Swordtails...

[Marcus Fox]

I've just cycled a 15 gallon tank, and have put in 4 (2m 2f) 1" swordtails.
I haven't got any plants in the tank yet, just gravel, even though I would
like to have some at some point. How likely is it that the swordtails will
spawn in my tank? Are they too young? Will the fry get eaten? What should I
do to make the tank more conducive to spawning?

Thanks for any input,

Marcus

[Jim Brown]

Marcus Fox > wrote in message
...
> I've just cycled a 15 gallon tank, and have put in 4 (2m 2f) 1"
swordtails.
> I haven't got any plants in the tank yet, just gravel, even though I would
> like to have some at some point. How likely is it that the swordtails will
> spawn in my tank? Are they too young? Will the fry get eaten? What should
I
> do to make the tank more conducive to spawning?
>
> Thanks for any input,
>
> Marcus
>
>

If you can't sex them, which is likely at that size, spawning won't be
happening until they mature. Even when mature, a dominant male may make
sub-dominant males postpone going through the changes needed to show
maleness. In other words, you may think you have both sexes based on
physical attributes, but they could all be males.
If both sexes are present and they mature, they can almost be guaranteed to
spawn given proper conditions and adequate feeding. The fry may get eaten,
especially by the other fish. Some place for the fry to hide will help.
Plants are easy to add, such as hornwort, Java moss, or even plastic pot
scrubbies that have been unravelled. The fry eat the same foods as the
adults, just ground up finer.
Remember that you will need more tank space as the fry grow.

Jim

[NetMax]

"Marcus Fox" > wrote in
message ...
> > If you can't sex them, which is likely at that size, spawning won't
be
> > happening until they mature. Even when mature, a dominant male may
make
> > sub-dominant males postpone going through the changes needed to show
> > maleness. In other words, you may think you have both sexes based on
> > physical attributes, but they could all be males.
>
> There was a 10G swordtails only tank at the LFS with lots of swordtails
in
> it, that they came out of. . Two of them have the sword and modified
anal
> fin, two do not. They are approximately 1" long, excluding fin.
>
> > If both sexes are present and they mature, they can almost be
guaranteed
> to
> > spawn given proper conditions and adequate feeding.
>
> What are the proper conditions? How often should I feed them? Once per
day?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Marcus

Female swords are much stockier than the males, so this might help
confirm the sex (the gravid spot will help too). Swords (like other
common livebearers) like slightly alkaline hard water with a bit of salt.
The ideal conditions are not a pre-requisite for spawning though. You
could feed them between once and ten times a day ;~) if your filters are
up to a 10x bio-load (it would be like having 40 fish in there). Two (or
3) feedings a day would be fine. Mix it up with some frozen foods
occasionally (I use brine shrimp). Multiple feedings are also not a
pre-requisite for spawning, but larger healthy fish will have more fry
per spawn, the fry will be larger, and they might have a better chance of
not being eaten.

NetMax