Zoreta

This morning, after four and a half weeks of careful preparation, I saw three little wagtail swordtail fry swimming around in the plastic plants. They're so tiny- about the size of a grain of rice. But they're so adorable! I can already see little wagtail markings on them- SO CUTE!!!

I've been battling for these fry- an ICH outbreak affected both mother and father during courtship and in the early stages of the pregnancy, and an unexplained nitrate boom stressed out everyone. But now they're here!

I'll get pictures when they're big enough- I can barely see them as it is.

KyWildFish

You may want to get an over the bag breeder net. This will ensure their safety and make feeding them easier and more assured. The first batch of fry I had took me a long time to catch as you have to be patient and move slow as to not hurt them. I learned to remove all decorations and have someone help watch for them as they tend to hide in the substrate. I have raised over a 100 like this and get good results.
Even though they are babies to the other swordtails they may still eat them if they get the chance.

Zoreta

We're being careful to make sure the others are all fed- they've seen the fry and left them alone. The skirts don't really bother anyone, the platies are busy playing with bubbles and the swords are rather aloof about the whole thing.

We looked around and have yet to find a net with a fine enough mesh to catch them without risking injury, so at the moment we're sticking to lots of hiding places; two sizable plastic plants I've seen at least four hiding in, a baby-hide-out plastic grass set (which has two or more) and a java fern I've seen at least one in. The also seem to like to stay in the gap in the corner in front of the hanging thermometer, and the other fish can't fit in the space very easily.

Steve113

so long as your fry have a place to hide they'll be fine.

The danger comes when they get a little more confident and start swimming around.

That's when I lost a couple.

Zoreta

Updates on fry:

There appear to be four or five surviving fry. They have at least doubled in size, and have gotten some of their parents' red wag tail coloring- their tails are turning black, as are their lips, and their bodies are starting to go from white to a golden color. They are a bit braver, freely cruising between the plants, but don't hesitate to rocket to cover if another fish comes by.

They are so cute- they love their crushed flakes.

Zoreta

New update: all 5 fry are going strong, but they are now stupidly courageous. At first it was only the runt that swam off and explored, but now the other four have gotten some wanderlust and are exploring the gravel-based plant underneath their floating plants. The platy will half-heartedly go for the fry, but they never pursue once the fry has gone behind a plant. I think they've learned that the evil Ms. Finger will chase them off if they try.
Strangely, the little runt has started schooling with the CAE XD If the CAE gets close to the floating plants, the littlest fry will follow him around until the CAE goes back to the other half of the tank.

I'm expecting another batch from the female sword any time, as the fry are five weeks old now. The female platy looks like she, too, is ready to have her fry- she's a very pale pineapple, so I can see through her scales to see the eggs developing inside her. They've grown a lot, and I think they'll hatch pretty soon.