# Is my swordtail actually pregnant?



## spicycookies (Dec 30, 2008)

I have two females and a male swordtail in a 20 gallon tank. One of the females have already given birth two times unexpectedly before, and this time for once I actually noticed that she looks pregnant. Shes a lot bigger then her sister (the other female swordtail) and I noticed she does have a black shadow inside of her( photo below). Can you tell me if she is actually pregnant? I just put her inside a breeding tank, but I don't know if I should keep her in in there; I would hate for her to die! All help is appreciated and many thanks in advance


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## crazyfishlady (Nov 4, 2007)

It looks like it to me, she's got what appears to be a dark spot on the back side "gravid spot". I thought one of my mollies was going to burst any min. so I put her in a breeder box for a while and she didn't drop her fry for almost 4 weeks. When they finally were born they were a lot bigger than I ever imagined. My breeder box is very cool. It comes down to a v at the bottom and then there's a slit where the fry can slip through and then they get sucked through to the next compartment from an air pump where their mother can't eat them.


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## spicycookies (Dec 30, 2008)

My breeder box has a V for it too, except it broke when I stepped on it X} 
I took another photo of her. Hopefully this one is better; I took it with a different camera!








​Edit: Maybe it isn't any better. In fact, she almost looks less pregnant in that photo haha


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## crazyfishlady (Nov 4, 2007)

Here's a pic of mine you can see the fry on the left. They were born yesterday. I put them in a seperate 10 gallon.


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## spicycookies (Dec 30, 2008)

WOW! Great photos!  Where did you get your breeder tank? I love yours! Mine looks like I bought it from a dollar store


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## OldMan (Dec 30, 2008)

That female is unlikely to be pregnant. It actually looks like a late blooming male. Have a hard look at the anal fin, it seems to be developing a thick area along the front which is the first part of turning it into a gonopodium.


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## spicycookies (Dec 30, 2008)

Trust me, it's a female. I've had her for over three years and as said before, she has given birth twice in the past.


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## crazyfishlady (Nov 4, 2007)

I can't remember if I purchased it at Pet Supplies Plus or Petsmart. Here it is on Ebay I think it was around $15 in the pet shop. (http://cgi.ebay.com/AQUA-NURSERY-BY...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50)


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## spicycookies (Dec 30, 2008)

Oh, hopefully Petsmart has it!  Im going to there sometime soon to look.


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## crazyfishlady (Nov 4, 2007)

I'm actually leaning more towards Pet Supplies Plus, as far as the carrier for the breeder box. I just took a look at their site and they carry the Penn-Plax brand. Do you happen to have one near you? Here's their site: (http://www.petsuppliesplus.com/about.html) On the left hand side click on "our stores" and then "store locator". They're mainly on the East side of the country.


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## spicycookies (Dec 30, 2008)

Well, that depends. I live in the east end.. the east end of canada. I don't think Pet Supplies Plus is a canadian store  I'll stick checkout Petsmart though XD


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## crazyfishlady (Nov 4, 2007)

Oh...yeah, I'm sorry the only thing I know about Canada is that you guys have a nice healthcare system. Heheheh.


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## spicycookies (Dec 30, 2008)

Haha  Yeah, AND cold weather (I swear it feels like -10 right now.). We do have Petsmart, lots of them in fact, and I'll probably go there tomorrow sometime. Oh yes, tomorrow is news year eve! oh wait. Its 12 am right now. So TDAY is new years eve. Happy News Years!


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## justintrask (Jun 29, 2008)

happy new years 

as for the babies, it all depends on how comfortable the female is, and make sure you have a little salt in the water. livebearers like that


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## spicycookies (Dec 30, 2008)

Thanks justintrask. About the salt part, do I just take regular salt or do I have to go buy special start from the store?


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## crazyfishlady (Nov 4, 2007)

I have always used aquarium salt sold at pretty much any pet shop and Walmart, if there's one near you. As far as using just regular table salt, I don't know. From my research there's always been conflicting information about table salt vs. aquarium salt. Here's just one of the websites that touches on this topic. (http://www.tetra-fish.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7744)


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## spicycookies (Dec 30, 2008)

Okay, thanks, I'll also check that out  Interesting topic though  

I have another quick question: My swordtail is ALWAYS pooping nowadays (I'm not exagerating) . Every time I see her, she has poop hanging from her. I'm just wondering if this at all could relate to if she's actually pregnant or not?


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## Nagy07 (Jan 11, 2009)

wow them fry are huge, looks like shes gonna have more to!


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