how long I should wait until I but them in a breeder?
<When pregnant the female will become very swollen and the black spot near her anal fin will darken. It can be difficult to time the birth, but usually she will try to hide and start to breath rapidly. The trick is to move her shortly before these advanced signs. Watch the dark spot. You may be able to see the fry's eyes shortly before they drop. Don>

Breeding Swordtails
Hi. I have 2 swordtails, 1 male,1 female, and I would like to know what signs I am looking for to see if she is pregnant. Also how long I should wait to put her in a breeder?
<The females belly will become very large and you should notice a dark area under the tail, look closely at this area. When you see little eyes in this area the babies are close to being born and she should be put in the net. She should still be fed so she doesn't eat the fry.-Chuck>

Swordtail repro., spaces between sentences 7/29/05
Hi, this is Lynn and I wanted to know if you can answer this question for
me. Last night I noticed my pregnant female swordtail showing signs that she
was going to have her babies, so I put her in the breeding trap. But it's been
a few days now and she didn't have them yet.... Maybe I put her in too early?
<Maybe>
How can I help her have her babies in the breeding trap?
<Just letting time go by. If the fish doesn't produce young in a few days, I'd return her to the main tank. Bob Fenner>

Swordtail breeding, studying 7/7/05
Hi, I noticed some articles about the swordtails, but didn't really see any answer to how you can tell is a swordtail is pregnant or not...
<... seeing the eyes of the young near the vent... its enlargement, change to clear...>
i have two swords, the one is trying to back in with his sword, and so would it be wise to put them both in a breeding tank?
<Uh, no... the male stays out>
or just assume she is already getting pregnant and just put her in her separate tank??  and if i should put both in, how do i know when to take the male back out? thanks a ton!
Luke P
<Keep studying... books, the Net... Bob Fenner>

Several questions re: Swordtail fry
> We also
> began a course of treatment with MelaFix.
> <I would not use this "remedy">
Well why not and what would you recommend?
<<No real consistent beneficial action. May indeed be toxic to the fry. Would maybe use a bit of salt>>
> <Do me a favor, and test the "drift-wood"... in a
> separate container... soak it for a day or three...
> test the water in with it>
I took it out completely and replaced it with large
rocks instead.
<<Are you testing for it, their chemical activity?>>
> 2. My adult angel fish (Big Mama) won't leave the
> floating tank alone. She eats like normal at feeding
> times but she really wants those little tasty fry.
> Anything to be done about her?
> <Not much. Feed the fish more often, away from the
> trap>
She seems to have gotten over this on her own.
<<Ah, good>>
> 4. 55g is a whole lotta space for 30 fry, but it's
> all
> I have. What's the best way to feed them in a larger
> tank and should we try and keep a few other fish in
> the tank?
> <Frequent (a few times per day) finely ground (twixt
> your fingers) dried (flake, pellet) food... in the
> same area, routine>
> Uhhh.. that about covers it I think.
> Thanks.
> <Thank you for writing. Bob Fenner>
I picked up some Wardley's Smallfry liquid baby fish
food and they really really seem to like it. Still
feeding some well crushed regular and Spirulina
flakes, but they seem to really prefer the liquid
stuff. And since they are still in the floating baby
tank, most of the uneaten portion slips through the
holes into the main tank and the rest I very carefully
suck out with a clean turkey baster.
<Good technique>
I am thinking
that since they are doing so well in the floating
tank, I will just leave them in there until they are
too big, and then move them into the spare 55g. Would
it be faster to get that tank going with good water
quality if I put some small fish in there, in addition
to putting water change water in there from the
established tank? If so, what kind of fish would be
best suited to be in a tank with juvenile swords?
Thanks again.
<Better to cycle "fish-less", though this tank is large. Bob Fenner>

Swordtail Due Date
I have read thru all of the questions you all have answered but I still need a little help. I bought a green female swordtail yesterday, looking at her last night we realized she is pregnant. I can not see any eyes in the black area and I am trying to figure out how long to wait before I put her in the 2 way breeder. I do not want to put her in there too soon but I certainly don't want to miss her having the babies. Please help me. Thank you for your time. Heather
<It's very hard to guess when a sword will drop. And it's always a guess. Watch the black spot. It will darken and seem closer to the skin as she nears her time. You may also notice her trying to hide from the other fish. Don> 

Swordtail Due Date
There isn't an answer to my question.
<Sorry, possibly a glitch in the system. My answer is copied below. Don>
<<It's very hard to guess when a sword will drop. And it's always a guess. Watch the black spot. It will darken and seem closer to the skin as she nears her time. You may also notice her trying to hide from the other fish. Don>> 

Is my swordtail pregnant?
Three weeks ago I was given a tank by someone who could no longer care for their fish. Included in the tank, along with some other fish, was a female orange swordtail.  I believe she may be pregnant even though her male companion, a black molly, has since died. She has what appears to be a gravid spot and is swollen; however, she has been this way since I got her. Is she pregnant?
<Maybe, maybe not>
And if so, why hasn’t she given birth yet?
<May just look pregnant, may have given birth, eaten the young...>
Also, her behavior has changed.  She used to hide in one of the coral structures but is now floating/swimming around near the top (not dead) (mostly between the heater and filter).  I would appreciate some help/advice.  
<Please read on WWM re. Bob Fenner>