swordtails & fries 06/02/09
Hi
I have some swordtails the red/orange like color and a neon sword and
Mickey mouse platies. In a 10 gal tank
<Far too small for either of these species; a "long" 20 gallon is the
minimum for Platies, and Swordtails really need to be kept in a 30
gallon tank. Just look how streamlined Swordtails are! Those are fish
built for
swimming! What could be crueler than keeping "greyhounds" like them in a
pokey 10 gallon tank?>
I want some general info on them like what the ph should be
<Both these Xiphophorus species need hard, alkaline water; aim for
hardness 10 to 25 degrees dH, and a pH around 7.5 to 8. Neither wants
salt.>
and the water temp
<Fairly cool, around 23-24 C being idea. The water needs a moderate
current for Platies, and ideally a strong current for the Swordtails.>
care of and the breeding and any thing you can give me on general info
on the fries.
<The plural of "fry" is "fry", by the way. Anyway, all this is on WWM;
start here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/poeciliids.htm
...and then follow the articles and FAQs linked therein.>
thanks Irene
<Cheers, Neale.>
Swordtails, sys., comp. 8/21/08
Hello, I am not new to keeping fish but I have a few questions about the
swordtail, the HiFin Lyretail Swordtail in particular. First, I have a 5 gallon
Minibow freshwater fish tank, and it has a in tank whisper filter plus a 15 watt
light bulb which keeps the tank's Temp. at about 74-78 degrees, I have only one
fish in the tank at the moment, it is a half-moon male Betta, and I wanted to
get two swordtails, a male and a female, I was told by a good friend who keeps
the swordtails that this would be fine as long as I didn't purchase anymore fish
after that, is this true? And Is all of this correct Information that i have
received? Also, if my male Betta has been living in this tank for a while now,
and is healthy and active, couldn’t the swordtails have the same luck? Aren't
they both hardy fish and aren't they both tropical fish as well? So shouldn’t
they coexist together and be able to live in about the same water conditions
also? Sorry for the questions, I just really need to know this from some one who
knows their stuff!! Lastly, If I don't want the swordtails to breed, should I
just get two females, or will the male and the female get on with their life and
forget about each other? Thank you so much for your time, P.S. I did read about
the girl who was keeping the swordtails in a 1.5 gallon fish tank, and I can
only fit a 5 gallon fish tank in my apartment so is this okay? Thanks and have a
good time, sincerely, Mason. p.s.s I haven't changed my email since I was 16, I
am currently 18 so this should explain the kid part of the email address! Talk
to You soon!
<Hello Mason, this is Merritt here today to answer your questions. Well,
first of all a 5 gallon tank is just not big enough for swordtails, sorry but
you can still keep other interesting fish in a 5 gallon. Also, just purchasing a
male and a female would not be good, due to the male being aggressive to the
female, it would be better to have 2 - 3 females per male. Another aspect is no,
the male and female would not ignore each other, the male would pester the
female to mate and then you would have fry to deal with. If you got females you
would have to get more than two so a pecking order could be established. Both
swordtails and Bettas are hardy fish and can easily be kept together if the tank
space allows. Have a great day! Merritt A.>
Xiphophorus hlth.
1/15/08
Hello, I really need help.
<Oh...?>
I have two swordtails in a ten gallon tank and I just got them.
<Too small! Too small! Swordtails are BIG, ACTIVE fish that need a "long" 20
gallon tank, minimum. In small tanks they tend to jump out, become aggressive,
eat their babies, and frankly don't do well.>
I just set up a new aquarium and I waited 4 days before putting the swordtails
in.
<The "waiting" was a nice thought, but didn't do anything. Tanks are cycled only
when there's a source of ammonia for the filter bacteria to eat. That can be a
few hardy fish, or it can be a few dribbles of ammonia from a bottle. Either
way, that's what matures the tank. So adding live fish into an immature tank
(what you did here) exposes the fish to ammonia and nitrite while the filter
grows into being. The whole process takes about 6 weeks, during which time you
need to measure the nitrite levels in the tank, and be prepared to do water
changes as often as every day. OTHERWISE, the fish will sicken and die!>
At first they were fine. However, on the ninth day, my swordtails started to
look very sick.
<I bet. How many water changes? How many water quality tests?>
They have very cloudy skin and they look like they have "worms" hanging from
their body. The "worms" are white as well as some of the skin.
<Likely Fungus and/or Finrot. Treat quickly unless you want the fish to die.
There are medications that treat both at once, such as Maracyn (in the US) and
eSHa 2000 (in Europe). Use them! Don't use herbal stuff like Melafix/Pimafix;
they're just not all that effective.>
Sorry I don't have a picture, my camera broke. What disease is this? I treated
it with Mardel CopperSafe. Here is a picture of it.
http://www.virbacpets.com/modules/getimage.php?prodID=190&size=235.
<Not what you need here. Coppersafe is for treating Ick/Whitespot.>
I have not tried salt yet but I will be doing this soon.
<Salt isn't a cure-all, and shouldn't be treated as such, regardless of what the
guy in the store says (mostly, he wants to sell you very expensive boxes of what
is basically cooking salt).>
Is it safe to use this medication with salt?
<Possibly, but I wouldn't bother.>
I have also raised the temperature up to about 80 degrees. Is there anything I
am missing?
<Yes: you haven't tested the water quality, have you? I bet you'd find the
nitrite levels are VERY HIGH. You have a problem here because the
ammonia/nitrite in the water will be killing the fish every bit as effectively
as the Finrot/Fungus. So, you need to do three things. First stop feeding the
fish. No food. At all. None. Nada. Secondly, do a big water change, 50% at
least. Then add the medication as instructed. This may require several doses
across 2 days or more. When the course is finished, you do the third thing:
25-50% water changes EVERY DAY until your nitrite test kit registers zero
nitrite in the water. When that happens, slap yourself on the back and say well
done, because you tank will not be mature. You can then SLOWLY add more fish,
one or two every week or so.>
Please help. I don't want my two swordtails to die. Thank you bob and crew.
<Cheers, Neale.>
