shih-tzu mom

Well, i have 2-cannibulls, for mommies they both ate my babies and also killed the dad. is this normal? they killed the black male swordtail i had. i thought he had just died but, he was actually eaten partially, sorry for being grafick, but that is what happened.i think i have 2-3 babies that got away and hid, but as she was having them she an the other pregnant female ate them and then the male when i came home.Nasty mommies both of them. bella

Fishies-for-me

It is normal for livebearers to eat their own young,,it is possible that they did kill the dad to but more likely he died or was dieing and they scavanged the dead/dieing body....get lots of plants . ..( live or plastic) and create a few very densly planted areas and a lot of the babies will manage to make it. I have guppies and that is what I do . I am not sure if swords are more aggressive about eating their own young than gups or not.good luck.....oh and also make sure that the intake tube of your filter ( if you have a HOB) is covered or you will have the babies bein g sucked into the filter and they will be killed that way ...I use a sponge to slide up over the intake stem and it works real well...also works as a prefilter and as a bio area for bacteria to grow.

krnballa

if u havent checked in your filter yet. check and see f there are any fry in there. i reazlied my guppy got frys so i checked my filter. and wow. i found 7 platy frys instead on the bottom fo the filter still alive.

Blub

Almsot all fish feel no parental affections and it is only natural for them to eat their young.

shih-tzu mom

hi: all thanks for responding. i checked the filter no babies but i saw 3-4 little guys last night hiding in the plants but boy they are fast, i am trying to catch them to move in to different tank for babies lol and can't get them without endangering them. i hope they stay put where they are safe, but i'll keep trying to catch them if they come out. it is usually late when the scoot out. and it is a quick dart lol and hide again.So all i can do is try .bella