# I Have Swordtail Babies!!!



## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

Hi everyone...im just the proud co mother of swordtail babies im just over the moon and smoking a cigar as i type. I actually got to watch her having them i managed to catch about 10. Anyhoo my question is will the mother eat her own fry?


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Oh yes, quite likely if she's hungry.
Brood eating is a trait which many farmers have been trying to breed out of the fish over the past decades, and it's working to varying extent. Today's fish don't eat their young nearly so much as they did years ago, but they still do it quite a bit. Protect the fry or risk losing them.


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

I have caught 10 and i have got them in a breeder net, i wanted to catch more because i read here that a lot do not survive onto adulthood, but thats all i could see for now. This may be a silly question but how do you know how big a fishes mouth is lol. I am just wondering the size of the fry before putting them back into the tank..actually i feel another tank coming on.!! I think i have caught the bug.


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

haha, congrats, um i dont know have you ever seen your fish stretch out their mouths?


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

Yeah ..ive seen them nibble the flakes and stuff...but if im eating dinner i do it with a natural movement lol...but put a big fat cream cake in front of me and i will surely get my chops around it ha ha ha.. Just wondering if fish are the same. Oh and another thing is it only the males who have the long extended bit on the tail?..if so how long is it before these grow?


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## sbsociety (May 1, 2005)

You can put them with the adults at about 1/2" long. Or you can wait a little more. I usually put the fry in the adult tank at about 3 weeks. And yes, males have the swords.


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

The more plants you add the more hiding places there are for the fry.


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

Hi...Babies are doing fine..I dont think i have lost too many of them. How long does it take for the males sword to grow so that i can seperate them?..and at what age would they start breeding with each other?


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## fishn00b (Jun 10, 2005)

I'm sorry I don't have any answers to those questions, Arlene. I was just wondering how long your swordtail was pregnant for before she gave birth. My Pineapple Swordtail has been really big for the past 4 days and I want to make sure I am around when she has her babies so that I can save all I can.


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

Hi....Sorry i cant answer your question either lol. I got the fish tank from someone with the fish in it so i dont know when she fell pregnant. I did read somewhere though that it is about 3-4 weeks (i think). If you think she is really big then it probably wont be long just watch for her hiding in dark places. Mines didnt really act that differently but i was luckily enough to watch her having birth. What other fish are in the tank with her?. When she first had her fry i took them out and as advised by petshop i kept them in a large goldfish bowl it didnt have a filter but i was planning to do lots of waterchanges. Anyway it didnt really work so i had no choice but to put them back in the community tank. I have mollies neons and loaches and they have been in the tank with the fry for about a week now and i still have about 20 babies. They are about 2 weeks old now and are already at a safe size. They were quite big when they were born so depending on what fish you have beside them they may be safe until you notice she has had them. Good luck.


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## fishn00b (Jun 10, 2005)

Well in my tank I have 3 Guppies, a Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami, 3 Zebra Danios, 6 Neon Tetras, and 2 Glassfish. I guess I will just keep an eye on her. I've been waiting to see her like go in a corner by herself because I heard that is what the females do before they have birth, but then again both my female guppies didn't do that and now I can't find their fry. I think they are all dead.


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

If you think that she is really big maybe you should put her into a breeding net for a bit, that way you will be able to save some of the fry this time. The fry that my swordtail had was quite big and none of my other fish really bothered them. Let me know how you get on.


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## fishn00b (Jun 10, 2005)

Alright I will. She's still really big, but she doesnt seem to be doing anything that would constitute showing her of being ready to give birth, but when she does I'll throw her in the breeding tank thing. My guppies got pregnant again thankfully, so hopefully I'll be able to save a few this time.


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

When you look at her stomach can you see little black dots (eyes) i didnt see these clearly till about 3 days before she gave birth.


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## fishn00b (Jun 10, 2005)

No, I don't think I can. Her stomach is just really big like it is about to explode. I'll keep an eye out for those black dots then put her in the breeding net a few days later. Thanks.


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## fishn00b (Jun 10, 2005)

I've begun to see the black eye dots in the back of her stomach, like right past her white belly so I'm going to put her in the breeding net tomorrow night I think. Hopefully I won't miss her giving birth. I don't want to put her in the net too soon because it is really small and I don't want to stress her out. I'll tell you how it goes.


