# Bullied Swordtail!!



## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

*Bullied Swordtail!! ASAP*

My pregnant swordtail is being bullied by a male guppy.

He chases her morning noon and night , they have been in the tank together for quite some time with no problem but for the past 2 days he hasnt given her a minutes peace. He doesnt seem to be nipping her its like hes trying to get something underneath her, constantly at her and she is always trying to escape. Im sure its causing her distress. Even when she is hiding he searches her out. Any ideas ?

Edited to say ..now 2 male guppies are chasing her. I havnt even got another tank or i would take her out to give her a rest. 

What do i do?


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Get some female guppies. Your males are trying to mate with your swordtail.


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

I did wonder if that is what was happening and wondered about getting a few female guppies but then i will just end up with loads of guppy fry as well. I have bought a breeding net and put her in there so at least she is getting some peace for now.
As i say they have been together in the tank for a while and they havnt been at her since the last couple of days so do u think they will still pester her after she has given birth? And will guppies mate with swordtails?


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## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

Guppies will TRY to mate with swordtails but as far as I've heard they cannot breed.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

After birth, the pestering REALLY begins.


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

I think that......of well i was goign to say move it to another tank bt u siad u got no other ones. what to do what to do. I would get a peice of glass and clean it really good then put it in middle of tank and it will divide it up leave guppys on one side and your mollie on the other.


P.S. if thats a bad idea tell me so i can change mine...


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

I have managed to find a home for them for a bit. My mate is going to take both guppies. I think if they settle in to her tank she can just keep them, i dont want to be moving them from one place to another, I did insist visiting rights as the wee male guppy is my fave fish. Thanx for all the replies....much appreciated


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

If the little guppy is your fave, who not give away the swordtail instead?


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

maybe cause arlene want it since its pregnant.


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

Myravan I hear what your saying..it is the most sensible answer.=, but with me being fairly new to this hobby i am intrigued about the pregnancy..birth..what the fry looks like. After she gives birth i will leave it a few weeks then try and introduce him again, but i dont want to keep moving him from tank to tank.


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

yeah that would be the last thng u want to do. I hope your guppys survive with your freind cause if one passes away which we all hope not then it will be worse for your freind cause he/she knows how bad u like them. GL with your swordtail,


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

I have loads of faith in my mate to look after them well. They have some male and female guppies already so if the guppies were looking to mate with the pregnant swordtail im sure they will be pleased with the move ha ha


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

lol. What kind of sword tail is it and what colors.


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

Well ...I didnt know what kind of fish she was at first but i put a pic of her on here (can someone identify this fish) and i found out she was a pineapple wag swordtail. Theres a few pics of her on there. How long roughly are fish pregnant for?


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

She can give birth every 3-4 weeks for 3-4 months from one impregnation.


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

Thats a lot of little fishes!!
My friend was round earlier (not the one ive gave the guppies to) ..she is quite an intelligent person..or so i thought lol. I was showing her the pregnant swordtail and her remark will hound her for as long as i know her...she says. "I didnt know fish got pregnant" Ha ha ha..i couldnt believe what i was hearing and i asked her where she thought other fish came from and she said. The pet shop!!! It didnt take her long to realise what she was saying. but i will be making sure she never gets to forget it!


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

WEll i hope that your fish will go well. Will u keep ALL the fish that survive.


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

Ive no idea what im goin to do to be honest lol. Im goin to just keep her in the community tank instead of putting her in a breeding net and see how many babies survive. I will take it from there, ive only had the tank about 2 weeks and she was pregnant when i got her so its all new to me. If need be i will buy another tank.


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

When your friend said "I didnt know fish got pregnant" she could have meant that she didn't know that fish could be livebearers, that she thought that all fish lay eggs.

Anyway, I understand your fascination with growing baby fish. The white cloud mountain minnows in my 5 gallon office tank have had babies (they are evidently about the easiest of all egglaying fish to breed). There's a thread "minnow fry" somewhere in general where I've put my pics of them. They are doing pretty well, wihtouth much help from me. I have bought some prepared fry food for them, but otherwise have left them on their own, in with the parents, who don't seem to be disturbing them. It really is interesting to see them develop from little tiny things that look like very short pins (a dot for a head and a 3mm pointy thing for a tail) into almost 1cm long, fully formed, little fish.


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

Yeah i cant wait!! I havnt had the fish for very long but i have grew very attatched to them and im getting to know all their individual personalities. Every morning i look in to the tank to see if she has any new developments. Im like a father to- be pacing up and down the waiting room of the labour ward lol. I really hope i can catch a glimpse of her having them..is it true they usually have the fry at night? I was watching her earlier today and my ghost shrimp (i think thats what it is) attacked her it was on her back till she jolted and threw it off, i had just put food in so maybe it was annoyed that she was going for a piece near the shrimp ..who knows. Its the first time ive seen it do that to any fish. Also when she has the fry what do i do about the water change?..and the gravel pump? I take it i hold off? Im quite lucky with the scottish water here and the nitrates never seem to go up much but i dont know how long to wait.


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

Arlene said:


> Also when she has the fry what do i do about the water change?..and the gravel pump? I take it i hold off? Im quite lucky with the scottish water here and the nitrates never seem to go up much but i dont know how long to wait.


When my found my minnow fry I waited a week before changing any water, and then I started doing the water change using airline tubing! This is so narrow that the flow of water is very low, so no fry are sucked up. I tape it in place and let it go out, and then put the bucket with fresh water on a stack of books to let it go back in gradually. Since the tank is on my desk and I'm sitting at my desk while this happens, I can keep an eye on how much has drained or gone back in.

Perhaps you could simply use a regular hose with some stocking over the end to keep out fry?

I never vacuum the gravel in this tank, as it's got a soil + gravel substrate and is fully planted.


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

IVE GOT BABIES!!!!
I looked in the tank today and saw a little baby swordtail. I managed to get 3 and put them in the breeder net..dunno when she had them ..today sometime. Will the mother eat her own fry?..and does she have all the babies at once or over a period of days? They are so lovely kinda clear with a little black tail....awwwww


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

Im sorry for all these posts but im just so excited i just watched the mother give birth..i couldnt believe i have actually managed to catch it happening. its 11.25 at night and she has had about 10 i think. Ive managed to catch about 6 the rest took shelter in the rocks and gravel. I will post more tomorrow.


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## lollypopzxo (Sep 6, 2009)

cool! My swordtails going to have babies soon to!


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