coolwater.gurl

hi everyone! GOOD MORNING TO ALL!

my female red swordtail is now actively swimming.. she's no longer staying still on the bottom.. but just last night, i noticed my female pineapple swordtail is always on the bottom staying still... as i tried to look for the black triangular "something" just near her anal fin, she has that black something as a sign that she's pregnant... but how can i be so sure that black thing is really babies inside... how many days should i still wait to see her stomach getting bigger? or should i separate her from the others? thanks for the help.....

whetto

from everything i've read, that little spot means she's pregnant. Male swordtails can begin reproducing very early in their lives, so its no surprise shes pregnant. You should probably get a breeding box, or even better, a breeding net and place the female inside of it until shes done spawning. you may not have to get either if you have a lot of plants in your tank, as they can provide cover for the babies. its all up to you. good luck with the kids!

coolwater.gurl

hi whetto! --- thanks for confirming that my pine sword is pregnant... OMG! this is gonna be fantastic!!! so, i really have to take good care of that one.. and i have to buy breeding box as what you have said coz i do really do not have live plants in my tank.. besides, i believed the fry will be eaten by others if i wouldn't separate her.. thank you so much.. by the way, i emailed you..

by the way, how many more days do u think will she be done spawning? and should i separate her alone or with the male pine sword? also, is it required that i separate her the soonest time possible? as early as now? or should i wait for another week before i put her in the breeding box?

from what country are you? and how long have you been breeding fishes?

I ALREADY OWE YOU A LOT! Thanks much...

whetto

im in the good old red white and blue, and i actually have never bred any fish, but i have been looking into getting a pair of swordtails to breed so ive been gathering as much info as i could. You dont necessarily need live plants, just plant cover. i dont know how long it takes them to spawn though, i believe there is a page on this website somewhere with a bunch of info about breeding swords.

Richard

Based on my experience with pregnant livebearers (Swordtails, Mollies and Platties), it's actually a lot less stressful for the pregnant females if you let them have their fry in their normal tank.. what I would recommend for the fry though, is that you have a separate nursery(3-5 gal.) tank set up for them.. monitor your pregnant Swordtail very closely, especially when her tummy starts to get a squarish shape ( she'll start delivering her first batch of fry very soon.. and bear in mind she may continue to have fry for several weeks after), and gently transfer the fry to their nursery tank with a brineshrimp net, where you feed them 'Firstbites' powdered food or crushed up flakes until they start to get big enough to be transferred to your main tank.

All of my livebearers are fry that I raised to adulthood with the occasional addition of a fresh Swordtail, Molly or Platty to lessen the possible effects of in-breeding, and I've been able to start supplying friends and even a couple of LFS, while keeping the best of the various batches with the most unusual color combinations, for myself.