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## Cosmic Charlie (Jun 14, 2005)

This is very exciting to read. I, too have swordtails, and I think that one or two of them could possibly be pregnant This would be absolutely incredible to see. I'm going to go get a breeders net tomorrow just in case it is to ever happen.


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## Cosmic Charlie (Jun 14, 2005)

I went downstairs and checked, and I am almost positive that the largest female has the dots that you are talking about. I'm ecstatic! I may need to get that net tonight.


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

Hi...I first seen the dots about a week before she gave birth , a couple of days before she gave birth they became real easy to see so she may have a week still to go....Good Luck though.


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## Cosmic Charlie (Jun 14, 2005)

One looks a little closer than the other. When is too soon to put them in the breeding box?


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

This was a question i had as well. Since its impossible to know when they are going to give birth its impossible to know when to put them in the net. I put my swordtail in the net but she didnt like it one bit so i took her out and she had the fry in the community tank. If you have a big tank is there anyway you could divide it up and give her her own space at least that way theres only her you have to worry about eating the babies.


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## Cosmic Charlie (Jun 14, 2005)

It's a possibility I guess. I have decent sized tank. I wonder if there are dividers that large. I saw some dividers yesterday at the pet shop when I got the 3 in 1. I didn't think to look at them very closely. That might solve all kinds of problems. I'm trying to decide if I should just get a whole new small tank for the purpose of breeding these fish.

Thanks for the advice


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## fishn00b (Jun 10, 2005)

I don't know, I put my swordtail in the net today because I thought she was going to give birth, but she seemed to down. I took her out because I felt bad. I'm going to wait until she gives birth, and then put the babies in the net and not put her into the net at all.


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## Cosmic Charlie (Jun 14, 2005)

I consulted with my Dad on this topic. I told him I felt bad for putting the fish moms in the breeding boxes. His reply was, "Life's a B." I guess in the long run, the welfare of the fry depends on a little discomfort to the mother in the short run. It's a Catch 22.


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

Is it possible that my swordtail could be pregnant again so soon? She had her fry about a month ago i no longer have the father in beside her. I was looking at her this morning and she has the little black dots in her belly again. They wernt there a few days ago. Surely she cant be pregnant again...Pleeeaaaseeee NO! lol


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## Fishboy93 (Jun 11, 2005)

Yeah swordtails have fry once a month or so. A female keeps sperm in her and can produce for batches of fry without even having a male in the tank.....You will be having a lot of fry over time. She will have at the most six batches. Good luck lol


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## Cosmic Charlie (Jun 14, 2005)

I had two that were pregnant. I put the one that looked closer to unloading in the breeding box earlier this weekend. I woke up the next morning only to find that I had picked the wrong one. The one that looked less likely to go first had her fry, and they were running for their lives for the better part of Saturday. I felt so bad for them, but there was little I could do. There aren't any left now. The bigger and continually plumper motherfish is still holding out, but I'm not going to give up on her. It can't take much longer. I've seen the spots on her for almost a week now. Now that one has had her fry, I think I've got a third that is pregnant. Talk about a bunch of sluts...and one lucky dude.


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

LOL...poor mrs slut lol...Maybe they are just hiding in the gravel. Are you keeping the other pregnant one in the net?


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## Cosmic Charlie (Jun 14, 2005)

Not hiding in the gravel anymore... I have been looking quite feverishly and haven't seen any since Saturday. The other two mothers are in the breeding boxes. Both look like they are about to explode. I'll post when something happens.


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## Cosmic Charlie (Jun 14, 2005)

The babies are born. The mother was separated. I count 24 little guys. They're doing well so far. We've lost only one to this point. They arrived on Friday while I was out of town with the Army Reserve. My wife has been taking care of them. Anything that I should watch out for?


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## sbsociety (May 1, 2005)

Nothing really that you should watch for. Just if you have the time, feed little meals several times a day if you want them to grow quick and healthy. Try to feed brine shrimp. (live) They love those.


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## Cosmic Charlie (Jun 14, 2005)

I just went looking for some a little while ago, and didn't know if that would be too large for them. I ended up getting the Hikaro First Bites stuff. They seemed to like that rather well. They all raced to the top to get it. Other than this, I've been using the Wardley's Liquid Fry Food. They do seem to be getting a little bigger already. So far, so good.


