dodgers948

I'm pretty sure she is pregnant but I don't know when she will give birth. Are there any signs because I need to separate the fry immediately.

Nick G

This is quite a commonly asked question on the forum, in regards to all livebearers. Basically there is no sure way of telling when a fish will give birth, however signs to look for are a swollen belly, which has squared off slightly at the bottom, a large gravid spot near the anal fin, lack of interest in feeding and lack of activity, ie- staying near the back of the tank. If you think that your fish is close to birthing and you want to keep the fry, then remove her to a breeding net or trap. I breed Guppies and Platies and can generally guess to within a day or two, once you've had a few births you will learn to recognize the signs and know when to remove the mother.

Zoreta

I've had a swordtail give birth twice now, and both times, in the days before the birth, she became more lethargic and snappy than usual. She hung around the bottom of the tank, and if another fish got too close to her spot she'd turn on them and chase them off. Usually she'll tolerate other fish, but not before birth. She does not come up to feed at the surface with the others, but waits for food to fall.

She also hangs around the plants- my girl loves the java fern. She rests in the fern, and in the couple days before birth she rarely leaves the fern. If you breed them often enough, you'll be able to tell from the body shape. It becomes rectangular and flat on the bottom, with her vent slightly protruding or the gravid spot becoming more visible. If you miss the birth itself, then you can usually tell it has happened because the mother will be closer to her normal shape and will be more active.

If nothing else, look for things that look like pieces of thread in the plants. These are newborn fry.

navyscuba

I got Swordtails too and like the others said they like to stay on the back by themselves, the gravid spot will be more noticible and the belly will look a little square and a lot bigger in sizze on the belly area. I recomend you to get a floating livebearer breeding box. It has space for two fish but you can take the divider out just to keep one fish inside and the fry have a tendency to go to the bottom on the box and it has a little false bottom that has cuts into it that the fry go thru and they don't get eaten. here is a link to the one I use.
http://www.petco.com/product/7449/Le...-Breeders.aspx

Good Luck.

cg49me

Good luck - my swordtails have had fry twice, and both times I've been just fortunate enough to see one of the fry get gobbled up.