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## Cosmic Charlie (Jun 14, 2005)

Swordtail Fry still doing well. I haven't lost any since the first day or so. I'm going to get a separate tank cycled and ready for the next time we have this situation.


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## sbsociety (May 1, 2005)

Hiya. Well, I actually meant live brine shrimp, not the frozen ones. The frozen ones are too big for sure, but not the live. Live brine shrimp is extremely tiny, even smaller (egglaying born) fry can eat them.


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## Cosmic Charlie (Jun 14, 2005)

Oh...thanks for clearing that up. Don't worry I haven't fed them any frozen. I would like to try the brine shrimp. Do I have to hatch them myself?


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## Ownager2004 (Apr 4, 2005)

yeah thats what is generally done. If you type in baby brine shrimp in google or something you'll get more information than you ever wanted to know about the subject.


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## sbsociety (May 1, 2005)

Yup yup. I'm sure all pet stores or fish stores carry them. You can make your own hatchery, or buy one for like $10 at the LFS. And you can buy the shrimp, which hatch in aquarium salt... or you can buy pre-packaged ones that have the eggs & salt in the packet, all you have to do is put it in your hatchery.


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## Jonno (May 22, 2005)

i knw this is a reallu stupid question but what does a breeders net look like?

- Jonno


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## Cosmic Charlie (Jun 14, 2005)

Thanks for the info. I'm gonna try that soon.

I don't use a breeders net. I use the 3 way box. With swordtails I was worried that one of the fully grown swordtails would jump into the net and have a meal. The net just looks like a net with a box as an endoskeleton. The breeders box is a clear plastic (for lack of a better word) box. When the mother fish has her fry, the fry are able hide beneath a grate in the bottom of it until she is finished and can be removed. Once the mother is removed, you can remove the grate and it becomes a tank inside your tank for the new guys.

I've got a new 10 gallon tank set up for the new fish once they get too crowded in the breeder box. However, I don't really like the sponge filter that was suggested by the LFS guy. It won't stay put and keeps floating around the tank. Any way I can make that stop?


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## Cosmic Charlie (Jun 14, 2005)

I haven't been on here for a while, so I wanted to jump back on and give an update. My fry are still doing well. I am wondering though why they are still so small. Granted, they are about 3 times larger than they were when they were born, but I was expecting them to be ready to put in the regular tank by now. They are over 2 months old now. Also, I was expecting to be able to know which ones are male. There is no indication of any swords even now. Is it possible that they are ALL female?


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

There have been some theories as to being able to breed fish and get different mixes of sexes by adjusting pH and temps of the fishtank during the mothers pregnacy but nothing has been proven that I know of. People try this because as in guppies the males are more apt to be sold to those who like the bright colored tails. 

As far as your fish being small. Try increasing the frequency of your water changes and maybe feed them twice as often as you currently do. That should help them grow a little faster. Also if you increase the temp of the tank 1 or 2 degrees. The higher temps increase the motabilism in fish.


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## cucci67 (Aug 3, 2005)

About the swords... It will take a while for the swords to develop, but look at the anal fin for now. If it is pointed its a male, if it is rounded its a female. Many people look for the sword, and get hoem with what they think is a female, but then it grows its sword and you have a male.


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## Cosmic Charlie (Jun 14, 2005)

Cool...thanks for the info. I wasn't aware of the higher temperature increasing metabolism. I raised it a little. We'll see what that does for them.

Just got some new green swords the other day from an online place. They are so pretty. I'm hoping that they'll breed with the pineapples and make me a new flavor. I wonder what that would look like... I'll let you know if it happens.

Thanks again...


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## Arlene (May 20, 2005)

Hi...I few months ago i had some swordtail fry (quite a lot actually). Anyway they are a few months old now maybe 3/4 adult size. The mum is pineapple wag and the dad..?? i guess just a plain orange swordtail. He had no fancy markings or anything like that. I have 5 babies 3 of which are identical to the mum 2 which have the bright orange colour like dad, on the biggest orange one her dorsal fin is starting to grow up like a lyretail. It has a fairly big extension on it now. Also i think all are female, this may be a very silly question but they do have mixed sexed fry right? I just thought it weird that only female survived. Anyway my original question was if the mum or dad wasnt lyretailed why is one of the young looking like its going to be?


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